Day 250, or September the 7th.
Problems can be possibilities.
Our thoughts today are rooted in Amos chapter 2 verse 5.
I will send fire on Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.
Now the big picture surrounding this verse.
Amos prophesied to the northern tribes around the same time as Hosea.
Times were good as godly kings were ruling, but godlessness was rampant, and Amos addressed
it head on.
As a southerner, Amos started with a disadvantage, and a bit like in many countries today, there
was a divide between the north and the south of the promised land.
This was still evident when Jesus came many centuries later, with the north being the
most rebellious and the south being the most prosperous.
Add to this the fact that Amos wasn't even a proper prophet, but a shepherd and farmer.
Amos is a unique name in the Old Testament, and can be translated as burden bearer.
What a name for a prophet of God!
He begins his book by declaring a series of eight judgments on Israel, Judah, and their
immediate neighbours.
And now today's action step.
After reading the first couple of chapters in the book of Amos, it seems one of God's
favourite tools of judgment is fire.
On second reading, however, it seems God is not burning his enemies, but their fortresses,
signs of their own strength and security.
He is telling them that he is the ultimate security, and anything else is totally inadequate.
They need to turn to him and trust him.
Fire isn't always destructive, it can be a cleansing agent which stimulates growth.
Whenever fires sweep the Yorkshire moors and appear to destroy every growing thing, it's
only a matter of weeks before green shoots begin to show.
What appeared to be destruction is now the producer of good things, because it wasn't
the end, it was a fresh beginning.
If only we could appreciate many of the fires in our lives, they are not endings, but beginnings.
Don't be blinded by a problem, but try to look through it and build on it.
Always try to see difficulties as opportunities.