Advent Devotional

Isaiah 54: 9-10

GOD’S PROMISES REIGN

I have always wondered if it is mere coincidence that Noah of the Old Testament and N.O.A.A. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) are homonyms. Here in Atlanta, weather we’ve got! This time last year, we were caught up in an extreme drought. Remember how we drove around in dirty cars with pride and used our captured shower water to flush toilets and water plants?

So many forecasts this fall were for rain, maybe four inches in 24 hours, and, frankly, we were nervous. Communities in and around Atlanta experienced the worst flood in memory! We are still recovering from and grieving over the Great Atlanta Flood of 2009, when many of us clung to the promises God made to Noah, recalled in these verses from Isaiah.

Let us always remember God’s promises to us: Despite tsunamis and floods strong enough to move mountains, God promises safety in the everlasting arms; over the chaos and isolation we experience in our deepest being comes the peace of Christ; in sickness and even death, God heals and comforts us. We don’t understand how, but somehow, God is with us, no matter what.

PRAYER: Our God, whose giving knows no ending, thank you for our lives, our earth, and each other. Please give us the will to take care of these gifts from your rich and endless store — appreciating every day in and of itself, treasuring your water and land, and watching for your likeness in each other. Amen.

Sherrill Terry