BH Bulletin Friday 9 October 2020

Thought for the Day by Chris Dalton (BH Member)

This is a picture of Thwaites glacier.
Apparently, the ice is melting far more quickly than before. It was on the BBC news and they reported that a UK-US team had surveyed the deep seafloor channels in front of the glacier which almost certainly provide the access for warm water to infiltrate and attack the underside of the glacier.
"These channels had not been mapped before in this kind of detail, and what we've discovered is that they're actually much bigger than anyone thought - up to 600m deep. Think of six football pitches back to back," said Dr Kelly Hogan from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
 
It caught my attention, rightly or wrongly, not so much because of an interest or concern in the future of the glacier and all that involves for the planet but because currently I’m trying to learn my favourite Psalm [18] off by heart and verses 15 & 16 read,
15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
  and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
    at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high, he took me;
    he drew me out of many waters.
Geography isn’t my thing so I had assumed that ‘channels of the sea’ was just a poetic way of saying things...apparently that’s not so!! But why were they seen and why were the world’s foundations laid bare? The Psalm says it was at God’s rebuke...earlier it says He was angry. God was angry because David was under attack. David says God was not angry AT him but FOR him. Isn’t that something? When we are under attack; struggling in the battle, God is angry on our behalf. God doesn’t think lightly of our difficulties – He cares and He acts. He taught David how to fight his enemies and provided him with strength and support. He delighted in David – He delights in all His people. He has acted decisively on our behalf and not only rescued us through His beloved Son, Jesus, but He’s also provided us with spiritual armour and strength and His Holy Spirit as our constant support.
I don’t know how long it will take me to learn this Psalm but reading it daily is a source of real joy as I focus on who God is and what He thinks of me and remember that He is my eternal rock and refuge.                            That’s true for every believer.