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Desperate measures for desperate times
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I have to admit that my first thoughts and responses have been to laugh. On Monday, when the temperature was almost 60 degrees, schools all over the area were canceling for the next day.
When I mentioned that to someone he said to me, “Well, it’s 100 percent that we are going to have a few inches of snow.”
I simply said to him, “It’s a good thing we don’t deal with the predictions of meteorologists in the way that God told his people to deal with false prophets in the Old Testament.”
The fact is that the storm was not as bad here as we thought it might be. Indeed, meteorologists cannot be 100 percent right.
Having lived in the upper Midwest for 14 years, it is a bit amusing that we cancel things so quickly here. And I know, we aren’t properly prepared for bad weather. People here don’t know how to drive in it. There are many dirt roads in our rural areas that are impassible. And we don’t have equipment to clear the roads, nor should we spend the money to get it, given that this kind of thing happens so infrequently.
And I also know that the idea is safety and precaution. We do not want to put anyone, and especially our children, at risk. So I get it. We canceled our Wednesday evening programs at our church. And I’m the one who made the final call.
It is important to be cautious. It is important to be safe. And yet, sometimes I wonder, do we think it is possible to live life without risk? Indeed, is it even desirable?
Think about it. Why do people skydive, bungee jump and participate in any of the X-Games? Is it not for the thrill? Do we not sometimes want to flirt with danger? There is something exciting about living on the edge. We simply do not want to play it safe all the time.
Jesus once said, “In this world you have tribulation …” He was saying to his followers, “It will not always be easy. You will face trials and trouble. You cannot play it safe all the time.” But then he completed his thought by saying, “… but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”
That is our hope today. We will face troubling times, but God is with us. He will not forsake us. He will not leave us alone. We can face trouble because we are never alone. And we never will be.
I do not encourage you to throw caution to the wind and live at risk all the time. But I do remind you of this: Life is not safe; life is not easy. But God is with us. He loves us. And that is enough.

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