Today was one of those interesting days. It started at 6am with a message from our Security Company saying the power (electricity) was off and needed to be checked. From the last Daily Note, you will know we are in the Bush. Although my opposite neighbor has remotes for the gate and the alarm, he does not have keys to enter the house … and it would be cruel to call him so early on a Saturday morning. Whilst I waited for 8am, I received some WhatsApp messages saying a Municipal Sub Station exploded around the corner from us, cutting electricity to a wide area in our suburb. Due to forgetting to bring some items with us, we returned home to collect them around 10am. The power was still off when we left to return to the bush.
I spent time after lunch completing the marriage register and due to the groom being born in another country, I mistakenly entered the other country where I ought to have entered RSA Citizen. My dilemma was the groom and bride had already given me their thumb print. This means I needed to cancel that section of the register and complete another one … but now I needed an ink pad for the thumb prints to be redone. So we needed to make another trip back home to collect the ink pad. Do you believe in the Sovereignty of God? Do you recall that verse from Romans 8?
Ro 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
At home I decided to check the main electrical box. The municipal supply had returned but there was no supply to the house. My eyes fell on the trip switch. It was off. This must have happened when the Sub Station exploded. I put the switch back on … but I needed to reboot the security alarm as the backup battery was totally dead. It meant disconnecting the battery and switching off the electrical plug, then connecting the battery again and switching the power back on so that I could clear the “fault information” from the alarm’s key pad. Now the alarm is ready for use. When we are away, we always use two timers on lamps that switch on in the front and back of the house at different times at night. This is a decoy to give the impression someone is at home. Due to the power being off, these needed to be reset.
It started with making a mistake on the marriage register and needing to redo the thumb prints which required the ink pad. This led to us going back home to collect the ink pad only to find the municipal power on but the trip switch off. Then the alarm needed to be reset together with the timers. Something unmentioned so far is that with the power off, the goods in the fridge and deepfreeze would be ruined. Do you believe in the Sovereignty of God?
We had prayed before we left on Friday and before each trip today. On the way back to the bush, traveling on the N1 north at 110 km, the vehicle in front of me suddenly applied brakes causing me to break urgently. There was no vehicle in front of him. Then he braked bringing his car to a stop! Other vehicles are moving at 120 km and we are in danger. The suddenly this car moves a little and there is a small dog in the second lane. It moves to the right lane (fast lane). Another car stops, no flashing lights. The passenger gets out and another vehicle needed to applied brakes urgently, almost hitting this stopped vehicle’s passenger door. This could have been a nasty accident, especially if it was in the week. As precious as the dog’s life is, having a pile up on the N1 losing one or more human lives through driver negligent is a bad decision!
Consider three brief things for my today’s experience:
First, the Sovereignty of God. Believers must understand that God is Sovereign in every aspect of life is. Praise the Lord for this. He knows everything. He cares and watches over all creation all the time. He has a special eye on His blood washed people. Now, there are times He does not provide a way out because He knows better. But then, like today, He allowed things to pan out the way it did for us. In His economy He always does what is best for us. We may not understand the “what” and the “why” when things happen … but we need to grasp that God is in control … sovereignly so!
Second, resetting your spiritual switch. Like I needed to look further than the main switch in the Distribution Board … I needed to check the circuit breakers and trip switches. So we need to look deeper into our souls at times. We could be lacking spiritual power due to unexpected visits of depression, anxiety and stress. They tend to come when we are working too hard, struggling relationally, experiencing illness or some other uninvited guest. Although in themselves they are not spiritual, they influence our spirituality negatively. We need to look deeper because often these things could sideline us spiritually, affecting our devotional and prayer life, which in turn could negatively influence our morals and behaviour.
Third, great caution is needed as the spiritual road could be dangerous. Just as greater caution ought to have been exercised by the owner of the dog on the N1 and where drivers stop their vehicles, so we ought to be more cautious about our growth and maturity in Christ … for neglect could result in a terrible crash effecting our spiritual stability morally, ethically and behaviourally.
Dear God, thank You that You know me thoroughly and see my every move. I trust You to guide me through this life, protecting me from harm and danger, causing me to keep in step with the Spirit, pleasing You. Amen.