This morning my daughter whatsapp me the tragic news, 200 over people on board a MAS flight bound for Beijing disapeared from the radar. It never landed and no contact has been established since then.
We have traveled so many times by plane. Sometimes we take the safety of our plane trips for granted. Tim and I will always pray for the pilot and all those on board whenever we board our flights.
Last year we traveled twice to China - to Beijing and Hangzhou. Each time I recall a particular turbulent patch over the mountainous regions. The plane will shake like being thrown about in the air.
I will immediately pray fervently in the Spirit whenever there is such a shaking. The feeling of dying will come upon me in such a manner that I will start confessing all my sins and prepare to make my Maker.
How safe is a trip on a plane? Tim and I were discussing over breakfast this morning. We believe it is as safe as driving a car or crossing a road. So what happened to that MAS flight....? My heart is crying out for the safety of all the passengers on board....
You know recent things happening in our nation - hot weather, water rationing, lack of rain - makes me wonder if God is speaking something to our nation. Remember that God promised Noah that He will not destroy the earth by water but He did not mention fire or heat....what must we do as believers? I believe we need to stand in the gap and pray for hearts to turn to God in times of crisis.....
Coming back to this memory verse (verse 6 in Psalms 146 - this whole study I am doing is to help me memorize scriptures by going into in-depth study verse by verse) there are some powerful truths to be highlighted:
Ps 146:5 says our happiness is derived from having our help and hope in God. Ps 146:6 which is continuation of verse 5 tells us that our trust and hope is not without any basis or solid reasons.
Our trust and hope in God is founded on this fact - this is FACT and not FEELING or MERE ASSUMPTION - the fact is that the God we hope for help is the one who made "heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, who keeps the truth forever".
4 things about God is highlighted here that should take away any of our doubts of God's ability to help us:
1. He is a maker. He made "heaven and earth" for us to live in. I mean who else can claim credit for this beautiful heaven and beautiful earth we live in?
The "heaven" in Hebrew refers to the "firmament spread out like a vault over the globe as supported on foundations and columns". Thus it refers to the atmosphere being the first level of heaven.
It also refers to "God's abode" and "all spaces of heaven, infinite and vast" which means the outer space, black hole and the entire universe, galaxies and stars.
Now if I have a God like this, hoping in Him to help me in my troubles gives me the GREATEST ASSURANCE that all is well. My troubles may still be there but just the knowledge that such a great God is looking out for me is enough to make me HAPPY and SAFE.
2. He not only made the heaven. He made the earth. The earth here refers to the physical "land, territory, nations, country, world" or the "whole of creation".
Imagine the earth with a trademark stamped across it "MADE BY GOD". If we can visualize this we will take care of this precious earth entrusted to us to live in.
I try to recycle in small ways - I use tupperwares to put my breakfast or lunch. I refuse plastic bags if I can carry small purchases. I even looked for ways and means to return unused medication. In this context I was very encouraged to see HUKM having a box near their dispensary encouraging people to return their unused medication - no questions asked!
3. He also made the sea. The Psalmist divided the creation into 3 categories - heaven, earth and the sea. Of the sea this what he said "the sea and all that is in them". The words "all that is in them" means "a guard, a watch or a protection". In a sense, the sea is placed there to guard the dolphins, the sharks, the stingrays, the fishes, the corals, the reefs, the starfish, the anemones, the dugongs, the whales and all the beautiful sea creatures that God made to populate it.
4. Last but not least, God is one "who keeps truth forever". In Him and Him alone is the fountainhead of truth. Truth cannot be found anywhere else. Not in the magazines, not in the TV, not in the self-help gurus, not in positive thinking, not in yoga, not in meditation, not in acupuncture, not in chanting - truth is in God's custody forever and ever.
What is "truth"? It is "divine instruction" and "doctrine" which is "sure, reliable, stable, firm, stable, perpetual". It is dispensed by God to us through the Bible.
What is the nature of the truth? The truth belonging to God is "antiquity, forever, everlasting, indefinite, unending, future, eternity".
With such a God who is the maker and custodian of:
1. the heaven
2. the earth
3. the sea
4. the truth
how can we not trust Him and look to Him for HELP? How can we not place our HOPE in Him?
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