I have watched and listened to the news about the devastation in Asia, and it is heart wrenching; also in this week’s news about the mudslide in California, all the snow, it is almost unbelievable.  Yet, we see it with our eyes.  I have listened with great interest to the reports of how no animals have been found in the tsunami aftermath - suggesting that they sensed the coming of trouble, and they made their way to higher ground.

                                              "WE HEAR WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR"

I am reminded of 1 Samuel 3: 1-10, and I asked myself:  "How many of us who name the name of the Lord Jesus have really heard Him speak lately - really?"  Before Samuel  responded to the Lord's call, he inquired of Eli, and after the third time, Eli told Samuel to go lie down, and if he calls again say:  "Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth."  Samuel responded as Eli said, and once again the Lord came and called:  "Samuel, Samuel.  Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth."

I feel sure you have heard said, or said to someone:  "You hear only what you want to hear."  I am not speaking about people whose  hearing is impaired, but when we do not listen to what is being said, or what is taking place in our society.  God can accuse us of the same response, which is:  "we hear what we want to hear, and we blot out the rest."  Have you ever noticed how a dog responds to "rolling thunder?"  Most of the time they will run for cover.

Again, as I watch/listen to news reports - then I read Psalms  77, 78, 81 - just a few that reminds me of the "secret place of thunder" from which God answered His people.  Israel cried out from their bondage - the straw pits and brick kilns of Egypt.   In time, God’s salvation rolled over the land when Pharaoh refused to let God's people go:  livestock stricken - boils afflict man and beast - judgment of hail and fire.  Pharaoh was warned of the judgment upon the first-born, and we know the results - all of the first-born of Egypt died.  The storm that overshadowed Israel as they passed through the Red Sea, spelled doom for the Egyptians but deliverance to god's people.  Each resounding clap was the comforting voice of a father speaking to his children.

Have you ever had a flat tire, and having a spare, changed it quickly, placed the flat tire in trunk - then forget it.  Then about a week later, there was another flat - no spare.  The Moral of the Story is:  "If we don't have peace in our hearts, we need to let go and let God fix it.  If our spiritual life is broken, it needs to be fixed."  Hundred of thousands lost their life because they could not outrun the results of the tsunami in Asia; and some 19 inches of rain and  the mud slide in California.

Hear what the Lord is saying through the storms.  The clue to finding happiness/peace is: Lose life and you find it.  The question is not what do I want, but what is wanted of me?  Our concern should be to do God's will;  "To bring glad tidings to the lowly - to heal the brokenhearted" (Isa. 61:17), and for sure share God's amazing grace. 

><)))>  In "HIS" Service

           Roy