July 24- Guest post by Pamela

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is Isaiah 44:6-48:11.

Scripture:

Isaiah 47:11

Disaster will come upon you,
and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
will suddenly come upon you.

Observation: God does not stop bad things from happening.

Application: I think there is a common misconception that once you are a Christian that you will be free of problems. Or maybe that is just what we would like to believe ;) On the contrary, Christians face many of the same problems that anyone else will face. Sickness, loss, terminal illness, depression, loneliness, anger, addictions, marital problems and many others attack the Christians and non-Christians without prejudice one way or the other. I believe God puts us in these tough situations not only to draw him closer to him but also to serve as an example to others which may lead them to join God's family. It doesn't always make sense why a young Father dies suddenly, why a youth pastor is killed in a car accident, why a young mother is diagnosed with cancer, or why a loving couple remains unable to have children. In our small human brains, we can't wrap our heads around these terrible things that happen to such dedicated Christian men and woman. Just today, I learned that friends of ours lost their new home in a devastating fire. Why? Why would God let something so terrible happen to them? I think God allows bad things to happen to remind us that He is in control.

He says:

I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6)

He was always here and always will be and there is no one more powerful than Him.

I am the LORD,
who has made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself, (Isaiah 44:24)

Everything belongs to Him, therefore He is in control of us keeping it or losing it.

I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.(Isaiah 45:4)

The Almighty God knows us and provides for us and supplies us everything that we need. He does not want us to rely on anything else and reserves the right to demonstrate this through disaster.

Prayer: Lord, You are an all-knowing God. You know the past, you know the future, and everything in between. We don't always understand why disasters come into our lives and threaten to shake us. When we hear about the earthquakes, floods, murders, fires, or any other multitude of disasters, we ask why are these bad things happening? Help us to realize that You have the ultimate control over all situations and everything is Yours. Guide our thoughts to You and let us focus on what You desire and not on what is out of our control. Thank you for creating us, knowing us intimately, for knowing all that is to come, and for carrying us through the disasters in our lives. Amen.

Tomorrow's passage: Isaiah 48:12-52:12