Ashes and sackcloth

Having returned to Europe last week, just days before the continent was blanketed with volcanic ash, i've once again realised how dependant we have become on our own technology, the product fo our wisdom, and how ignorant we have become of the power of nature, how in an instant it can radically change our plans and our lives.

Man in his great wisdom has accomplished great feats of technology, from the telephone to wireless communication systems, from the bicycle to flight in the skies and beyond. Yet in one breath, from the nostrels of the earth our great accomplishment of air travel was forced to stand still.

We count the cost of how many billions of dollars are lost each day, how many millions of people are inconvenienced or stranded, how many thousands of flights have been cancelled, yet we don't count the one who holds the whole world in His hands.

So, if God is really in control, why does He allow the earth to disrupt our plans? Maybe He's trying to show us something. Someone once said "Best way to make God laugh is tell Him you have plans". We indeed have plans, big plans, profitable plans, selfish plans...

Last week millions of people's plans were disrupted by one volcano. But disrupted plans are nothing new to most of us. We learn to adjust our plans, modify our plans, have contingency plans,.. yet we never give up our plans.

Perhaps there is a time we need to give up our plans, to realise our plans, our technology, our solutions are so small and feeble in comparison to God's ways. to come to the realisation we cannot rely on our own wisdom, our own strength, our own ways, but to humble ourselves before The Creator and say 'our plans fail us, Your will be done'.

We are certainly living in interesting times. I believe much more will be shaken, and much more will crumble, but what stands on a strong foundation will withstand the storms that lie ahead. It is a time to prepare, it is a time to share, it is a time to help others, it is a time to put all our trust in our God and Creator.