The other day I got bombed. It scared me half to death. Fortunately, I recovered quickly enough that I kept the truck on the road. It did take me a moment or two, however, to figure out exactly what had happened.
As I was driving along on this beautiful day, I was also admiring a flock of Canada geese soaring in their V-shaped pattern high above me. As they passed overhead, the bomb exploded against the driver’s side windshield. Have you guessed it yet? That’s right: one of those same Canada geese dropped a great big messy, gooey, green-and-white bomb directly onto my vehicle. I was amazed at the size of the bomb as well as the intensity at which it hit the glass. Thank goodness for the strength and safety of vehicle windshields.
Life has a way of dropping bombs on all of us. We never know from one day to the next just what may come. Sometimes, in our minds, it’s a big bomb, atomic-sized. Other days, it’s just a Roman candle, a firecracker type of explosion. The one thing that we can know, though, is that to live is to experience the bombings of life. The important thing that I have learned to remember, however, is not to panic when they hit. As the famous British slogan states, Keep calm and carry on. These are words that, as Christians, we are definitely able to take to heart and embrace, for Christ is in control. We may not know why the situation has occurred. We may not even know just what to do about the circumstance. But we can know that He does know, and He will guide and direct, comfort and encourage us as we stay calm and carry on in His strength, not our own.
When the disciples encountered the bomb of a violent storm while they were in a boat with Jesus, they learned something very important: even the winds and the waves obey Him. Nothing was too much for Jesus to handle — not then — and not now!
What bomb of life are you experiencing right now? How are you handling it — with panic, or with peace? Know that amidst it all, Jesus is in control.
Prayer: Lord God, none of us likes to experience the various bombings of this life. Help us to remember that amidst it all, You are with us and in control of our circumstances. Show us the best way to proceed as we stay calm and carry on with trust in You. In Christ’s name, we ask. Amen.
Lynne Phipps Atlin, British Columbia, Canada