An Extra Hour

Thursday, August 24, 2023

On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”  So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.  Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar?  The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day.  There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day!  Joshua 10:12-14

If you have ever found yourself wishing for an extra hour in the day, because you haven't had enough time to "do it all" this is for you!

The day started with my phone losing its mind. It was supposed to awaken me at 5:30 am so I could get to my VA doctor’s appointment on time, but when I opened my eyes at 6:15 the phone was still in its own stupor!  Great....starting the day 45 minutes behind!  Getting dressed quickly, I ruminated on how my phone must be listed somewhere in the Bible’s “begets” of Hell’s spawn.

One other “proof” of how useless my mobile phone has become is the choice it makes, based on algorithms which ignore my needs, in favor of the desires of roughly 14-gazillion companies double-checking the expiration date of my car’s warranty.  One of those fascinating (but totally sinister) algorithmic choices also totally ignores the fact that I need my calendar to awaken me to the reality that my frenzy of activity to get to the VA for an 8:40 appointment, is silly, considering the appointment is an hour later at 9:40…a fact I totally missed, because the said appointment was for the eye doctor, because I am half-blind!

In frenzy-mode, I forgot that a careless placement of my coffee travel-mug on my car’s rooftop, coupled with a hasty “plop” of my overweight carcass in the driver’s seat means my mug-full-of-steaming-hot-Green Mountain Dark Magic coffee will wobble off the car roof and splatter all over my garage floor.  There’s no app or algorithm in the world that can cope with the stain on both my cement garage floor (which now must be painted, as Elizabeth always wanted), and my broken heart, having to face a 30-minute dash to the VA with zero-caffeine in my blood!

When I arrived at the VA and checked-in, the receptionist smiled, and said:  My, you’re early!  It was then I realized the calendar was right, and I had an extra hour to wait, be still, and know my hurrying had been in vain.  But all was not lost…in the VA lobby, stands a Starbucks, testament to the fact that our government leaders really do have a heart.  I reclaimed my lost Green Mountain Dark Magic, and sat in a space overlooking the parking lot to contemplate my madness in silence.  During the next hour I resisted opening my algorithm-driven demonic device, and used the time to be still, chill, pray, and sip my over-priced Folgers.  Within a few moments an elderly lady sat down at the lobby piano and played a lovely hymn.  And my blood pressure returned to normal (for me).  I managed to have enough presence of mind to thank God for that lovely, calming hour’s interlude, and soon was lost in praying for each of you, as the Lord brought you and your needs to mind.  Part of God’s answer to my prayer was when he spoke to my heart:   Russell, do you understand now, how you, getting up early, all worried and coming apart at the seams, when I wanted you to have an extra hour's rest for your weary bones and spirit, is a blight on the day’s journey?  I could only smile and nod an apology…He knows me well, without an algorithm.

For You Today 

Like Joshua, you can trust God for whatever extra hour he wants to build into your day; it will be the best hour of the day.  

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library. 

Title Image:  Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

When the Elephant Goes on a Rampage

[1] 

Thursday, January 23, 2020

The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?  The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?  When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.  Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid.  Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.  The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.  For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary.  He will place me out of reach on a high rock.  Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me.  At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music.  Psalm 27:1-6

In 2007 I took a little trip with a group of Baptists, Methodists, and Assembly of God folks to Zimbabwe, Africa.  Our mission was to teach End Times theology to pastors in a seminary, build a building in 10 days for future students, and (in our spare time) hold a Vacation Bible School for 150 kids in 110^◦ heat.  I learned a lot in that 10-day adventure, particularly about dealing with adversity.  On that trip I met people whose daily tasks were dictated by whether there would be food somewhere in the coming week.  When you live in American culture, adversity is only having a 4G network.  By the end of the week I was feeling guilty about missing the comforts of my home when my new friends were grateful just to have a roof over their school building to shade them from the relentless midday sun.

We got one day being tourists; we got to ride in an open, jeep-like vehicle for a mini-safari into the bush.  Seeing wildlife in the wild is spectacular!  Our ride through the African plains to an engedi of a watering-hole was surreal. 

On that little excursion I learned something very important to the life of following Jesus as a disciple when we were threatened by a beast that could have squashed our huge jeep wagon and the dozen occupants without even breaking a sweat.

The elephant blocked our pathway through the brush as we were headed towards the oasis/watering hole…not quite a lake really, more like a mudhole.  But that elephant considered it his mudhole, and he stood firmly unmovable, ready to defend his home and herd.  We hadn’t seen him until we only 20 feet away.  Suddenly being nose to trunk with a 10-foot tall, ten-ton behemoth with an attitude, our guide stopped the vehicle and said in a low, steady voice:  be very quiet and still[2].  I had no problem with that; my legs wouldn’t have moved if you beat me with a baseball bat!

After several looks at us with eyes that resembled something I’ve seen on a tv show about zombies and devils, the mountain of grey with a tail at both ends snorted and lumbered off, leaving a dozen American sets of eyes frozen open in disbelief at how fragile our lives were…and how calmly our African host remained when borderline rage was staring us down, and fear had imprisoned his passengers.

That was the first time I’d connected the dots with King David’s Psalm, and how, if attacked (or even just threatened), he would remain confident.  Perhaps this confidence grew from years of being protected in the wilderness from bears and lions as he protected the sheep he was tending.  David understood the power of his God to keep him, no matter the circumstances. 

There is a difference between presenting a confident image for others to see, as opposed to having a non-anxious spirit because you’ve entrusted your life, past, present, and future, to the God nobody sees.  David could rest his spirit in the presence of the Lord, because that presence was always there. 

For You Today

When you’ve lived long enough and sinned big enough to know how much you are in need of God’s forgiveness, providence, and protection, like David, you’ve probably discovered God’s been doing that for you since long before you even suspected it!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image:   Russell Brownworth (original photograph)    Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

[2] See Psalm 46:10