United Church of God

Letter From Dan Dowd - November 8, 2019

Letter From Dan Dowd

November 8, 2019

Sabbath Thought - Lights Out

We live in such a connected world that we take many things for granted.  Our cell phones keep getting smarter and provide us with such convenience.  We have the internet at our fingertips and with that we have access to unprecedented knowledge.  We have all manner of electronics that have simplified our lives.  It is all wonderful - until it doesn't work.  When the internet goes down our day can change in a lot of ways.  We can't email, we might not be able to make a phone call, streaming TV doesn't work, internet based apps or programs are inaccessible, smart home devices shut down, and we are at a loss not being able to work around it.  Have you ever had this happen to you?

What else might we take for granted because of the age we live in?  Do we appreciate the access we have to fresh food?  We can buy and eat things that are not in season, we can eat exotic food from far flung areas of the world, and we have access to so much.  What would you do if the delivery trucks didn't show up one week?  What about basic transportation, or the level of health we have compared to just a handful of decades ago, or simply electricity?

On November 9, 1965 at 5:16pm chaos enveloped the eastern seaboard of the U.S. along with portions of southern Canada.  An overload contact shut off power headed north into Canada from the Niagara Falls power station.  It was a simple oversight that caused the contact to turn off.  The safety level at which the contact would shut off power was set two years earlier, but power demand had risen and the shut off level was never adjusted.  So, power demand rose high enough that day and the overload circuit did its job.  The problem was that electrical grids are all interconnected.  They share power when local demand is not high, and draw from other grids when demand is high.  Once the Niagara Falls circuit shut off, a cascade of other overload circuit breakers began to shut off to prevent overload on their local systems.  Within 12 minutes, more than 30 million people in 80,000 square miles of one of the most highly industrialized, densely populated areas of the world were suddenly without electricity.  It took more than 13 hours to restore power within this area.

Do we take God for granted?  Do we at times view God as a type of cosmic ATM that if we punch the right combination of buttons He is required to do or provide what we want?  Do we take for granted the blessings He does give us as we obey and live in His law?  Do we take for granted the spiritual understanding He gives to us through His Holy Spirit?  Do we remember the times He has delivered us from harm or prevented it from happening to us?  Do we value the times He has healed us, or answered our prayers?  Do we see the protection He gives us as we live in this Satanic world?

What would we do if God suddenly shut Himself off from us?  The simple answer is that we would cease to exist.  On a more day-to-day level, we would be exposed to the spiritual weapons Satan throws at us.  The deeply reassuring reality is that God has promised He would never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5, quoting from Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 and Joshua 1:5).  God's character is such that He cannot lie (Titus 1:2) so His promises are something we can depend upon.

God tells us that His thoughts toward us are of the future He desires for us to have (Jeremiah 29:11).  He tells us that He will withhold no good things from us (Psalm 84:11).  He desires for us to have the abundant life of being in His family (John 10:10).  He forgives our sins and remembers them no more (Hebrews 8:12).  He is our protector and deliverer (Psalm 91).  He promises to heal us (Exodus 15:26) and to give us His rest (Matthew 11:28-30).

In a world of such conveniences, it is hard for us to imagine the things God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9), but we also have from God a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).  Because of that, we don't need to be anxious for anything (Philippians 4:6) - God will always be there for us.

I wish you a wonderful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

8 November, 2019