Whatever is good and
perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven's lights. Unlike
them, He never changes or casts shifting shadows" (James 1:17)
It was a
beautiful morning with sun shinning its way through the sky scrapers of Dubai
burning away the mist and fog slowly on its way. Sometimes the fog is so thick
that it threatens to quench the sun.But every morning, the beautiful and
majestic sun does raise above all else and brings along with it, a new day, a
new hope and a new beginning.
Life and its
uncertainties may shake you at the base. My day starts with my routine of daily
household chores that I faithfully do every day striving to keep my house
clean? Everything was same as the previous day except for the occasionally
sharp jolts. I blamed it on my declining glycemic levels and I reminded myself
to have my glass of juice. Then I started feeling weird when I realized it
wasn't my body that was giving me those abrupt jolts but it was the floor on
which I stood. My favorite photos were swaying on the wall and I felt like an
object caught inside a mixer on a pulse mode. When I stood frozen in thoughts
contemplating what I need to do, my phone rang. It was my husband on the other
end.He told me very calmly yet sternly that I need to stay away from those huge
glass windows and when the jolts come to a halt, I need to head to the assembly
point. As I spoke to him, the huge wrought iron chandelier in our living room
started to swing back and forth. It was the creepiest thing I have witnessed
till date, According to my geographic knowledge, Dubai was seldom stricken by
such disaster. It was an earthquake. However, the earthquake was a truth and I
was feeling it so strongly. I felt no particular pain, but, as always, the thought
came into my head, "Is this the BIG one?". With my heart pounding
hard and fast, I ran down the shaky staircase to the assembling area.
The news flashed all
over the country and the services were jammed. It was the longest 20 mins of my
life, as I stood waiting to witness the disaster. It was less than a year since
we moved to Dubai and I couldn't help but miss home and here I was standing in
the middle of the road with hundreds of disoriented and equally confused
strangers surrounded by skyscrapers on every side, threatening to topple on our
heads. Another call from my husband reassured me that it was aftershocks owing
to a high scoring earthquake that originated in Iran. Aftershocks. What was I
thinking? I have a confession to make though. Before heading out to save my
life, I picked my favorite watches and jewelry.
I couldn't help
laughing at the expensive gadgets with lifetime warranty that filled my house.
Not that I thought I will live forever but I lived like and acted like one too.
All the emotions I felt that day, and even the days and weeks and months
afterwards, were just as bad as the first time I felt them.
But it invoked in me
a sense of understanding of God and His ways; something I haven’t sensed quite
the same way as I did that day. Grass, roses and lilies-the winds blows them
all away In Scripture, we read, The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the
word of our God endures forever. In a world that is constantly trying to
persuade us to put our trust in that which fades away, what might it mean to
trust in God and his words, which never fades?
The simple answer is
you can trust the man who died for you. If you cannot trust him whom can you
trust. His words are an everlasting covenant and according me it is an
everlasting consolation in a world that is constantly changing. His words of
certainty form the foundation of our faith and consolation that if we choose to
believe in it, we do have a definite future even if our present circumstances
may seem overwhelming and our hearts cry seem unanswered. He knows how frail we
are in mind and body like the grass. Unaware of this binding truth and in the
frailty of the flesh we attempt many things in our lives that are utterly
impossible and wonder why we fail so miserably. The things that seem stable,
really aren’t This world, and everything in it, aren’t near as permanent as
they feel.
Every kingdom, ruler
and everything in this world can be shaken.God has perhaps designed it this way
to make our hearts constantly search for him and put our trust in the one thing
that never changes “The rock of ages”. God is the same yesterday, today and
forever.He abides in our past, present and future. He is not under any
constraint of Time which is but a human invention. “On Christ the solid rock I
stand, all other ground is sinking sand”
Love, Judith Joshua
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