The Siren

It is Tuesday. And I am home. That is extrememly unusual. For a Tuesday. For years, I worked on Tuesdays. And for the last almost two, I have been away at my volunteer coaching "job"....on Tuesdays.

So this morning, at 9:59, when a siren went off, and it was an overcast day (after driving through an unusual (for March), lightening storm last night)...I wondered...could this be for real? Should I head to the basement? But thinking it was likely just an "alarm-test" (like I know the towns where I worked and volunteer tend to activate monthly), I instead reached out to my neighbor. "Is this typical?" I asked. "Yes, first Tuesday", she reassured me. I had thought so :)

This experience caused me to ponder the situation of the warnings in God's Word. He has them written there. The things to be looking for, the signs of the times, the warnings of the pending of the end of the world as we have known it. The signs pointing to His glorious return. If I am "at home" in the Word, if I have been living in God's presence, I will be aware of the signs, aware of what the Lord says will happen. And when we see the signs beginning to unfold, when we observe the time-line coming into view, we can rest assured that the Lord is on HIs throne, that He is in control. We do not need to "freak out", but rather to be aware and in tune to what His Spirit is telling us to do.

There is a definite sense of peace and assurance when we know that in the end, our God reigns and our God wins. When we are thankfully, on His team. I heard it put this way, recently. If you happen to miss a game of your favorite sports team, but then watch the rerun (knowing the eventual outcome already, that your team wins), you can watch all the fumbles and misses, without the otherwise angst that you would experience had you not known the end result. And so it is in our spiritual journey. We know the final outcome.

But just as a "testing alarm" is for a purpose, so the "signs of the times" serve a purpose as well. A purpose that alerts us to diligence, compassion and action. A purpose that spurs us on and serves as a springboard in sharing the "Good News", that others too would be prepared for the approaching storm.

So maybe you too, can think of this correlation, the next time you hear....

the siren. (But if you live in my town, you will have to wait for another month :)