I thought I could get away with
washing my hands when it was storming even though I had been taught not to since
I was little. All of a sudden I heard a crack and saw a little ball of fire
outside the kitchen window. I thanked the Lord that I didn’t get struck and
thought I wouldn’t do that again. Little did I know until I got a very high
electric bill that the top part of my water pump had been struck by the
lightning. I was on a very limited income so couldn’t afford to fix it. I would
switch the breaker box in the cellar off and on when I needed to wash dishes,
clothes, take a bath, cook, etc. It was so inconvenient, but necessary. This
went on for months.
One day when I went to the cellar and turned the
switch back on I could hear a buzzing sound in the breaker box. I couldn’t
figure out what would be causing it. I kept trying to find what the problem was
and finally discovered that if I turned all the electricity off except my
computer there was a buzzing sound. I was heart sick to think that my computer
was the problem. I had prayed and prayed about it and the thought came to my
mind to try turning the computer off, but turn the microwave on because it uses
a lot of amps, too. When I did, sure enough the buzzing sound was there, also. I
was so relieved to know it wasn’t the computer.
I thought there must be something wrong with the
electricity coming into the house so called the Electric Company. A couple men
came out, but finding nothing outside wrong they were concerned that something
bad might be wrong on the inside so decided to check it out even though they
were only suppose to work on the outside. They opened up the new breaker box and
showed me that it hadn’t been installed right to begin with. There was a loose
wire connection that was arcing from one side to the other. It was very
dangerous and they fixed it for me.
I couldn’t understand why God had allowed the pump in
my well to be struck by lightning causing such a large bill and making me have
to go up and down the cellar steps to turn the breaker off and on all that time,
but I found out later that my gas water heater was leaking from a rusted out old
pipe. If I had kept the electric on with the breaker box arcing like it was the
gas water heater might have caused an explosion or maybe during the night when I
was asleep it could have caused me to be asphyxiated or the house to catch on
fire. God is so good. He is so kind and patient with His erring children.
BLESSED ASSURANCE
As hand in hand I walk with Christ today,
I know He will give me strength, and brighten all my
way.
He is my Friend, He is always near,
He gives me power, and takes away my fear.
For wisdom I do pray as I walk along life’s path,
I do not fear the tempest, nor the raging storm’s
wrath.
Christ knows the secrets of my heart,
And from my presence He will not depart.
I am so very weak, but I can hear Him calling,
“I will give you strength, and keep you from falling.”
He changes my selfish heart, and cleanses me from all
sin.
“Won’t you open up your hearts door, and let Him come
in?”
by Norma Wellman
butterflyblue7@frontier.com
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.