Acts of God

July 16, 2007

Most every day when I drive around on errands I have to go over a bridge from my where I live in Jenks to Tulsa. This bridge goes over the mighty Arkansas River. Most of the time it is not mighty, it is just a little trickle that goes through and a lot of sand. The reason for this is that the government dammed up the river to control flooding, and to make a nice lake for people to have recreation at. Before that dam went up, the Arkansas River would overflow its banks quite regularly. We have had a lot of rain in Oklahoma recently. Without the dam there, the house I live in might be under some water now. The lake now holds what would be flood water and it gets let out as needed in amounts that the river can handle. In fact, the river is close to its banks right now.

Without that dam, this area would flood. Any one who bought the land I live on could expect it to flood. It would be a stupid thing to do. We see a lot of that in the world today. People live in flood prone areas, or areas that will get hit with hurricanes, and other weather problems. And what do they call it when these problems? They are called 'acts of God'. I guess things have not changed much in thousands of years. The writer of proverbs has this little bit of information:


Prov. 19:3 (Message)
People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed?


Why do we blame God if we want to live in an area that might flood or have other problems. It is our choice to do so of our own free will.

Are things much different in our every day life? Do you read your Bible or watch the latest repeat of some TV show. Do you listen to 'praise and worship' as you drive your car or listen to the latest pop songs or talk radio? I remember a preacher telling me a few years ago, 'when the problems hit, know that episode of Gunsmoke is not going to help you at all'. I am not saying that you should not do any of these things, but do we know what is important in life?

When the problems hit, are you going to call it an 'act of God' or are you going to act on what God tells you to do'?