God's Hand in All Things

Psalm 135:6-8

 The LORD does whatever pleases him,
   in the heavens and on the earth,
   in the seas and all their depths.
 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
   he sends lightning with the rain
   and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

 Winter is here.  Well, it may not be technically winter, but it sure feels like winter outside!  This Florida girl considers it winter when the high temperature doesn't get out of the 60's.  Lately, we haven't been anywhere near 60.  We've had some wild weather around here this past week.  Monday started out cold and yucky.  Tuesday it was really warm with storms, including a tornado only about 20 miles north of us.  Wednesday brought more cold weather.  Last night another cold front came through with the wind.  I've seen the damage the wind can do.  This amazing force that can bring a cool breeze on a hot day can also break a tree like a toothpick or move a house completely off of its foundation. 

One of the things I was looking for when we bought our house was trees.  I was tired of living in a clear cut subdivision with these tiny baby trees and no shade.  Well, we got trees.  In fact when we first bought the house, we had to take out several trees, including a large one right in front of the house that was dead and had already caused damage to the roof.  Tim has taken down several trees in the back already.  A few weeks ago we had one snap at the top. Tim took it down Thanksgiving day.  Last night we had another tree snap.  This was a huge pine that snapped near the bottom.  We heard the snap and pops last night as we laid in bed.  I had no idea at the time what it was.  This morning I looked out expecting to see at least a section of our fence on the ground.  Looked like we escaped any sort of damage as I looked out the window in the early morning darkness.  As daylight broke through, I was able to see the tree down.  I went out to take a look.  I noticed that the tree was being supported by a much smaller tree.  That small tree is what held the large pine from crashing down our fence and putting the tree in the street.  I peered between the slats on the fence and saw some small branches on the other side, but nothing in the road.  No sign of anything that landed in the road behind our house.

I immediately began thanking God for His protection.  The tree fell away from the house.  The smaller tree "caught" the large tree.   We have even more firewood, which means lots of school days in front of the fireplace!  I did a little bit of searching of "wind" in the Bible.  I wanted to see how it was used.  God used the wind to help the waters recede after the flood of Noah (Genesis 8:1).  When God brought the plagues upon Egypt.  He sent in an east wind that brought in the locusts. (Exodus 10:13) He used a west wind to blow them away. (Exodus 10:19)  Again He used an east wind to bring the dry land for the Israelites to cross the Red Sea.  (Exodus 14:21).  The Psalmist tells us that God does as He pleases and brings out the winds from His storehouses.  This is a reminder that all is within the Hand of God. Ecclesiastes 11:5 tells us "As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things."  When we don't understand what is going on in our lives, we can always rest assured that God is the Maker of ALL things and He DOES know.

I look back on our lives.  I am beginning to understand how God has used some things in my life and the life of our family to bring us to this point in our lives.  We are ready to follow Him because He alone is worthy.  He has proven Himself faithful time and time again.  Even if the small tree that is holding up our large tree had not been there, we would trust in God to continue His work in our lives.  The safest place to be in right in the Center of God's Will.  We are doing as he directs, so no matter what, we are in the safest place possible.