The power of POWER

{Side Note: I was going to post something else today (something silly I'll have to share later) and realized I had a few drafts saved that I've never posted....not quite sure what I was waiting for.  I wrote this particular one sometime in March after the Japan earthquake.}

It's terrifying and heartbreaking to listen to the news these days. Currently the world has their eyes on Japan as they deal with the aftermath of a 9.0 earthquake, the tsunami, and now the threat of nuclear catastrophe.  As I was watching the events unfold on TV, tears began to well as they showed images of people and their lives washed instantly away with one shake of the earth and one wave of the sea. Powerful.

Nature is powerful and with these events we get jolted into remembering just how destructive and powerful its forces can be.  Just look at all the craziness planet earth has experienced in the past 10 years, the numerous earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, and so on.  But somehow I compartmentalize these massive powers of nature as something different or more than what the Lords power is....

Recently I was having dinner with a high schooler and she was telling me about some high school drama, and after suggesting prayer as a step to changing her situation, she said, "I don't see how God could possibly change all this and make things better." I instantly thought, "Seriously!?! You don't think God, the ruler and creator of the universe, could change this teeny tiny little problem you're having in school."  Thankfully I didn't say that out loud.

The truth is, I am guilty of thinking exactly the way she does.  I feel like with certain situations, I've gotten to a point where they feel so hopeless, that I don't see how God could possibly change things .....and as a result I stop praying about it.  And if I'm not asking, it's because I don't really believe that He can change things.  Then you see the stories about Japan, and Haiti, and Katrina, and so on and so forth. And you realize the wielding and unyielding power that God possesses.

Just how powerful do I really believe is God's power?  If I believe He's powerful enough to control these events in nature, why do I keep doubting and living like He's not powerful enough to change me, my sins, or my life.

Just as I chuckled when my high schooler was telling me about her woes, I have to believe that God is chuckling quite a bit at silly old me and my woes as well.