God - the ultimate hacker

We recently got a nasty virus on our computer. We didn't know it at the time, but woke up one morning to find our computer had completely reset. Wiped clean. Eight years of photos...our kids entire childhood...gone. The documents, while disappointing to lose, can be recreated. The photos cannot.

Desperate, we took it to a friend in our homeschool group who we are affectionately now calling our very own "computer genius". Yes he is. Turns out we had the same virus that took out all the East Coast banks last year. It's a savage beast that wipes your hard drive clean. While the virus had reset everything, the Lord sovereignly protected our data and photos and our resident "computer genius" was able to save it all! Yipee! He cleaned up the virus and restored what was to dear to our hearts. Now our kids won't grow up and accuse us of having no photos of them.

Lately I've seen the Lord working in similar ways. A virus invades our lives. It wreaks havoc on our systems - emotional, physical, spiritual and leaves devastation in its wake. Dreams are erased, Hopes altered. Much is lost. Maybe the virus lays dormant for awhile. We don't even know it's there until one morning we wake up to its destruction. Or maybe the damage is done a little at a time, but with the same devastating effects.

However it works, it has but one source and purpose. The purpose of this computer virus was to wipe out information. It was created by evil people, with an evil intent. Satan is the creator of the viruses that threaten our lives. His purpose? To steal, kill and destroy God's people. But thankfully God is the ultimate computer genius! He is able to hack the hacker, saving what was meant for evil and restoring it for good. The virus, engineered to destroy, doesn't have to be life altering. Instead it can remind us of what's important and of who is really in control. 

We're so grateful that our photos were saved and the virus removed. Even more grateful knowing God is able to restore our lives when things get hacked.