Notes of Faith October 18, 2023
Sink Your Teeth into This
Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! — 1 Samuel 12:16 NIV
When you think about a shark, probably one of the first things you imagine is its teeth! More than 400 species of sharks are in the world, and they all have teeth! Lots and lots of them. That’s because they also lose lots and lots of those teeth... as they rip and tear into their prey. Yikes! Sharks would quickly starve without their teeth, so God gave them a unique teeth-replacement system.
Sharks’ teeth are arranged in rows in their mouths, one behind the other. Some sharks have “only” 5 rows of teeth, but others, like the bull shark, have 50 rows! These rows basically act like conveyor belts. When one tooth is lost, another tooth from the row behind it pushes forward to take its place.
God takes care of His people, sometimes in amazing, creative, and miraculous ways.
Be Amazed
Sharks are born with a full set of teeth, unlike humans, who are born toothless! Sharks’ teeth vary in shape, depending on the type of shark and what it eats. For example, the shortfin mako shark has razorlike teeth for tearing, while the zebra shark has flat teeth for crushing the shells of the mollusks it likes to eat.
Sharks aren’t the only creatures God takes care of in unique ways. He comes up with some pretty unusual ways to take care of His people too. Think about the Israelites who wandered and camped out in a desert-like wilderness for 40 years. Their shoes and clothes never wore out!
Then there was Elijah — God fed him by sending ravens carrying bread and meat. And the widow of Zarephath? Even in the middle of a terrible famine, her jars of oil and flour never ran out. What a miracle! Many more examples of God’s miraculous protection are in the Bible. The point of them all is that God takes care of His people, sometimes in amazing, creative, and miraculous ways. So you can always trust Him to take care of you. Just watch and see what creative ways He does it!
Lord God, You are amazing in all the different ways You take care of Your creation. Open my eyes to see how You take care of me.
Excerpted from Indescribable by Louie Giglio, copyright Louie Giglio.
1 Peter 5:6-8
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
God loves those created in His image so much that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life!
Pastor Dale