You decorated your home with the utmost care. Picture frames full of pictures of you and happy loved ones fill the walls, and your grandma’s best china sits behind glass for all to see, but never touch. You have planned to go on vacation; your things are packed and ready to go.
And then it happens. Seemingly out of nowhere, a tornado rips through your home, shattering pictures and throwing those things that are closest to you yards away. Your family, hiding under a mattress in a bathtub, barely makes it through. Your plans for vacation lie as shattered as the mirror on your home’s kitchen floor.
I do not mean to be a downer about this. But in the last two months, there have been at least 41 tornadoes in the central US, including Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. This is the reality for so many people, who now must live the best they can as their best laid plans fell through.
The Parable of the Rich Fool
We don’t need a tornado to rip out our homes to understand the reality that though we make plans, the Lord guides our steps (Proverbs 16:9; James 4:13-15). It reminds me of the man in the Parable of the Rich Fool:
“And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.” 18 ‘Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’” 20 ‘But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” 21 ‘This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.’”
(Luke 12:16-21, NIV)
I am not saying that it is wrong to create plans, or that it is not okay to hope, dream, and get excited about life. Jesus wants all these things for us! But it is foolish to not involve Christ in our plans, and allow Him to lead and guide us as He pleases.
Something as devastating as a tornado can rip through our lives, changing it forever. We can’t put all of our worth, value and hope into things that can so be shaken. Instead, we must put our hope and trust into Jesus, the One who will never change, and never fail.
As this horrific weather spreads through the central US, let’s pray that these people turn to Jesus in their affliction, instead of getting angry at him for things not going their way. Even in the worst of it all, He is working all things for the good of those who love Him.
Do you know Jesus?
Though we may go through the worst of the worst, there is a God who loves us in a huge way. Learn more about how much God loves you, and how you can be saved by Him, here.
Please pray for (find the prayer sheet here)…
- Those affected by these tornadoes, that they would come to Christ and not away from Him.
- The local church in these areas, that they would be able to minister to the community around them.
- The Chibok girls, and Leah Sharibu.
Thank you for all your prayers!!!
ISAIAH 62 PRAYER MINISTRY 