Labor Day with God's Protection...

Did you know that the Labor Day holiday that we here in America celebrate today has it beginnings back in 1885 and 1886 when municipal ordinances were first passed to honor the contributions of labor in our country.  Specifically, “Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”*

In other words… this holiday is all about you and me, and all the hard work we have accomplished throughout our lives!  So, not only do we get a paycheck for the work we do but we also get a day off in honor of that labor!  Are any of you doing anything special today?  I was going to mow the front lawn (which is actually larger than our backyard) but I decided that since it was a holiday, that I would just take the day off and mow the lawn tomorrow instead… But not before I sent out a little word of encouragement to all of you who faithfully follow our blog!

I am usually a pretty “up” person, but I found myself beginning to fight some despair after reading all the negative articles in the news on last Friday morning.  You know… I didn’t find one single article where the media said anything positive about the President’s handling of the tragic events in Texas, or of his recent visit to the state.  But the clincher was the article that supposedly was explaining the truth behind some of the Christian beliefs that my wife and I hold dear to our hearts and live out on a daily basis.

The further along I got in the article the more my eyes widened and my mouth opened!  To put it bluntly, I have no idea where the reporter got the information.  It was totally bogus!  I would imagine that the writer simply pulled some other incorrect information off the internet and did not think it reasonable to proof check the facts.  It was obvious that they didn’t talk to anyone who had some personal knowledge of the tenets of faith that they were addressing.  Having studied under many of the men of God that were mentioned in the article and personally witnessed the excellence of their lives over the years, I could only shake my head in disbelief at the supposed “facts” I was reading and wonder what other malarkey would appear next in the news!

But later that day some events occurred that made me feel some sympathy for the writer of the articles and the readers who lap up such lies toward the truth they do not and cannot understand.

As the afternoon began to wind down, the sky began to fill with clouds that kept turning darker and darker and suddenly it was as if night had come.  I don’t think I could ever recall an incoming storm that turned the daylight to darkness so rapidly!  Then it was as if the heavens opened up and it began to pour.  After a few moments of the rain beating down on the deck out back, the noise seemed to move from the deck to the roof when it sounded like we were under attack!

I was in the kitchen at the time and moved quickly into the dining room where my wife and the dog were sitting… Well, the dog wasn’t sitting anymore but had stood straight up with the look in his eyes saying it all!  My eyes went from the dog to the sliding glass window and the back yard where I witnessed golf ball size hail deflecting wildly off the deck, grass and occasionally bouncing sideways off the glass door.  To be honest it was kind of cool!  We had experienced this type of weather events while living in Oklahoma, so it wasn’t a real surprise for us.  Not to say that it doesn’t give one some concern, especially when hail that size slams into the windows.  I was quite thankful that the car was in the garage.

The thunderstorm cell lasted for a fair amount of time as it blew by, giving me opportunity to turn on the local ABC news radio station out of Raleigh that always broadcasts moment by moment updates of any extreme weather events.  Let me tell you that those folks were very busy with all the changing reports that were coming in.  Then through all the noise of the storm my phone began to sound the screech of the alarm of a tornado warning in our area!  So I grabbed Piper’s medicines and a few other supplies that I keep handy for cases like that and prepared to move us all into the inner bathroom in the house…

Well, to make a not too long story shorter, with a happy ending… everything passed us by with no damage to us or our property, nor did I see any noticeable incidents with any of our neighbors.  There was a sighting of a tornado touching down in the little town of Angiers a few miles east of us with the only damage being to trees, although some residents there as well as in Fuquay-Varina immediately north of us, reported dented cars and a few broken windows in both cars and some houses due to the hail.

I can’t say that there weren’t a few times when concern slipped in during the midst of the storm, but throughout the event I was continually reminded of God’s protection scriptures for us.  I mentioned to our daughter Jamie who lives near us and with whom I was texting the whole time, that it was at times like this that I am so grateful that Piper had us all memorize Psalm 91 years ago!  I kept finding that now familiar Psalm and in particular verse ten where it declares “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” coming out of my mouth in the midst of the hail banging on the roof and against the windows, the roar and shaking of thunder and the flashes of bright light from the lightning that lit up the darkness surrounding us. 

After the storm cell had passed by and the light of the early evening sun began to reemerge a few hours later, I thought about what had just happened in reference to the frustration that I had been feeling earlier in the day due to the news articles I had read.  And you know, those articles and false information just didn’t seem as important anymore.  Through the storm, the Lord once again proved that He is taking good care of us!  It really doesn’t matter what those in the world may try to say about the truths we hold near and dear, and what we know to be the truth of God’s Word. 

On Saturday morning I read from 2 Corinthians 5:17 where the Apostle tells us that “Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.” (God’s Word ©)  And with that information, I had to laugh as it became clear once again that those without Christ do not have the ability to explain, much less understand what Christians believe and live for.  The term “new creation” is defined in Thayer’s Greek Definitions as being “in substance: a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, and unheard of.”

You and I as Christians are a totally new being.  Our ways are very uncommon to the way those without Christ think and act.  Our responses to the events of life to most of society, is simply unheard of!  No wonder the writer of that article I read completely missed it.  It is kind of difficult to explain something that is brand new, within the parameters of the old.

But when push comes to shove, when the storms of life come upon us, we have something to guide and protect us that the world knows NOTHING about.  So can I put up with the false narrative that is being published in the news?  SURE… because I know and have the privilege of living by and under the wisdom, protection and love of the Father and the truth and power of His Word.  Kinda cool, wouldn’t you say?

Have a great Labor Day today, and as you celebrate and enjoy the fruit of your labors, keep asking yourself… “When the storms of life hit, WHO am I expecting to watch over me?”

*https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history