What Has God Done for Us?

Dear Worshipers,

TO everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,
And a time to die…
A time to weep
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance…
A time to gain,
And a time to lose…

I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before him. [Ecclesiates 3:1-2a, 4, 6a, and 14]

We West Virginians have had the extremes of emotions the last few days. We have gone from dancing in the end zone, to watching others dance in theirs. We have watched loved ones laugh with the joy of a promised return, only to see them weeping over the loss of that promise. We have watched the birth of a new era in Mountaineer football led by some talented hard-working young men, but all the while cast against the backdrop of the death of 12 men knew the meaning of hard work even better and probably were more Mountaineers than any of those who recently traveled to Georgia.

In the aftermath of the tragedy at the Sago mine, we are forced to ask some tough questions. A man in the crowd at the church there angrily asked of the pastor as he tried to give them hope, “What…has God done for us?” As I wrestled with the answer to that question set against all that we have experienced in the last few days, I found myself in my daily reading in Ecclesiastes 3. While the opening of the chapter casually explains that there is a time for all we experience, the latter verses explain no only what God has done for us through all that, but also, and more importantly WHY.

God has sovereignly ordained the circumstances of our lives. He superintends those plans working out His purposes. He does this, as we see again and again in Scripture “that men should fear before Him.” We need to take a close estimation of our lives and consider them before God. Doing so will rightly fill us with an awesome reverence for Him. We must then ask, “Are we prepared to meet Him?” We all ask ourselves that question at one time or another. After all, verse 11 reminds that us “He has put eternity in their hearts.”

As you talk with your family and friends about these circumstances, seize this opportunity. Do more than dismiss it with a trite “It was the Lord’s will” or “God knows what He is doing”. Go the extra mile and prepare them for eternity. It is in their hearts, but have they given them to the Lord.

Let us pray for the families of these miners that the God of mercy will give them grace for this time of trouble. May He receive glory through this difficult circumstance, as He works His sovereign will. Pray for the one miner that has survived for a complete recovery. He told his wife every morning something like “God is with us”. May they know that now as never before.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott