AM: August 31, 2019

In the news this week, after heavy rains and floods, the city of Karachi, Pakistan, is being swarmed by flies. The biggest city in Pakistan has huge amounts of trash daily, but the problem is combined with a religious holiday where some animals like goats are killed as part of the celebration, so there is more garbage than usual. Fun facts: Karachi is one of the top 10 biggest cities in the world , but it’s hard to get an accurate number of how many people live there–it’s said to be between 15 and 19 million people.

All those flies make me think of the story of Moses and the Plagues. Do you remember how the Israelites were slaves in Egypt? God sent Moses to free them but Pharaoh said no, and the plagues were sent, one of them was swarming flies. It may not seem that bad, but imagine millions of flies, so you had to walk through them, try and eat and sleep with them all over… awful. The plagues were a form of punishment, and the Old Testament has many examples.

But God saved his people, and he saves us. He saves us from our sin, he saves us from Hell. He is mighty to save if we have faith and believe.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)

Dear Lord, Thank you for saving me. Teach me your ways today and every day. Keep me in your hands. Thank you for rejoicing over me. Amen.