I love childhood memories! Sometimes I just sit and reflect on my earlier life, when everything was much less stressful…it’s my happy place. Do you ever find yourself wrapped up in cozy memories of your childhood? Some might not be as fortunate as myself, but I’m very lucky to have these memories to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Living in Canada we have cold winters, and this winter is no different. I love feeling the heat blow from the furnace. Well, we have an air exchange system now in my house, but my mom and dad had an oil furnace. Unbeknownst to my father, who was like Ebenezer Scrooge when it came to the temperature of our home, my brother and I would crank the temperature gauge on the furnace to enjoy its warm air trying to elevate the temperature of the house.
We would grab a big blanket lay it over the heater and crawl underneath it, tuck in it all around our body so no hot air could escape and we’d absorb every ounce of the warmth being pushed through the duct work and right onto our chilled bodies. It was the best thing to do on a cold winter’s morning, or even after being outside playing in the snow. It would warm you right to your bones.
Did my father realize that the furnace was blowing warmer air than before? No. Can you see the temperature of air? No. Can you even see the warm air that is being blown out of the furnace? Absolutely not, unless you had a blanket all tucked in around your body like we did, and then it looked like a blanket igloo, with just our heads sticking out.
This hot furnace air is much the same as the miracle of the Holy Spirit. You can’t see this air, or the temperature of this air, but it is there. You see it engulf us when we had the blanket nestled nicely around us, but if there was nothing over the register, the only way you would know it was blowing air is if it was blowing the curtains that the register was underneath or felt its warm gentle breeze if you walked by.
It’s hard to trust something that we don’t see, it leaves us vulnerable and open for our ego to be proved wrong. Who likes to be proved wrong? Nobody. We didn’t have the fortunate opportunity like the Israelites to see God’s work in action, like him parting the Red Sea. Luckily we do have the bible to help us relive these miracles, and as I study Numbers, it is really clear how obedient the Israelites are with all of Moses’ instructions from God. Anyone would be if they saw a body of water split in two and make a path to cross. Wouldn’t you?
The end of the chapters in Numbers ends like this, Numbers 1:54, “Thus did the people of Israel; they did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses.” And, rightfully so. They saw the first born children of the Egyptians die, which was promised by God during the Passover. But, today, that power no longer exists. People struggle just to believe there is a God at all. They can’t wrap their head around believing in something that we can’t see.
The world is full of mysteries and miracles. Just like the warm air blowing out of my parents’ furnace vent, we couldn’t see it unless smother by a blanket, but it was always there keeping us warm from the cold Canadian winters. So is our Lord and Savior, you see his blessing every day. If you want, you can choose to believe that it isn’t his hand that made them, but we all know deep down that it is something above our understanding controlling this universe. If only you would just let go of your ego and believe in what you can’t see, like air, and try being faithful like the Israelites, you will quickly change your mind. Then you will finally see all the blessings that God has in store for you.
Are you going to stay cold and desolate wondering through this world without God’s warm love, or are you going to grab a blanket and huddle over your furnace vent to feel the love that you might not be able to see? I promise that if you would just read, meditate and follow his word you will quickly realize that you CAN see his loving spirit coming alive in your life, and you will appreciate the little miracles that have been going on in your life for years, you just weren’t giving him the credit for them.
~Toby Hale
