Shade Tree Wisdom 2/25/08

Going to be another beautiful day. Fog this morning, rather dense early, but the sun soon burned it away and now it promises to meet the prediction, sunny and nearly 80.

Well, the opinion page of the paper yesterday was filled with suggested programs about the future of energy for the desk of the next president. They are all based on the premise that we are running out of oil, and coal is too environmentally ‘dirty,’ and water is also limited in supply.

Dire predictions indeed.

Remember I was writing about words and the impact using them can have, either for good, or bad. And suddenly I thought of a time in grade school when we were reading about Joshua entering the promised land and having to fight for nearly every inch. Without consulting the Lord they made an agreement with the Gibeonites, whom they had been duped into believing came from a “ far country”, when in fact they lived right in the middle of it all. So Joshua promised to let them live, but made them servants.

Now the Gibeonites were under attack, and they called on Joshua for help. But “da kamen zuhauf und zogen hinauf die fuenf Koenige der Amoriter”, (Josh 10,5) Wow!

Joshua answered the call, even though 5 kings of the Amorites opposed him, and the thing looked hopeless. But the Lord told Him, “Don’t be afraid, I’ve given them into your hand”.

That phrase has stuck in my mind all these years. My cousin Mel, who was in my grade and had a sense of humor even more quirky than mine also picked up the phrase, and whenever things looked bad, we would use it as a reminder that God always had a hand there too.

And that phrase popped into my mind when I was reading the dire predictions about energy. Look here, an item about a Spanish company that plans to turn 3 square miles of Arizona desert into the largest solar power plant in the world. When completed, using the heat of the sun, the plant will produce enough energy to fully power 70,000 homes.

I think of my life, and I am sure yours as well, when what looked like an insurmountable problem is solved by planning, by work, by seeking advice, or it simply looses its urgency and fades away.

A history of a small church in Texas comes to mind. The Church needs much repair, and there are few funds for that, when suddenly one volunteers, then another, and the things grows till the church is entirely renovated, ready for future use and service. What looked impossible, became real.

Life is like that. Does not God makes us rich and sure promises. “I am with you always,” saith the Lord. And ends the promises “even to the ends of the earth.” And it means something, because it is true. May God bless your living under this promise in Christ, our Savior.

GPD 2/25/08
That phrase? The armies of five kings of the Amorites opposed Joshua!