Thank You, Everyone!
Ohio Report: January 26, 2022
It was 7 degrees Fahrenheit this morning at 7:20 a.m. No wind to speak of, clear skies, and no ice on the roads, so it could be a lot worse. No snow today, except little piles left over from January 17th.
I’m sure people from Siberia, Alaska, Canada, the northernmost states of the U.S., and other places will be laughing at me for thinking 7 degrees is unusual, but it is for this coastal California girl! Maybe a few times at Lake Tahoe, I’ve experienced 7 degrees.
If you have cold weather, never take for granted (if you have them) a home, a furnace, electricity, warm clothes, and food to sustain you. I once watched a documentary in which they did an experiment with three couples or families, perhaps around the 1990s or later. The challenge was to see if they could survive a winter without all the modern conveniences. I think they had a cabin already; not sure. At any rate, they had to grow and preserve enough food, and collect enough firewood to survive winter. All three families failed. They didn’t preserve enough food nor collect enough firewood. They had to go back to their regular life before finishing the challenge.
The goats at my son’s in-laws are doing well in their indoor winter pen. They have a milk house heater for when it’s freezing or below. These are African pygmy goats, so they aren’t as hardy as, say, Scottish goats. They eat grain, leaves, and hay, and seem to really enjoy having people visit and pet them, not to mention the food provided.
We are fine here because of hundreds, if not thousands, of people: those who made our warm clothes; those who grow, deliver, and sell food; those who make and sell and maintain furnaces and refrigerators; those who build facilities for and maintain and deliver gas and electricity; those who collect our garbage once a week; those who deliver mail and packages to us; those who sustain us spiritually and/or in friendship and love, those who helped us have health and the ability to work to pay for bills – the list could go on and on. Thank you, everyone!
God and Time
The Bible is a fascinating book. It gives us glimpses of God, if only from the limited human understanding of its authors, who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. So I’m going to take it as a given that the Bible does not lie, but again, the Holy Spirit worked through human instruments in the writing.
If we agree that God: knows all, never changes, has no beginning nor end, and has no deceit in Him, can we attempt to have any inkling of how God relates to time?
I’m including here some ideas that my husband gave me, as we had a good discussion on this theme.
So, God created time; however, He is outside of time. We as humans don’t have a clue how that works, but there it is! Here are some Bible quotes relating to time:
Luke 18:7-8: ‘and will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”’ Comment: What does “quickly” mean for God? So often, don’t we ask God, “How long, O Lord?”
2 Peter 3:8-9: “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” Comment: Ah, here is a clue, perhaps obvious; God has a different concept of time than we do.
Revelation 22:7: ‘“See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”’ Revelation 22:20: ‘The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Comment: What is “soon” for God? Bible verses can have many layers of meaning. Certain scholars say that Revelation was written before the siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.; the verse could refer to God’s judgment coming that year. Or it may refer to Jesus Second Coming, or to both.
But I gained a powerful insight in discussing all this with my husband. So often I have felt desolate, even somewhat abandoned by God, because “nothing seems to be happening,” or the changes I would desire (often in myself) don’t seem to be coming to fruition. But, hopefully looking at things more from God’s point of view, HE REALLY DOES CARE; He is just doing things in His own timing. What a comfort to know God’s care. Let me always remember that He has a good plan, with the best timing.
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