Monday, May 7
We just celebrated the Run for the Roses, the Kentucky
Derby, and all the events that led up to it. The air show and fireworks display
is the biggest event, attracting hundreds of thousands of people, sometimes
three quarter million, from many states.
As I watched the air show on television, I learned that those
flying the Lockheed Martin KC-130
in-flight refueler call what they do...passing gas! (Gotcha!)
Wikipedia says, “The Lockheed
Martin KC-130 is the basic designation for a family of the
extended-range tanker version of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft modified
for aerial refueling.”
The KC-130 is capable of fulfilling a multitude of roles and
missions. As a tactical tanker/transport, it provides support for the Marine
Air Ground Task Forces, such as...
*carrying wounded
*being the largest aerial firefighter
*having some converted into gunships
*emergency supply into battle areas
*emergency medical and other evacuations
*aerial delivery of troops, cargo, and equipment
*humanitarian missions for food and medical supplies
*in-flight refueling for both tactical aircraft and
helicopters as well as rapid ground refueling.
So, what does this have to do with you and me? Let’s see.
We have our own personal air and ground Task Force, the Lord
and His army, His hosts of heaven. He is our Refueler. He is all things to us,
working for us in every area of our lives.
The Lord is to us whatever we need:
*He carries us when we are wounded and hurting, when there
is only one set of prints in the sand, as Mary Stevenson said in her poem Footprints in the Sand, “The times when
you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you.”
He carries us through those wilderness days, as He did the
Israelites, “You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.”
(Ex. 19:4 NLT)
*He puts out the fires around us, joining us in the midst of
the fiery circumstances, just as He did with the Three Amigos when they were bound
in the midst of the fiery furnace. Others saw that over their “bodies the fire
had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments
affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.” (Dan 3:27 NKJV) The Lord
enters our flaming trials and we are loosed, walking unhurt in their midst.
*He helps to fight our battles and makes them His, as
Scripture says, “The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you,”
(Deut. 1:30 NKJV) and “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast
army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chron. 20:15 NIV)
*He brings emergency supply into wherever we are and in
whatever we need, for “my God shall supply all your need according to His
riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19 NKJV)
*He is there to evacuate us from certain situations. “I am
the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the [enemy], I will
rescue you from [his] bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm
and with great judgments.” (Ex. 6:6 NKJV)
*He supplies our need for daily sustenance, “He has filled
the hungry with good things,” (Luke 1:53 NKJV) and “He satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.” (Ps. 107:9 NLT)
*As our Refueler, He fills us when our soul-level gets low
or drains out and we seek His infilling. Scripture tells us, “He fills my life
with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” (Ps. 103:5 NLT) And “I
have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” (Jer.
31:25 NKJV)
The questions are: Do we allow Him to refuel us with His
Spirit and fill us with all He offers in order to accomplish all the things He
desires us to do? Do we run to Him to be refilled in whatever we lack?
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,” and may
you be “made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with
Himself.” and “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Rom.
15:13 NKJV, Eph. 1:23 NLT, Eph. 3:19 NIV)
Do you need to be refueled today? Need gas?

