Hope and Blessings

Dr. Gary Nelson


"...I am putting my bow in the clouds."

IMG_5926 by you.
IMG_5926 by you.



""As a sign of this everlasting covenant which I am making with you and with all living beings, I am putting my bow in the clouds. It will be the sign of my covenant with the world." (Genesis 9:12-13)

What a blessing - God's promise of everlasting covenant with us. The Apostle Paul echoed this when he said, "...there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39) God promises to be with us through thick and thin...
Sometimes, especially in the difficult times, we get a little too narrowly focused and miss the blessings and support that God might be waiting to offer. Sometimes our fear, our anger, our confusion, our doubt, our ________ keeps us narrowly focused, almost demanding that God bless us in the way we want blessed. God promised to put his "bow in the sky," and I rejoice every time I see the rainbow and remember God's promise. However, if I had been looking only to the sky, I would have missed this rainbow. It was only when I walked to the edge of the gorge at Niagara Falls that I could see this rainbow leaping from the river flowing far below me. As I stood in utter amazement at the huge rainbow not less than 50 yards from me, I began to see the birds playing in its colors. "Wow," I thought, "what it must be like to play in a rainbow!" Sometimes the miracles and blessings come from the most unlikely places and circumstances. God keeps his promise to be with us, but sometimes we must risk "looking" in the places we least expect or even try to avoid. Sometimes we have to muster the courage to go the edge of our "gorge" - sometimes we have to be willing to face our fear in order to find the blessings. I have a "fear" of heights. If I had not walked to the edge of that gorge, I would have missed this miracle and blessing. I pray that God will continue to give me the courage to walk to the edge of the many "gorges" I know I will encounter in my life to come so that I might find the blessings even where I least expect them and share them with all. How about you?

Blessings and Peace,
Gary
Pastor, Sand Hill United Methodist Church
Boaz, West Virginia

Help save lives! For more information on my new book, "A Relentless Hope: Surviving the Storm of Teen Depression," visit www.survivingteendepression.com.

Check out my new video, "Teens Surviving the Storm"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1hSpxC_G24