In June of 2014 my wife and I were about to begin the process of doing a major remodeling of a house we purchased. The first stage of that remodeling was to remove the trusses of our 3 bedroom bungalow, to turn it into a two-story Cape Cod style house. The day’s work was complete and we were approaching evening, but they were calling for rain. We covered the exposed walls with plastic and waited for the rain to pass. It did, but it dumped 7 inches of rain in about 10 hours, after attempting for 4 hours to drain pockets of water in the plastic the water burst through sending gallons of water through the floors and destroying the finished basement, which we were planning on living in as we finished the upper floors. I remember going into the basement after we gave up hope of protecting the house from the rains, and with the ceiling tile falling on the floor, the insulation hanging from the floor joists, and sparks coming from the hot water heater as it burned out. I remember says, “We have lost everything!” We gave up as the rains came down and knew that there was nothing more we could do to stop the damage occuring. We went to our RV which was on the property to nurse our wounds. While there, my wife and I asked ourselves a couple very important questions. First, was God still in control?” (We had to acknowledge that the Word of God tells us that He is!). Second, we asked, “Is God surprised by this event?” (Again, we had to remind ourselves that the Word of God tells us that He was not surprised). That “revelation” was the means by which we chose to live in peace in the midst of the chaos that was around us. God was in control, and He was not surprised! It is important for us to remember the promises of God when we don’t understand what He is doing. Since that eventful June day in 2014, God has continued to remind us that He is in control, not only from His Word but also from His actions. Time and space does not allow me to share all that I have learned through that event, but the one thing that I will share is that trusting the promises of God will enable you to navigate through the circumstances of life, and find rest. The key to bring glory to the Lord is to simply rest in His promises even when we do not understand what He is permitting in our lives. Remember the words of the Lord in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
