Scorched Earth

                November 28^th 2016 was one of the worst days in the history of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  That was the day that thousands of acres of beautiful mountain land was

burnt in a large forest fire.  A fire that was started by two individuals for no reason other than wanting to start a fire.  These two individuals destroyed millions of dollars worth of property, cost the city of Gatlinburg in tourist revenue and tragically caused the loss of lives.  There was so much scorched earth in the wake of these fires that it should take years for everything to recover.

                But the beauty of God’s great creation is that it can turn tragedy and turn it into a work of beauty.  Already this spring, the trees are starting to bloom, the grass is starting to grow back and the cities are rebuilding with new buildings.  It is amazing to see trees with the black soot several feet up and new growth coming out above the burnt bark.  There is green grass sprouting in the places where the ground is still black.  So because of the

fires that destroyed the ground, there will emerge great growth that will be as beautiful as ever.  God’s glory will once again be seen by all the visitors of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in the very near future.

                The wildfires are also a metaphor for the lives of so many sinners in the world.  They have taken what was once a beautiful and promising life and allowed sin to scorch the landscape of their life.  Sin, just like the fires, burnt everything in their lives.  It destroyed the most beautiful part of their existence, their personal relationship with God.  Sin has burnt down so many of the avenues and bridges people build in hopes of making their life have meaning and purpose.  They are living in a world full of darkness all around them.

                God’s creation also extends to every person today.  Just as the trees and grass are starting to have new growth, the sinner has an opportunity to have new growth as well.  The sinner was shown the path to rebuilding their relationship with God when Jesus was put to death on the cross.  He made atonement for everyone of us on that day.  That day also planted the seeds for new growth when the

fires of sin ravage our lives.  As we allow the Son to shine through us, the splendor of God’s mighty creation starts to have new life among the soot and ashes all around us.  Over the course of time, the new growth will completely cover up all the scorched earth that we once had.

                Lord, tonight I pray for anyone that has allowed sin to burn in them for so long that they feel like they have lost all hope.  I pray for the redemptive power of Jesus on any one that feels they are too far removed from God.  I pray that they realize there is always hope as long as they are alive.  Lord thank you for making a way for us to come back to You and realizing that You created everything to have new life after the fires of sin have burnt us.  Thank You for the healing power of the blood of Jesus.  Lord, I also want to pray for everyone affected by the wildfires in East Tennessee.  The fires destroyed a lot of things, but You are the creator of all and Your beauty will be seen again in the mountains.  In Your precious name, Amen.

where'd He go

                After being baptized, Jesus was led to the desert by the Spirit too fast for forty days and night.  Satan came to Him and tempted Him with every possible thing.  But with every temptation Jesus had a reason not to fall for the tricks of Satan.  He held strong on the word of God and knew the season would come to an end soon.  Where was God while His son was fighting off the temptations of Satan?  Did He just leave Him alone to teach Him a lesson?

                Just as Jesus had to go through His season of temptation, we all have seasons that Satan throws everything at us.  He makes sure that we struggle to deal with normal day to day life or he shows us a reward for cutting corners.  Satan doesn’t want us to stay faithful to God.  And when we go through these seasons, we fill very distant from God.  We allow ourselves to think that He no longer loves us or we don’t need Him.  We fall into the spiritual desert.  Everywhere that we look is just empty space with no hope for recovery.  So where did God go?

                Why would God allow us to go through the times of hopelessness?  Why would a loving God become distant from His children?  Should He not rescue us from the depths of despair we find ourselves in at times?  Why would He allow Satan to tempt us in ways that would drive a wedge between Him and His children?  These questions really go back to the simple question of where’d He go?

                Answering the simple question of where’d He go is a complicated process.  Because when you dig deep into the questions mentioned above, you will find that God never left us.  He has always been right there waiting on us to call out to Him.  He doesn’t want us to have times of hopelessness, but will allow us to fall so we have to look to Him to recover.  Satan will always be there when we allow our thinking to stray away from the Grace of God.  He is a predator in the dark lurking and stalking us.  His only desire is to drive the wedge between us and God.  Those temptations, good and bad, have nothing to do with us; they are intended to hurt God.  This is why we have to remember that God is always right beside us and is waiting for us to call on His name.  Deuteronomy 31:8 gives us the answer to the question of where’d he go.  It states, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."  So God is always there even when we are going through the deserts of life.

                So my original question of where’d He go needs to be restated as Where’d he Go?  God never left us alone, we walked away from Him.  So really we allowed ourselves to be lost in the world and not maintain our focus on God.  We always have the free choice to serve a mighty God and we need to stay grounded in His Word.  The seasons of hurt and despair will come and we will be angry at God for what we are going through, but remember He is always there when we call out His name and will wrap His loving arms around us.  He is closer than a brother when we allow Him to come into our deepest parts.  God will not leave us even when we think that all hope is lost.  We are the ones that leave God.  So I ask again, Where’d he Go?

                Lord, I pray right now for anyone that is going through a season of dry spirit.  I pray that You will invade their thoughts with an overwhelming feeling of love and acceptance.  I know that You can change how we feel because You changed my feeling of hopelessness.  You are always with us and I pray that You make yourself known to anyone that Satan is tempting right now.  In Your Holy name I pray, Amen