I'd rather be dependent than independent

On this day of independence celebration, I celebrate my utter dependence upon a God who saves and delivers.

Friday morning I read Psalm 31 in which Israel’s shepherd-king David wrote, “My times are in your hands.” That night just before midnight as my husband and I drove into a sudden downpour on Monument Hill just north of Colorado Springs, those words came back to me again.

Forward movement on a watery roadway can result in hydroplaning which can lead to fish-tailing that can throw a moving vehicle into a vicious spin – much like the tea-cup ride at the carnival, but without the connecting support.

“My times are in Your hands.”

What else but the hands of God could have kept us secure as we spun across I-25, took out a sign post and shot through an opening that just happened to be right there in the guard rail? What else could have sent us into the median rather than off the embankment on the edge of the highway? What else could have kept us from colliding with other cars on the interstate, and helped us out of our own, shaken but safe when it was totaled?

“My times are in Your hands.”

There is peace in the true, unfailing Word of God.

But had we opened our eyes to look into the face of Jesus – a thought I carried with me as we spun – we would have known even more than we know now the truth of His unfailing love.

Thank God that I can depend upon a savior who saves. Thank God for His faithfulness and help and healing. Thank God that I am not alone on a highway in the middle of a rainy night, for He is with me.

My times are in His hands.

The Tomb

Dead.

Dead and gone.

Gone where? Gone?

He is not here, but is risen!

Alive!

John and Peter saw the evidence – grave clothes without a body in them.

Mary saw him alive and thought he was someone else – until he spoke her name.

And later he spoke to all the disciples. They saw the wounds of nail and spear, felt his smile, breathed his peace, and realized he had conquered death.

They would not have risked their reputations for a hoax.

They would not have risked their lives for a fable.

They could not have risked the faith of their Jewish forefathers for anything less than the promised Messiah, the risen savior of all who believe.

Jesus lives and so can we. Death is not the final word. Death does not win!

If.

If we take Jesus at his word.

If we believe him.

Believe and live.

Live!


John 20:1-20, The Holy Bible