I’m writing this during a thunderstorm on Thursday evening.  And the major thought running through my mind is, “I sure hope we don’t lose power!”   “What if the A/C goes out!?”

I have to admit—the first idea that strikes me in this moment is not a sense of wonder at the awesome power of the God who created this spectacular world, with its thunder and lightning (as well as those glorious cool, sunny days).  Yet even as I put this into words, I recognize the shallowness of my thinking, not to mention the way that my faith can get pushed into the back seat.

So, then, allow me to go back in time and chat with the “me” who was fretting about a possible power outage a few minutes ago:   

“Now Peter, what’s the worst thing that could happen if you were to lose power?” 

“We’d roast without A/C.  It would be a nightmare.”

“Sounds dreadful.   And there would be nowhere to go and no one who could take you and Cheryl in for a few hours?”

“A power outage could go on for days and days!”

“If you did have to go without A/C for days and days, would it register for you that most people in the world live without A/C, and all people before the twentieth century lived without A/C?”

“That’s not where my mind would turn first—even if perhaps it should be.  I guess I’d have to say that I get caught up in the expectation of modern creature comforts.”

“And if you were subjected to discomfort for a sustained time, what might be God’s purpose for allowing that to happen?”

“Probably to get my eyes off of me and to consider how to serve others who endure far greater trials.  And also to remind me that comfort here and now is a trivial matter compared to eternal life and joy and security in the perfect presence of Jesus Christ!”