Recalls, Recalls, how could a 2008 Camry driver have peace behind the wheel knowing that any second the gas pedal could stick?
The way automotive engineers used to explain it to us was, “You know we engineered the problem in so, we can engineer it out.”
Well one cool thing about God, is how he engineered us to recognize when things are right verses when they are out of kilter. One of the truly great books is, A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller. To apply a bit of his book; let’s take a look at God’s engineering through one line of the 23rd Psalm. The second verse, “He leads me beside still waters.” God engineered sheep so that fast running water terrifies them. That’s pretty neat when you think about it. If you’re a sheep with that big heavy wool coat, then falling in a fast moving stream may be fatal. So a good shepherd knows that a sheep will die of thirst before he drinks from a fast moving stream, so he “leads them beside the still waters”. Then think about this; God leads us by the “Living Water” slow enough that we can get a drink.
Chances are God engineered you to be terrified of something as well, in my case, fear of the dark. At six foot five and two hundred fifty pounds you wouldn’t think it, but my wife would tell you that for years if I herd a noise downstairs, I would send her. As my producer said, “Man up, Robby”. Well, what can I say, but that was the way God engineered me originally. So maybe I needed to be Recalled, well yes in a way.
One night it all came to a head, my wife was out of town and we lived in a particularly dark and creepy old house, rain, lighting, you get the picture, in my case, pure terror. Having just begun my walk with Christ I had herd that we were supposed to lay our fears at his feet and I was more than ready to oblige.
So I remember praying, “Lord I don’t know how, but I would really like to give You this fear.”
Surprisingly, God answered me, (which had me even more scared). “Robby, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”
“Someone could walk in here with a knife and whack, thump, bash, hit, gouge!” I said very animatedly.
Then God said the words that literally changed my life, “Robby, what would be so bad about that?”
For the first time in my life I thought about my own death as a Christian and that I would get to see His Face. Why, I had never thought of that, that, “to die was gain”. A year later when I faced a cancer diagnosis I had a different view of death that I know made a big difference in my recovery. I truly believe that God engineered me with that fear of the dark for the purpose of teaching me about death when he Recalled me that night in the creepy house.
So whether you’re driving a 2008 Camry or you’re afraid of the dark there is no peace, shalom you might say in the Hebrew. Do you have shalom, do you need to be recalled?
Our Pastor shared something about the word shalom last Sunday that I couldn’t get out of my mind all week. He said the word really means completed in God’s covenant way.
So I went and did a study on the word as soon as I got home. Here is the Blue Letter Bible’s Outline of Biblical Usage for the word “Shalom”
completeness (in number)
safety, soundness (in body)
welfare, health, prosperity
peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment
peace, friendship
of human relationships
with God especially in covenant relationship
The first place you find shalom in the Bible; Gen 15:15 “But you will go to your fathers in shalom. You will be buried in a good old age.”
This was God’s Covenant with Abraham, His friend. I got to thinking, wow, maybe Jesus meant that as his last words from the cross…since the word shalom means completed in God’s covenant relationship. Remember when Jesus said, “It is Finished” from the cross, something to think about.
Can you tell God engineered us with sort of gut feeling of shalom or not shalom? Do you have that feeling something is missing in your life. Chances are you need to be recalled.
Think about God’s peace and how can anyone be complete without Jesus.
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Imagine your on you way down that steep mountain Grade you see your speed edging up and a big curve at the bottom, you push on the brake pedal and it goes to the floor. What do you do? Or you’re headed for that curve and the steering locks, what now?
