{"id":419,"date":"2014-10-31T21:27:49","date_gmt":"2014-11-01T02:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=419"},"modified":"2014-11-30T09:11:11","modified_gmt":"2014-11-30T15:11:11","slug":"flood-abatement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=419","title":{"rendered":"Flood Abatement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSo shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.\u201d Isaiah 59:19<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1997 the spring melt swelled the Red River of the North until it crested at 54 feet in Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. The water pretty much demolished the two towns. All of downtown Grand Forks was under water, sparking a fire in the town\u2019s newspaper building. The building burned amid a murky sea that prevented firefighters from reaching it. Only a handful of homes in East Grand Forks escaped damage.<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, I traveled to Grand Forks to work a few months after the flood. The hotel where we stayed didn\u2019t supply daily housekeeping because the former room cleaners had found better jobs working construction. Sacrificing fresh sheets and towels each day was our small, involuntary contribution to rebuilding the town. We drove around the East Grand Forks neighborhoods to see the ruination. Many of the houses had words painted on them, big black or red letters that expressed everything from anger over having lost everything to thanksgiving over having gotten out alive.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no stopping water like that. It gets into every nook and cranny, spoiling everything it touches. It picks up all the filth and disease it can hold and spreads it all around. Everywhere. I remember my mom talking about a bad Fort Worth flood, the one in 1949. That was the flood that covered the entire first floor of the big Montgomery Wards on the west side of town. Mother talked about that with awe, and she talked about drinking water being trucked in because all the city water was contaminated.<\/p>\n

We live in the floodplain of a fountainhead opened at The Tree Of The Knowledge of Good And Evil many, many years ago. The Bible says the whole world lies in wickedness, or under the wicked one (1 John 5:19). Just as surely as those towns lay under that nasty floodwater, iniquity is all around us. It blinds us. We grope along the wall in darkness, trying to find our way (Isaiah 59:10). A sea of sin keeps justice and truth away. Equity stands on the distant shore, unable to reach us (Isaiah 59:14). We are a most unfortunate species, creatures adrift or fighting for life amid a hostile and angry ocean. We know it\u2019s not where we belong, but we are powerless to escape. We know the world\u2019s not right, but still we reject Righteousness.<\/p>\n

I speak of course as a member of the human race, as a daughter of Adam and Eve. But Lord, what an offer we have! The offer of abatement. That\u2019s the meaning of that word translated as \u201clift up a standard\u201d in Isaiah 59:19. To vanish away. It\u2019s the same word used in Deuteronomy 34:7 to speak of Moses strength not having abated, faded, vanished, though he was a hundred and twenty.<\/p>\n

The Lord will clean up the mess. He intends to chase away iniquity and all its damage. In my humble opinion Isaiah 59 may be the best chapter ever to give purpose to intercession. In it, we acknowledge our fallen, hopeless state as a race. And in it, we find a Redeemer with the power to drive back the evil, to clean up the mess. In Isaiah 59 I find faith to pray for situations that seem hopelessly tangled. Hopelessly damaged. Hopelessly complicated.<\/p>\n

I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore,<\/em>
\nVery deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more,<\/em>
\nBut the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry,<\/em>
\nFrom the waters lifted me, now safe am I.<\/em><\/p>\n

Love lifted me!<\/em>
\nLove lifted me!<\/em>
\nWhen nothing else could help<\/em>
\nLove lifted me!<\/em><\/p>\n

Souls in danger, look above, Jesus completely saves,<\/em>
\nHe will lift you by His love, out of the angry waves.<\/em>
\nHe\u2019s the Master of the sea, billows His will obey,<\/em>
\nHe your savior wants to be, be saved today.<\/em><\/p>\n

Love lifted me!<\/em>
\nLove lifted me!<\/em>
\nWhen nothing else could help<\/em>
\nLove lifted me!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a9 Melissa Kay Simonds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSo shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Mo02-6L","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":111,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=111","url_meta":{"origin":419,"position":0},"title":"O Pioneers!","author":"lsimonds","date":"December 31, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThese all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.\u201d Hebrews 11:13 On December 17, 2003, aviation enthusiasts gathered at Kill Devil Hill on the North Carolina\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2003"","block_context":{"text":"2003","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":691,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=691","url_meta":{"origin":419,"position":1},"title":"The Weary World Rejoices","author":"lsimonds","date":"December 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\"For we know that the whole creation groans together and travails in pain together until now.\" Romans 8:22, Darby Translation \u201cIt was, of course, the memory of Sophie and Nathan's long-ago plunge that set loose this flood [of tears], but it was also a letting go of rage and sorrow\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2016"","block_context":{"text":"2016","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":164,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=164","url_meta":{"origin":419,"position":2},"title":"Enlightened Entitlement","author":"lsimonds","date":"May 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cLet nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.\u201d Philippians 2:3-4 NKJV On April 3 this year tornados skipped\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2012"","block_context":{"text":"2012","link":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":75,"url":"https:\/\/melissakaysimonds.com\/?p=75","url_meta":{"origin":419,"position":3},"title":"Break Through","author":"lsimonds","date":"December 1, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cSo (Israel) came to Baal-perazim, and David smote the (Philistines) there. 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