Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for the daily challenges.  This week’s topic is part of our series called God Is… where we’re trying to learn about God’s character and nature through some key stories in the Bible.

Our daily challenges are meant to help you explore what it means to follow Jesus, even if you don’t have a lot of time. We have a rhythm that keeps us in sync, even if we’re not a community that meets together in person regularly. Every Monday we introduce the week’s idea. Every Tuesday we study it in the Bible. Every Wednesday we see how that challenges and transforms our thinking on the topic. Thursdays we try to apply and live it out. Friday is a day for prayer and reflection before we take a rest on Saturday, and Sundays we meet together with others in community.

A few weeks ago, I was working in an office building when started to hear rumours.  I walked past a group of people huddled together, planning out what would happen at 1pm.  I heard the words drill and fire department mentioned.

A while later, I heard some people mention that there were a number of security people assembling in the lobby with megaphones.

And finally, just before 1pm, I heard two colleagues say they were heading out to get lunch before the fire drill.

There were all these signs of what was coming, but I was still surprised when the alarm suddenly started blaring!  I was still unprepared, as my colleague headed down the stairs with his laptop and coat already packed up, just in case we didn’t get back in on time.

I had pretty good proof that a fire drill was coming, but was acting like it might not, as if there was a chance it would fail to happen despite all the signs.

This had no real consequences – but there are other things in life where it’s unwise to ignore the signs.  Angina means a heart attack is coming, and it’s time to get help.  A maxed out credit card is a warning that it’s time to slow down on the Christmas spending, and so on.  These signs are promises that something is coming, and warnings to react.

Question: What kinds of promises do you depend on in your daily life?  What signs do you watch in your work and home life?