I heard a really good joke that I want to share with you:

As the rains continued to pour down, the water was rising fast. Bill refused to leave his house despite all warnings. There was a knock at his door. The firemen in their orange rescue boat demanded, "Sir, you've got to leave." But Bill refused, "The Lord will save me."

A few hours later, the water had crept inside the house and was now ankle deep. There was another knock on the door. This time the firemen were starting to get worried. "Sir, you need to leave now! The water is rising too fast." Again, Bill refused, "No, the Lord will save me."

As the hours passed, the unforgiving water continued to rise. It had pushed Bill up and outside on the roof where he sat precariously on the edge. The helicopter was now hovering just above Bill's house. The loud speaker crackled, "Sir, grab the rope and we'll pull you to safety." Bill shouted as loud as he could, "No, the Lord will save me!"

Within a few minutes the water had risen so rapidly that Bill was swept away and drowned. Standing before God's throne in heaven, Bill raised his hands and questioned God, "Where were you God? I was waiting for you to save me." God answered, "Bill, I sent you two boats and a helicopter. What more do you need?"

I enjoy that story so much because it drives home such an important point: God can work in many different ways, through many different means. When we limit God's help to our expectations of what we think that help should be, we are going to be let down.

Throughout the Bible, God uses natural means through people to bring about his will. I think of Noah. God could have just zapped him to heaven temporarily until the flood was over, but he didn't. Rather, he had Noah spend 100 years building a boat to save him, his family and the animal kingdom.

I also think of Jonah in the belly of a whale. God could have just teleported him to Ninevah after he was thrown from the ship. But no. God used a whale to transport Jonah to safety.

Then, I think of Jesus. He came to earth with the good news of Gospel. Yet, he entrusted it to 12 guys, giving them the task of spreading this good news. He could have just sent down an angel with a loud voice to proclaim this message of hope. But he didn't. He used people to bring about God's will.

God can use a variety of instruments to touch our lives. Whether it's a person, a book, a wise doctor or counselor, God can reveal his truth to us in many different ways. We should not restrict him to some magic zap from heaven that will give us peace. We should look for God moving and working all around us. We should look for some boats and helicopters.

Blessings!

Russell

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|  Russell Pond     <><
|  Season of Peace
|  email:  ponder@season.org
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© Russell Pond 1999
Reprinted with permission