“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.” Psalm 67:1-3
The weather update last night indicated Hurricane Irma had been upgraded to a Cat 5 and headed west and expected to reach Haiti on Friday. There are close to 2,200 children like this child, who happens to attend the Lutheran school in Ouanaminthe, who will be affected by Irma. Her school in Ouanaminthe is constructed of concrete and will most likely withstand the wind and rain…but not her home. How does her family prepare for Irma? Her family probably doesn’t have excess funds to purchase canned goods, bottles of water and plastic tarps; they pray to their Heavenly Father who always listens and provides. The First Commandment is “You shall have no other gods.” What does that mean? We should fear, love and trust in God above all things. This particular storm may end the lives of many in Haiti and that will be so sad, but our God’s plan is not always our plan. He will be glorified because of His Mercy and Grace in this storm and all of the other ‘little’ storms in our lives will bring Glory to His Holy name. Please pray for this child and the 2,200 kids in our schools in Northern Haiti, their parents, teachers, Pastors, feeding program directors and for all living in the path of this storm in the coming days throughout the Caribbean and the U.S. I close today with the words from the hymn ‘God of Mercy, God of Grace’ that were written by Henry F. Lyte in 1834.
“God of mercy, God of grace, show the brightness of Thy face; shine upon us, Savior, shine, fill Thy church with light divine, and Thy saving health extend unto earth's remotest end. Let the people praise Thee, Lord! Be by all that live adored; let the nations shout and sing Glory to their Savior King, at Thy feet their tribute pay, and Thy holy will obey. Let the people praise Thee, Lord! Earth shall then her fruits afford, God to man His blessing give, man to God devoted live; all below and all above one in joy and light and love.’
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay