I woke up this morning to the sound of heavy rain falling on our roof!
The wood-box on the back deck is empty.
I need to refill it this morning … so that I can have wood to keep the fire going today.
If it’s pouring-down rain … then when I tote the wheelbarrow-full of wood from the woodshed in the front, all the way around to the back of the house … the wood will get rained on that whole time!
And then, when I park the wheelbarrow at the base of the deck … and proceed to carry arm loads of wood up onto the deck, over to where the wood-box is … that entire time the wood will be sitting there getting rained on!
Then the wood will be wet.
And when I add the wood to the fire today … it won’t burn very well.
The obvious solution: Cover the wood up with a tarp.
Which I proceeded to do. And which you can see in our background photo today.
Yesterday’s blog post was about seasons in life. Sometimes we go through really hard “down-pouring” seasons in life! As was stated in yesterday’s post, God will provide what we need … in every season!
How? How exactly does God do this??
By the power of the Holy Spirit … and by the Word of God (which the Holy Spirit wrote).
And so … through the “down-pour”, we head to the “woodshed” (God’s Word) … to load up with a wheelbarrow-full of “firewood” (promises about who God is! … and the faithfulness of God!).
But this season is so hard!
As we try to tote that “wheelbarrow-full” of “firewood” all the way to our heart … navigating past all the worries! and fears! … the “down-pour” threatens to soak the “firewood.”
The obvious solution: Cover is needed!
We need spiritual cover! We need God to “cover” us!
And … not only that … we need others to spiritually step in for us and to spiritually “cover “ us in prayer!
The Bible gives us the promise that God “covers” us with His protection.
Psalm 91:1, 4
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’”
“He will cover you … and under his wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and protection.”
The Bible also commands us to “cover” each other in prayer.
James 5:16
“… Pray for each other. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
Just like the tarp is covering the load of wood in our background photo today, so also we need people to spiritually “cover” us in prayer! We need to be “covered” in order to protect that precious load of “firewood” (of God’s promises, from God’s Word).
We need to be “covered” so that that load of “firewood” can make it to the firebox of our soul … and keep the flame burning brightly!
If you are going through a really difficult season and are trudging with a “wheelbarrow-full” of God’s promises through a hard and heavy “down-pour” … you need to be covered!! Let someone know … someone safe, who will pray for you. You need prayer-cover!
If you know of someone who is going through a really difficult season … and you see them trudging with their “wheelbarrow-full” of God’s promises through a hard and heavy “down-pour” … cover them!
“The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much!”
