Flood Insurance

I was blessed to spend the weekend in the company of some amazing women in Williams, Arizona.  We spent the weekend learning more about the incredible Lord that we serve and the manners in which we should approach him.  We learned about looking up instead of out ... the sovereignty of our creator ... and His ability to heal in one day, that which we would (in our earthly expectations) think would take ten times as long, or maybe never at all.  I learned a few things that meant a great deal to me, but those are for another post.  Today's story is about an illustration of trust that God gave me on the drive out of the retreat center.

On the way out of the center, I noticed something that had been cloaked in the unending darkness of night when I had arrived on Friday ... a lake.  If you know me even a little, you know that I am compelled to stop at the miraculous beauty of nature and document it through the lens of my always present companion ... my camera ... and this lake was no exception.  I pulled off the winding road to home, and was rewarded with this view.

The lake is actually a reservoir that is formed by a the Santa Fe Dam.  Constructed between 1892 and 1895, this dam was built to provide the Santa Fe Railroad water for its steam engines.  Today it holds back 70,000,000 gallons of water.  Standing at the dam's edge one need only rotate 180 degrees to see the following view.

A view of the outskirts of Williams, nestled in the shadow of this dam.  Home by only 3,094 people, Williams sits in the direct path of the water's fury, should the dam give.  The dam is considered a high risk dam, because the loss of life that would occur should it give ... and yet they stay ... trusting the ingenuity of man to hold back the flood.  This made me think about how easy it is for man to trust his ingenuity ... and yet how difficult it is for some to trust the sovereignty of God.

Why is that?  Well it is a matter oh head vs heart.  With our heads, or intellect, we invent the most amazing things ... but, this very same part of us cannot  accomplish the task of trusting the Lord with everything.  This trust must come from the heart alone ... and must be developed and refined by an ongoing, ever-deeepening relationship with Christ.  We know this in the difficult times ... we are born knowing to run for protection when things are rough and we feel endangered.  But, in the peaceful times we tend to put our trust into our own understandings, strength, and intellect.  The problem about this is that they will eventually fail us .. just as that dam will eventually crumble under the weight of time.  The people who live in the shadow of this possiblilty are currently working on a plan for the day that  comes to pass ... a plan that may or may not work when it is one day put to the test.  I am so thankful that I have a protector that never fails ... that knows each and every trial I will face in life, and how to equip me for each of them.  I know that there will be floods in my life, but my heart knows that I belong to the one who alone can calm the seas.

Are you like the residents of WIlliams?  Living in the shadow of an impending flood and working to figure out a disaster plan?  Find your way to the one that can give you the only insurance that you need to survive any of life storms ... Jesus.  He has paid the cost for your premiums already ... and waits only to start a relationship that will last when all of our creations have crumbled with time.

Lisa


The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 9 Fear the LORD,you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. Psalm 34: 8-9