The Flood

Recently Calgary, Alberta and the region surrounding this city, experienced a devastating flood.  It is estimated that the cost of this destruction will hit the Alberta government to the tune of 5 billion dollars.  Just for perspective--if a person earned 45,000 dollars per year, and was able to put all of that toward this bill, it would take over 110,000 years to pay it off!

This was a flood that created a 'flood' of chaos and suffering.

People share experiences of how the water invaded their homes and as the levels subsided, left behind a thick layer of sludge throughout.  People who tried to clean up were frustrated by the obstinate mess and the mold that quickly set in.  Others gave up and just walked away.

Not a pretty site. . . . .but a telling one.

This week I have felt a heaviness on my heart--one that is generally unnamed but very real.  I tried to figure out what was going on and came up with a few things that made sense.  But try as I may, I couldn't fix it--I couldn't clean up the mess of this little 'flood' that was in there.  The walls were smudged and I couldn't clean them on my own.  And part of me was a bit tempted to just walk away. . .

But instead I went to Jesus and I expressed to Him how I was frustrated at my own weakness and how powerless I was to do anything to change things.  This was no polished prayer, but really just a guy who asked Jesus for some help.  And a beautiful thing happened.

As I was sitting at my desk in the office, thinking about all of this--the flood in Alberta, the 'flood' in my heart, my frustration and really just the daily things in life. . .I realized that the weight had lifted off of me and I felt free!  Jesus heard me and He stepped in and cleaned house in a way that was subtle, no massive cleaning crews or fanfare, just the humble work of the Healer doing His thing.

I think Jesus is so cool.

But Jesus didn't just want me to be healed, He also wants me to grow in my faith for future 'floods'.  In Psalm 30:2 it says "O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me."  This is a true statement that now is true once again in my experience which deepens my trust in Him.

Now I know that I will need many more reminders, and I will go through many more 'floods', some of which will be much, much bigger than this one--but I'm still grateful that Jesus cares about them all, and is able to address each and every one.

Jesus, if anyone reading this is stuck in a flood, step in and bring the cleaning that only you can do.  Thank you my good Friend.

BT