The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea
and it became blood like that of a dead man;
and every living thing in the sea died.
Revelation 16:3
Dear Father,
I am sickened by the oil slick that is threatening my sweet home Alabama. I see images coming via the news of the globs of contamination washing up on shores with miles more still to come. The eastern gulf coast is home to some of the whitest, most beautiful beaches in the world and at times the white sand is almost blinding as the southern sun reflects off of it.
Now to realize that those sands are being coated with a slimy, thick coating of liquid fortune is disheartening. The best efforts of man has still yet to stop or reverse the effects of this tragedy entirely. Blame seems to rise faster than the gushing oil well and fingers point in all directions of the sundial but the solution still remains to be seen. I certainly don’t have an answer and feel as helpless as the seagulls grounded in the ooze. Heavenly Father, what have we done to your earth? I am not a green activist or a sign-toting protector of the environment but I do think we have a responsibility to take care of what is entrusted to us. We have done a poor job. Give us divine wisdom to right this wrong. And as my thoughts drift along the coasts of the southeast I think I detect a warning bell of something more ominous. I believe that this catastrophe may be a micro-taste of what is to come in judgment. A day will come when the waters of the earth will be changed into something as blood of a dead man. Could it be that the brownish red oil that looks like coagulated blood and is coating the beautiful gulf waters are a glimpse of what will happen throughout the whole earth in those terrible days of the tribulation? Maybe it will not be oil destroying the oceans but one thing is for sure and that is something will turn the waters toxic and kill the aqua life. That jolts me to sit straight up and take note. This is not a time to sit comfortably in a pew and sing “In the Sweet By and By” rather it is time to sound the warning to the lost people of our families, neighbors, and anyone else in our contact. Father, I know some will think I have lost my last marble and I don’t mean to sound like an alarmist but your Word is true and whether we are hours away from Jesus’ coming or decades, one thing is for sure – it will happen – it will surely happen. Amen – come Lord Jesus.
Love,
Penny
