When life starts to shake, rattle and roll

We’re all breathing a sigh of relief after this week’s earthquake.  It rattled our fears as much as it did the crust of the earth.  And you probably did what most of us did here at the office, which was to stand around stunned until it was over.  But one person knew what to do. That person was Dave Hawley, our Creative Arts pastor.  

Dave grew up in California…land of earthquakes.  Every kid there learns early in life to either run outside if you can get there in seconds, or else stand in a doorframe (it’s the strongest part of the house).  Which is where Dave went when the earth started to shake, rattle and roll this week.  He knew exactly what to do when things started getting crazy all around. 

Here’s my point.  Earthquakes might be rare around here, but earthquakes that shake, rattle and roll your life around are all too common.  We experience earthquakes in our finances, our health, our marriages, and our careers.  And when they strike (often with little or no warning), we stand around stunned…unsure of what to do.  We don’t know where the strongest place is.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.

If you’ve been reading along with us in the book of Proverbs this month, you would have read the following in Proverbs 18:10:

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

The name of the Lord is his character, his reputation, his very nature.  And if you know God well, you know that he’s the one to run to when the earthquake rolls into your life.  The writer of Proverbs is saying, “This is what wisdom looks like; when trouble hits, you run to God.”  Why?  Because you’ve learned from an early age that this is how to react to earthquakes.

What was the last earthquake to shake, rattle and roll your personal life?  How did you respond?  If it happened again, would you stand there paralyzed?  Or would you run to a strong tower?  Maybe this is a good time to practice

-Pastor Mark