"Life is Spontaneous -- in God!"

Photo: Real Clouds form the Hand of God ...

by Pastor Jess Foglesong

May God’s presence comfort you in your day to day endeavors and situations. His presence is confirmed by His light. Just as He promised the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness. He said I will be “with you” no matter what; and I will provide you with food daily -- in the form of “manna” … and it became automatic: every morning for 40 years (during an entire generation) God provided this very special food. And the chosen people of God were grateful -- at least for the most part …

And as I stated: it became expected (or spontaneous) for the Manna to be there in the morning. God had stated to them in a covenant, to trust who He was: their Provider and Protector, for as long as they followed the established laws that were put in place. Within the law, there was order and peace. Outside the law was chaos and death. And so the children of Israel, technically, had to be the “role models” for all of humanity. God, came down to earth and chose a group of people and in a way counted on them to fulfill a broken law. Not an easy task for a stubborn and restless bunch.

And food and water were not a problem as the 12 Tribes of Israel meandered through the desolate desert. And I often wonder, of all the things that we -- the people of today -- take for granted.

We take for granted that the Sun will rise in the east every morning. And that there will always be Stars in the evening sky (weather permitting, of course). And how about the seasons? We take it for granted that winter will arrive and some of the trees will drop their leaves; and there will be a Springtime, Summer and Autumn. It’s spontaneous; it’s expected. What about a baby? A mother is pregnant for nine months and naturally she is careful during those months, not to aggravate the situation, stay in good health, etc., but really pregnancy is also -- automatic. Even the birth of the infant: whether you like it or not, it will be born. And surely it is advantageous to have a doctor there to manage the wonderful event; but again, it is (generally) a spontaneous transformation.

When you cut yourself: blood naturally start to flow to the wound opening, and you may or may not cover the wound to stop the bleeding. But really even if you did not cover it with a gauze, the bleeding would eventually stop automatically due to coagulation of the blood. And in turn the healing process automatically begins as the white blood cells rush to the area, while the anti-bodies attack the invasion of germs -- and before you know it, in just a few days the wound automatically disappears.

Plant life are plentiful and automatically flourish in just about all parts of the earth. You go to the store and buy seed or a bulb, or even a small plant; take it home and dig a hole in the ground, and place them just a few inches below; give it a little water and in just a few days -- automatically -- a stem or plant or flower emerges … and sometimes a thing of beauty blossoms. It is the mystery of life! The wonder of life!

God is Dynamic! He puts into place, within nature; within all of matter and the physical properties of this earth and universe, an automatic system that helps us and protects us from the “Chaos” of life.

Unfortunately, life is not perfect. There are times in nature (just as in things that are made by man) that have flaws; and therefore the automatic process flounders: Cancer, Alzheimer, malformations, SIDS infant death, and so many diseases. And as well, we wishfully would always want pleasant weather, but instead we have the flaws of nature: hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes.

God cannot protect us in every aspect of life. But His “Spontaneous system” certainly diminishes the hardship and turmoil. His simple presence, His “light” alone pushes away the darkness that ever constantly encroaches all around us -- everywhere. The dark forces of evil hover close by, wanting to devour us and send us into oblivion … but only God (our Father and Creator) stands in their way: shrouding us, holding us up, keeping us safe.  And within God’s plans and purposes: the complete annihilation of those forces is certain -- as we make our way home to our eternal place of residence: the New Jerusalem -- coming out of the wilderness, and finding the Land of Milk and Honey: the Kingdom of God.