만남, 변화 그리고 행복이 있는 교회

God's glory be praised.

I've heard many times about hikers stranded on a mountain. The temperature drops, and eventually the night comes.  Hikers in these stories are usually unprepared for an event like this. Afterall, it was not meant to be a 3 or 4 day hike. It was a day hiking up and down the montain.
And than the accident happens. Either they slip and hurt their limbs or slips and trapped in a crevice in the mountain.  When the complete darkness is all around, maybe the only light the hiker would see is the start lights or a moonlight. There will come a time when the temperature drops so low the hiker can't even sleep. Half awake and half asleep, shivering to a point when the bones and joints hurt, and hungry or thirsty. I can kind of imagine the fear, lonliness, and helplessness the hiker would go through.  Sun down to to next light, is about 12 hours. But, I am sure those hours felt forever for the hiker. Just like what we feel when we feel stranded, lost and helpless. 

Then, through the corner of the eye, the hiker will see a sign of a light!  First, the hiker will be thankful to be alive. Relieved, waiting for the light to show the sun, and anticipating the warmth.

The past couple of morning, I started jogging. Excercising is a one of a good method to release stress.  Then God revealed a little secret for me.  He revealed that during 40 years in the desert, God provided Mana for His people. They had to get up early in the morning to gather the blessing God sent from heavens, litterally!  They ate the food and went on their daily lives: Heading to the Promise Land.  God loves me so much that he provided 2 type of Mana. Revealation of His love for me and something we take for granted: OXYGEN!  Have you seen football players breathing oxygen during football games? During the game, when the players are not able to aborb the oxygen as much as they can intake from "air", they put on the oxygen mask to breath in oxygen from oxygen tanks. Pure Oxygen.   We all heard plants and trees produce oxygen. During the day, the amount of oxygen produced is constantly absorbed by the air pollutions we create. The quality of oxygen is not as good. However, in the morning after the imbalance blances out, the oxygen "smells" good. It feels concentrated.  It smells even better as light overcomes the darkness and the sun rises above the horizon. I urge you to get up in the morning and go for a walk or a run. As the sun comes up, breath in the oxygen God pepared for you.  See how God's light provides the hope and strength to go on and breath in the pure oxygen to support your day. And then, pray. Thank him for His blessing and His provisions.  You may notice a difference on how you perceive and overcome the "pollutions" we experience from rest of the day. 



David