BBD 05.05.14 After the Crash (Classic)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
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The Burning
Bush Devotional
Classic
from 2007
05.05.14
After the Crash
God is our refuge and strength, a
very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth
be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its
swelling. Selah. - Psalm 46:1-3.
Be still, and know that I am God; I
will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of
hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. - Psalm 46:10-11.
Yesterday (in 2007), there were a few crashes
in Meadville, Pennsylvania when a three foot wide, 1,500-pound wrecking ball
somehow came loose from a crane and rolled downhill. At least a dozen vehicles
were damaged, and three people injured by the runaway ball. The monster ball finally
stopped with one final horrendous crash into the back of a car stopped at an
intersection.
Crash, as in a wrecking ball crash is defined
as: “to break violently and noisily.”
A wrecking ball crash is definitely bad news when it is a runaway wrecking
ball. Crash as in a computer crash is also bad news as defined by one
dictionary: “to suffer a sudden major failure
usually with attendant loss of data.” Crashes are nearly always bad
news whether it is a wrecking ball, a car crash, a computer crash or even worse
a personal crash. Some of us know what it is like to have our world come
crashing in on us.
How do you recover from a crash? When a car
has been crashed, it is usually taken to an auto body shop for repairs. When a
computer has crashed, we take it to a computer technician to be repaired. But
what do we do when our lives come crashing down?
Often the tendency for many is to turn away
from God during the bad times. They think, “God
has forgotten about me, so I’m forgetting about Him.” This is a
mistake because those are the times when you need God more than ever. It may
appear at times that God has left the building never to return, but He is ever
present.
What happens if we turn away from God when
our world comes crashing in upon us? Of course, you compound the situation if
you turn away from God because He will allow the natural consequences of your
actions to occur. He will withdraw His protection, withdraw His wisdom, and
withdraw His wisdom from your life. You will begin that downward spiral with
things in your life tending to fall apart everywhere you turn, everywhere you
look. If you turn away from God everything good in your life will begin to be
replaced with all things bad - with everything deteriorating. That is what
happens when you leave God out of your life, nothing good.
Job of the Old Testament could have given up
on God, and most would have given the terrible circumstances of his life. Job,
however, remained faithful to God. Job’s life had come crashing down to the
lowest of lows. Job remained faithful and God raised Him up. Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego refused to worship the golden image and King Nebuchadnezzar had
them thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Just before they were thrown into
the furnace, they said this to the king: “…our God whom
we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will
deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king,
that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you
have set up (Daniel 3:17-18).” The Son of God walked in the midst of the
furnace with them and saved them from certain death.
The response of Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego is the response that we need to have when our world comes crashing in
upon us. That response is that we will serve God, seek God, worship God, and be
faithful to God no matter what may happen in our lives. Where do you take your
life when it crashes? You take it to the Master, the Creator - you take your
life to God and place yourself in His hands. Remember that God is still God no
matter what may happen in your life and He is your “refuge
and strength.”
Copyright © 2007 - 2014. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
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