Pastor's Column 10/27/2024

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“Then the Lord shut him in.” Genesis 7:16b, NIV

 “What He opens, no one can shut, and what He can shut, no one can open.” Revelation 3:7b, KJV

“God’s Great Assurance!”

In this life we need look for no other protection than our God. The fears we have within and the calamities we face cannot destroy us when God shields us from danger. David said our God is a “present help in time of trouble.” This means, God does not abandon us when we’re confronted with onerous challenges. Many of the problems we face as humans are attributed to our missteps, failures, and sins. The “tangled webs we weave,” will soon trip us as we try to press our way through life. God looking at the failure of the human family He created; lamented for a moment, that He had ever created them. It was the divine mercy of God that He instructed Noah to build an Ark that would ensure safety for his family from ecological disaster which would be caused by torrential rains and flooding that covered the earth. We see throughout the Scripture while God never condones sin; a way is found for us to become reconciled back to the Creator.  When God’s judgment called for purging the earth of its inhabitants and animals, the Ark became both a sanctuary of safety and a symbol of God’s grace. Noah, his family, and the designated animals were to secure shelter in the Ark. We note with the impending wrath upon the earth; once Noah’s group entered the Ark, “God shut them in.” They were not as sequestered as they were safe. No amount of human strength or nature could open that door. God’s lock on the door saved their lives. There are moments God will put a lock on our movement, because He’s preparing us for something new and different. When the Ark rested on Mt. Ararat 371 days after Noah and his family were locked in, they stepped on cleansed land, and were given a new covenant with God. We need to be reminded that whatever our fate, God is in control. The ancient church in Philadelphia was told in John’s vision, “What [God] opens no one can shut, and what He can shut no one can open.”  This is God’s true and great assurance!