Heat and Shade

In the past few days, we have had temperatures in the upper 90’s. When you open the door to your vehicle you receive an instant heat flash that strikes you on the forehead causing instant perspiration. In order to survive, you turn on the car, and let the air conditioning do its job. You lower the windows and accelerate quickly to help dissipate the super heated air. As the car begins to cool, you raise the windows and thank the Lord for the wonder of air conditioning.

Grace comes in many forms. As I was driving, a massive cloud gathered overhead. Then it began to rain buckets of cool refreshing water. The temperature dropped from the upper 90’s to the mid-80’s- almost 15 degrees in a few minutes. The shade, the water, the sounds of the rain as it bounced off the car, was wonderful. I thanked the Lord for the instant relief. Then I had a flashback. God took care of His new nation as they journeyed through the Sinai Peninsula towards the Promised Land. During the day God provided a cloud of protection from the desert sun. He provided manna in the morning, cool spring water during the day, and quail during the evening hours. To finalize the day, God provided heat during the cool desert nights. What a God we worship.

Very often we forget that God also looks after you and I today. We might not see the hand of God as in the time of Moses, however He looks after you and I. “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31 In chapter six of the gospel of Matthew, Christ reiterates this, “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Matthew 6:25,26

At times we doubt that God is by our side. At times we forget that He has never left us. At times we are skeptical when it appears that God has abandoned us. But I want you to know that God is by your side right now. His angels are by your side right now. He love is surrounding you right now. When you stay quiet, and listen, you can even hear His creation around you, reminding you that even they are surrounded by His loving presence. Here is a biblical lesson:

“Moses faithfully set before the people their great sin. It was God’s power alone that had preserved them in ‘that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water.’ Deuteronomy 8:15. Every day of their travels they had been kept by a miracle of divine mercy. In all the way of God’s leading they had found water to refresh the thirsty, bread from heaven to satisfy their hunger, and peace and safety under the shadowy cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Angels had ministered to them as they climbed the rocky heights or threaded the rugged paths of the wilderness. Notwithstanding the hardships they had endured, there was not a feeble one in all their ranks. Their feet had not swollen in their long journeys, neither had their clothes grown old. God had subdued before them the fierce beasts of prey and the venomous reptiles of the forest and the desert. If with all these tokens of His love the people still continued to complain, the Lord would withdraw His protection until they should be led to appreciate His merciful care, and return to Him with repentance and humiliation.”
{PP 428.3}

May God bless you today on His Sabbath with the presence of His cooling shade and pillar of fire to guide your footsteps

Angel
Angel J. Rodriguez, D.Min
Houston Central – Senior Pastor