FollowBy Dan Amos
We’re closing in on three decades since we moved to Puyallup for my assignment at McChord Air Force Base. My job as an Air Force officer was to lead a team that provided support and the information necessary for the aircrews flying the big transport jets to do their jobs and safely return home. Safety has always been the mantra; active airfields are strictly controlled, and no one moves about freely. So, I was shocked by the images of a C-17 driving through the crowd at the Kabul airport with men clinging to the body of the aircraft. It was chaos and there was no control. Some of those men refused to let go and held on until they fell to their deaths. I never imagined that scenario. Never. But that is only one of several things I’ve seen in the last year that continually cause me to ponder the uncertainty of tomorrow and what I can trust.
A couple of weeks ago I went into a store intending to buy a bag of shredded lettuce. I walked into the large refrigerator section that is lined with shelves and usually has pallets of produce in the center. It was nearly empty. Many of the shelves throughout the store were empty. Last year, we all probably experienced the lack of availability of toilet paper, cleaning products, and sanitizer. I saw my retirement fund plummet. I was fortunate to continue working but have done so from home. These are new experiences in my American life, not new to many or even most in this world, but new to me here on South Hill.
At the end of May, we took a drive up to Paradise on Mt Rainier. We hadn’t been to the park in years. The snow was still deeper than our car and it was falling so much that we didn’t get out because we weren’t prepared for it. Again, I was shocked when I saw our beautiful mountain recently and it was brown and rocky, more exposed than I’ve ever seen it.
Every generation must have their “shocking” moments. I grew up with the threat of nuclear annihilation and imagined how that would bring about the end of the world. I can’t say I’m prepared to physically respond to the unknown. Everything in this world is temporary and I don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
Many of you have heard me talk of this before, but going into my second round of unemployment, I did not know if I would find a job. I didn’t know if I would keep the house or feed my family, but I was absolutely certain that God would see us through to the completion of His perfect will.
He has told us of His provision for us in the lives of Moses, the three men in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lions’ den, Ruth and Naomi, and hundreds more. We like those stories because they survived and thrived, but even Stephen as he was being crushed by stones from the mob was not abandoned by God, but was together with Him then and forever.
These are not just stories. They are foundational to who we are. Ryan asked at our last elder meeting what each of us envisioned for Elim. I answered that I long to see Elim be a place of a people set apart from the world. A place of ordinary people empowered by an extraordinary God, those who have the answer for the uncertainty and trials this fallen world brings. Our God has never not been in control. Sin has marred His creation, but through Jesus we have the answer to the ultimate victory over all tribulations. People are scared and angry and frustrated by COVID and life. We must be different. We must live into the promise of Jesus. That is how we are an oasis, a light on a hill. We are a gathering of diverse believers with the common faith in the One who is in control. That is the answer for those who are scared and unsure.
Sunday, we sang “Morning by Morning” by Pat Barrett:
All fear be reminded
My future is secure
My Father has spoken
And He keeps His every word
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