Earthquake! Natural Disaster...Everything you own gone!

We all have heard by now of the devastating disaster in Japan. In an instant everything turned upside down...gone. Many lives lost....personal possessions destroyed ! You just never know until that very moment when we ourselves could be touched by disaster. Please keep the many people of Japan in your prayers.

I have often joked....I wish I could burn everything and start over! I guess it would be easy to accept such a disaster if I knew about it beforehand. As I listened to the news this morning and saw the devastation, my statements in the past seemed mindless. I have no clue what it is like to lose EVERYTHING! Would I really want to? If I did...How would I start over? Could I start over? We all think we have an idea. Never realising, we just don't know until faced with such trauma how we will react or how much losing would entail!

Many years ago we moved to Memphis Tennessee. Moving from a state where the only disaster I had experienced was tornadoes...living on the New Madrid fault line scared me. Needless to say we prepared and discussed what our plan would be in case of an earthquake. For three years this possibility stayed in the back of my mind. For three years our earthquake bag sat in our hall closet. Have you ever heard the saying...Prepare for the worst and expect the best? We prepared and expected the best possible outcome....NO Earthquake!

The truth is...None of us are immune from disaster. At any moment your world could turn on a dime...Life is fragile! If and when it does...Are you prepared? Where are you going to run? Where are you going to lean? Who is going to bring you comfort? Where is your eternal destination? I have had many very small "disasters" in my life. I have lost many things and many loved ones. The place I have chosen to run, hide and lean....Jesus! He is my comfort and shelter! He restores and heals...He brings life back when all seems lost.

As Japan "starts over" and rebuilds, I pray that they will find shelter under the wings of the almighty Father.

Psalm 91 (New King James Version)

Psalm 91

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

 ¹ He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
         Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
 ² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
         My God, in Him I will trust.”
       
 ³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler^[a]
         And from the perilous pestilence.
 ⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
         And under His wings you shall take refuge;
         His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
 ⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
         Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
 ⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
         Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
       
 ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
         And ten thousand at your right hand;
         But it shall not come near you.
 ⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look,
         And see the reward of the wicked.
       
 ⁹ Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
         Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
 ¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
         Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
 ¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
         To keep you in all your ways.
 ¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
         Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
 ¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
         The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
       
 ¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
         I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
 ¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
         I will be with him in trouble;
         I will deliver him and honor him.
 ¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
         And show him My salvation.”

....Praying for those who are going to be the hands and feet to the people of Japan !