At the end of the last chapter, Lola heard what Chaz said and
laughed. She turned back, saw him grimace, and knew her laughter had found its
mark. She reached the lower patio and looked up. He stood where she had left
him. His were eyes vacant, his face devoid of expression. “I already smell your
life’s blood being offered up to me on the defiler’s altar of immorality,” Lola
whispered. She sashayed to the grandmother’s house and turned to look at Chaz
once more. “You will choose to follow me of your own free will, or I will make
you suffer.”
Now we find Chaz
sitting by the fountain and asking himself, How
could you be interested in a girl you revile?
Naomi has cried
herself to sleep and Lola's desire to tare the newlyweds apart seems
to be working.
Everything appears
to be going as the teenager wanted, but God intervenes. Surprised?
Don't be! God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob—is actively involved in each of our lives. That's right! The
same God who called the world into being pays attention to everything that's
going on here, especially to you and me! He cares for us so much that
when we read Isaiah 64:4 we discover He, "...searched each of us...knows
our thoughts and is familiar with our ways." Furthermore, when we
read the writer questions, "Where can I go from
your Spirit? Where can I
flee from your presence?" we know that no matter where we go, God is there
even if we don't acknowledge Him. Knowing this, I find myself wondering if,
Chaz, and Naomi's dilemma will cause each of them to ask the questions
that lead non-believers to the certain knowledge that the hope
they seek must be found in God. If they or you are searching for answers, you
might find them in John 3:16 which tells us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
That's right! The
very God who says, in Isaiah 46:4 "Even
to your old age and gray hairs I
am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I
will sustain you and I will rescue you," knows
and cares for you even if you don't know him yet!
Until we meet again, may Gods
Shalom—
His peace that is beyond our
understanding envelope you —
My friend
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