October 18, 2006"An Unlikely Banquet"
Van Walton,Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member,
Director of Hispanic Ministries
Devotion:The storm raged all night, traveling closer to shore with each passing moment. Waves roared and reached higher than normal. In the morning, although the beach was strewn with chairs, umbrellas, ice chests, and beach toys, the sun rose on a relatively calm shore, except for the busy birds. While rain and wind had created havoc during the night, the tempest had deposited a gift. The surging tide brought with it delicacies from the bottom of the ocean – a feast for the birds living along the edge of the sea.
An obvious sand bar had been created by the recent surge in the sea and, in fascination, I watched as it became a banquet table of sorts. As the powerful waves rushed toward shore, they covered the sand bar. When the water retreated, a buffet table of seafood invited the birds to come and dine on the early morning meal that God and the storm had provided.
I couldn’t help but consider my own life and the storms that have threatened to tear me apart. Yet, those very storms have left behind riches that feed me for a lifetime.
Are you emerging from a storm? Have you found God’s bountiful provision within the raging winds? Have you noticed the good left behind after floods subsided?
As a child, I could hardly fathom the first storm mentioned in the Bible. I asked over and over again, “Why?” Today I believe I know. The storm that Noah endured cleansed, offered a new beginning, disciplined, and taught mighty lessons. Its purpose, according to Scripture, was to cleanse the earth of wickedness. (Genesis 6:5) and create a new start. God protected Noah, a righteous man, and his family from the flood and returned him to a new beginning once the waters disappeared.
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