Pondering Sovereignty and Priorities
As the reality of loss from Hurricane Helene begins to settle in and among those directly affected, we are still learning from our own similar experience in Honduras.
Those who know us are aware that Cathy and I survived a landslide caused by Cat 5 Hurricane Iota on November 20th, 2020. It came just ten days after Cat 4 Eta.
The photo above was the first landslide that happened at 3:30 pm. Cathy had just opened the gate and narrowly escaped being buried alive. The effects on the Honduran survivors were beyond what most people can imagine. Landslides were the number one cause of death during both storms.
I wrote about the revelations gleaned from wrestling with God’s isolation during COVID-19, the loss of everything but our lives, followed by suddenly becoming homeless in a third-world country. The first was that God had miraculously preserved both our lives.
The second revelation is that preservation is often attended by a stripping.
The story of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32 has always been one of my favorites. It was during our morning devotions the other day that the word “preserved” emerged again in verse 30. I’d never really noticed it before. We looked it up and found the original Hebrew word is “Natsal” – to “deliver, rescue and save.“Natsal” also means to “plunder” and “strip”.
Maranatha ( ) Maranatha
We had been stripped of all our worldly possessions and memorabilia.
And yet a strange supernatural peace enveloped us as well as an even stronger bond between us as husband and wife. That bond and peace remain with us now.
Maranatha ( ) Maranatha
We felt instantly closer and more intimate with the Lord than at any other point in our walk with the Him. Meanwhile, the people in our village descended on the ruins, digging out whatever they could find.
A group of women washed the mud out of Cathy’s clothes. It was a genuine act of love from the people whom we had come to love and serve and live among. We were so very grateful.
“How do I tell them?” Cathy asked?
“Tell them what?” I inquired.
“I don’t want any of it.” She replied.
Something had happened within us individually and as a couple. Granted, we’d surrendered a lot when we left for the mission field. Only now did we truly recognize the proverbial ball, and chain of materialism that drags so many of us down, and the freedom of having it removed. That included twenty thousand dollars worth of photography and video equipment that supported my path and passion for the mission field. In a moment God whispered,
“You’re done!”
Long story short, Cathy gave all her clothes to the village women.
Cathy’s birthday came two days after the landslide. I had nothing to give her so I wrote The Most Incredible Woman and reflected on what a gift from God she was and is to me. This amazing woman never batted an eyelash as we continued our mission.
The featured image in the title of this post is from the before and after video God is Good Testimony. It is a reminder of how precious she is to me and how precarious and short-lived is our existence on earth. At least one hundred people died that day in a country about the size of Tennessee. Only the Lord knows how many just lost their lives in similar circumstances here in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Many more have lost property and generations’ worth of history and family heirlooms. Lots of people have come to dig and rescue homes and possessions from mud and mold. Still, I think God, who is sovereign, omnipotent, and omniscient, is doing something different than many realize. I think He is asking questions that expose the true condition of our hearts. What really matters? Where is our treasure truly laid up? Are we dependent upon Him or the contemporary Golden Calf known as materialism?
To whom do we assign the most power in our minds? Do we believe that “if God is with us, then who can be against us”? Rom 8:31-39 Or do we believe the devil is so powerful that he can override the will of God? Do we believe the word of God? Or do we think that God thinks, feels, and acts like us? Isaiah 55:8-9
We are doing what the Lord calls us to do amid the current earthly crisis. Hopefully, those reading this are doing the same. Those called to dig in the mud should dig in the mud. Those called to clean mud from memorabilia should clean. Those called sit with victims and listen should listen. Those managing and transporting donations should continue until the Lord says otherwise. Just don’t assume that you know why He has called you to do it. Consider the possibility that He might be highlighting our proverbial golden calves – the fragility, vanity, and utter futility of all that is carnal.
It’s been ten years since we produced the video above. As time went on we found ways to get people out of the dump. We had opportunities for jobs, housing and school for thier children. Not one ever accepted the offer. They were too attached to thier recyclable bottles and metal and whatever else they thought they had and could not part with. That’s when the Lord said,
“that’s you son!”
At some point in eternity even the wealthiest believer among us will see thier money, mansions and jewelry and cars for what they were.
It’s just my opinion and maybe my interpretation of scripture, but I think there are going to be a lot more opportunities to reflect on what I have written here. A lot of circumstances will require a paradigm shift, especially in areas where we have taken things for granted. I think a lot of us are going to realize that much of what we once considered indispensable amounted to junk in the dump. Sometimes the greatest blessings are only found in brokenness.
That being said, this is an Ezekiel 33:1-6 alarm. This storm is but a trailer of what is to come. Roll your eyes if you will. Ten years ago we would have rolled our eyes as well. Our perspective has changed with experience. We have found so many of the things that we once prayed against were in fact, the testing of our faith that we finally learned to count as joy. James 1:2-4 Consider this as a seed – a call to prepare our hearts and minds. As for these tents of flesh in which we currently reside, understand the difference between wants and needs. The stripping must come with our eternal preservation. Be sure you know that through it all Jesus is still on the throne. He has already won.
