Ps. 46:1, 10
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
10 Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.
The Valentine’s Day of 2021 was a memorable day for us. It kicked off the week with piles of snows and followed with freezing, snowing, out of power, etc. It was a tough week. Like many of you, our family also lost power, Internet and heat during the storm. We got about 30 minutes of power every 8 hours.
We can’t do much about it when the natural disaster comes. Yes, we can turn on the faucets to let it run, but that doesn’t guarantee no frozen pipes. We have heating units, but only if you have electricity. You have over a month’s worth of food stored, but only if your fridge still operates and your stove still works. There is no guarantee of safety during the storm. In Psalm 46:1, David told us God is our refuge and strength. And then in verse 10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Many members told me they prayed more during that week than any week in the past ten years. Some mentioned that they got closer to God. A brother confessed to me that he thought he was self-sufficient in the past and didn’t really need God. He relied on his degree, job, money, power, or anything - you name it. But no, none of those things can help him during the storm.
This storm didn’t destroy our faith. If it did, it would just show that our faith was very weak in the beginning anyway. The storm actually revealed our spiritual condition.
Dear brothers and sisters, no matter you are weak or strong, let’s all get closer to the Lord. He is our refuge and strength. We don’t know what is going to happen, but we know that God will rescue us from the evil one.
詩篇46:1，10
1神是我們的避難所，是我們的力量，是我們在患難中隨時的幫助。
10你們要休息，要知道我是 神！我必在外邦中被尊崇，在遍地上也被尊崇。
2021年的情人節是我們難以忘懷的一天。那週從大雪揭開序幕，接著是結冰、再下雪、然後斷電等，這是挺艱難的一週。像許多人一樣，我們家在風雪中也斷電，斷網並無暖氣。每隔八小時我們僅獲得30分鐘的供電時間。
當自然災害來襲時，我們完全無能為力。是的，我們可以打開水龍頭滴水，但不一定保證水管不結冰。我們有暖氣設備，但只在有電力的情況下才能運轉。我們儲存了一個多月的食物，但前提是冰箱仍在運轉與電爐仍能運作。暴風雪期間無法保證安全。在詩篇46：1 大衛告訴我們：「上帝是我們的避難所和力量。」然後在第10節中說：「要休息，要知道我是神。」
許多會友告訴我，在這週中禱告的次數比過去十年中任何一週的禱告次數都多。有人提到他們上與帝越來越接近。一位兄弟向我坦白說，他認為自己過去是自給自足的，並不需要上帝；他依靠自己的學位，工作，金錢，權力或任何你能想到的。但在雪災中，這一切都無法幫助他。
這場風暴沒有摧毀我們的信仰。如果會的話，那表明我們的信仰根基薄弱。風暴實際上顯示了我們的屬靈光景。
親愛的兄弟姐妹們，無論你是軟弱、是剛強，都應靠近主。祂是我們的避難所和力量。我們不知道會發生什麼，但我們知道上帝會拯救我們脫離那惡者。
～ Rev. Clement Woo 胡嘉明牧師 ～
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