If you are looking for evidence that climate change is real, look no further than the summer of 2021, when this was written. I’m pretty sure that by the time this is published, there will be even more poignant evidence…
Besides the heat that has roasted western Canada and the USA, causing glaciers and snow packs to melt, overflowing rivers and causing landslides, to say nothing of the over 1000 fires burning out of control as I write this, all across the prairies and even into Ontario. Then we hear about the torrential rains and flooding in New Zealand, and the deadly floods of Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands. There are tornadoes in the Czech Republic and in Canada. There are fires in Cyprus, fires in Spain, the hurricane season is already ramping up to be one of the worst…
One story from all this really hit me yesterday. It was a story out of the Netherlands. A cow was found in a swollen river. By the time she was discovered, her strength was so zapped that she could only hold her nostrils out of the raging torrent. Yes, she was lucky to be alive, but even more so when it was discovered by her ear tag that she was from a farm … 100 kilometres from where she was found!
Contrary to what it may seem, this is actually not going to be a devotional on climate change… Rather, the story of this resilient cow hit me smack between the eyes. Don’t we feel, so much of the time, like we’ve been beaten and battered by the waves and rocks of circumstances — illness, poverty, relationship issues, anxiety, worry, fear…to name a few — to the point that we can no longer keep our head above the proverbial water? And as we sink further and further into the raging torrent of trials and problems, our final push is simply to keep from breathing in those suffocating circumstances that would completely clog us spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally, bringing us to a slow and painful emotional, spiritual and mental death.
Yes, I suspect most of you can relate to that cow! Even David could relate: “Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me.” (Psalms 69:1-2 NLT)
I find it interesting that the veterinarian who treated the cow said she was free of injury. She had been protected from all physical harm. Nonetheless, she was truly at the end of her endurance and strength; and as a result, she likely wouldn’t have made it much farther.
Did you get that? The cow had been protected from all physical harm. It was her fatigue that would have been her demise!
What does that tell us about our own struggles with insurmountable circumstances?
It tells us that the circumstances themselves aren’t what will bring us down first; rather, it is our fatigue at dealing with them! The wave upon wave of trouble wears down our endurance and our strength, and as a result, we find ourselves in the place where we simply can’t go on any longer.
You know what I mean. You successfully ride wave upon wave of bad news; but when one last new wave arrives, there is just no more strength to carry on. You’ve had enough. All the reserves are gone. There is nothing left to keep your head above water.
But.
The cow was found, just in time, and you will be too! “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2 NLT)
That’s the promise to hang on to today, my friends! No matter how bad it is, God is with you! You will not drown! You will not be burned up!
Remember, God will always make a way of escape. Notice the last verses of Ps. 69: “Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged. For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people. Praise him, O heaven and earth, the seas and all that move in them.For God will save Jerusalem and rebuild the towns of Judah. His people will live there and settle in their own land. The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land, and those who love him will live there in safety.” (Ps. 69:32b-36 NLT)!
If you are feeling a bit like that Dutch cow right now, remember, she was rescued — in time! And YOU will be as well! Just keep holding on to the promises of God that He is with you and you will not drown!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Moderator, Author, Associate Director with Answers2Prayer Ministries