Do You Understand?
Copyright © September 7, 2004
by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.
Do you understand what makes a bumble bee fly?
Do you understand why God allows people to die?
Can you explain how a tidal wave is formed?
Can you explain how a baby child is born?
With our nose we can smell and with our eyes we can see.
But can you truly explain how these senses came to be?
Our human minds have a limited capacity,
and we cannot comprehend things with God's clarity.
It is not possible to explain the reason behind
the loss of a child, or spouse, or parent, or friend.
Or the loss of your job, or home, or car, or health.
Or car wrecks, or earthquakes, or forest fires, or death.
The first step towards wisdom is accepting the fact that we
will never be able to understand many of life's mysteries.
However, everything God created is subject to His command.
And you are precious in God's eyes. Now do you understand?
This Poem Dedicated to My Grandson
Austin Greg Sisco
First Child of the Union between Amiee Susan Sisco and Bryan Allen Calvert-Atkins-Sisco.
Together they created a beautiful new life.
Dedicated by:
Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
Retired Baptist Church Deacon
and Great-Grandson of a Baptist Preacher.
Date of Dedication of Poem: September 7, 2004
Reference Scripture Verses
Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Hebrews 11:3 - By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
Proverbs 20:12 - Ears that hear and eyes that see -- the LORD has made them both.
Genesis 7:11-12 - In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month -- on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
Joshua 10:12-14 - On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
1 Kings 17:2-6 - Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
1 Kings 19:11-13 - The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
2 Kings 2:11-12 - As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more.
Luke 9:42-43 - Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
Matthew 8:24-27 - Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
Luke 7:11-16 - Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out -- the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God.
Matthew 26:52-54 - "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"
Psalm 72:13-14 - He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Psalm 116:15 - Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com