In the shelter of the Most High

As most of you may know, our area has had some flooding this weekend, and some areas have been hit hard. The boys and I were not home - we were at Vince’s for the weekend. I am thankful for that, because the roads leading to our town were closed and the phones were down, so we would have been stuck at our house with no way to communicate with anyone until today. We were planning on heading back home on Sunday afternoon, but ended up staying an extra night because the highways around town were closed due to flooding and mudslides. Bummer on having to stay an extra day, what a hardship =). We just got home this afternoon, and I had some water in the laundry room & storage room that seeped just under the wall by the basement stairs, but nothing major ~ PTL!!

Others have not been that fortunate. Some areas have major damage, roads were completely washed away, people have lost their homes. Over 100 families are homeless, and there have been six confirmed deaths. I know of four families from my church who had to evacuate their homes, escape to their roofs, and wait to be rescued by boat. Our church is rallying around these families to organize clean up efforts and donations, as well as places for them to stay while they are essentially homeless. Please pray for these families, especially my friend Lori, who just five months ago lost her husband in a car accident and now is dealing with the loss of much of her possessions and possibly her home.

It felt pretty unreal to me, being so far away and just hearing about what was going on. But that quickly changed as I drove home and saw a lot of the damage.

It's hard to imagine why this would happen. We Christians tend to expect to be protected from harm, don't we? Well, contrary to popular belief, the Lord never promised that we would escape trouble in this life, in fact He tells us to expect it......in John 16:33 Jesus said "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
But He also promises to be with us and deliver us, as in Deut. 31:8 "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Please join me in praying Psalm 91 four our neighbors:
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday....."
"If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the LORD, who is my refuge- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone...."Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."