It seems
like the whole world has become an inferno. . . from the tragedy of the Airplane
that was shot down to the conflict in the Middle East. Sunita has been several
times to Israel, including a trip to Gaza Strip, the most densely populated area
on earth. We are reminded to pray for " Peace of Jerusalem". Pray for the
whole situation in the Gaza strip. Pray for the persecuted Christians in Mosul,
Iraq. In the face of trials, tragedies, and tears , those who love Jesus look
at His face. They declare the audacity of their faith in the words the
Psamist: "I Hope in God; For I shall yet
praise Him, the help (literally the "salvation") of my countenance and my God."
Psalms 42:5
In his book, When God
Interrupts Craig Barnes, one of my favorite preachers, tells the story of
how he was tying to prepare a sermon, settle a staff conflict, and basically
save the world in one week. He had one more thing to do before going home: he
had to lead a Communion Service at a nursing home. As he said, "It was the last
thing I wanted to be doing." He was in the "blue funk" that sometimes settles
over the pastorate. That is when he met Mrs. Lucille Lines. I read from his
book:
"Mrs. Lines was almost blind and
very hard of hearing. She had gradually become shut off from the world. Her
health was slipping away, and now she is confined to a small room, having given
up her house years ago. She has outlived her husband and close friends. Very
few people in our church still remember her. She has lost almost everything but
life itself" (page 147).
Dr. Barnes wrote that it was a
humble scene. He muttered the words, "This is my Body broken for you. This is
my blood poured out for you." They fumbled their way through and he guided her
shaking hand to the bread and the cup. Then she spilled the juice on his
slacks. He thought to himself, "Just one more thing that isn't going right!"
He patted her on the back, said a prayer and was leaving when he heard her so
clearly: "Thank you, God, for being so good to me. Thank you that I am not
forgotten. Thank you for always loving me." Her words were his healing that
day.
Her insights are that of the
Psalmist. In the darkest moments of life, when we are at the very end of our
lives, shaking and confused, our Lord is there. When we are speechless and deaf
to the world, when we may even be spilling our salvation all over ourselves,
Christ is just beyond the veil. In Christ, in the presence of the Holy Spirit,
in the love of a Father who will never let us go, God is good and God is
here.
There are many twelve step programs
devised by men to deal with our human problems of depression, and addiction of
all sorts. They are all good, but the best plan is orchestrated and executed by
our Lord Jesus. It is a "One-Step Plan". . It is the step that God took when
He left heaven and came to earth. For all who
seek to follow Him, sometimes even through the fog of life, we cling to the
promises and we may even sing in the night:
"What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?Precious Savior, still our Refuge — Take it to the Lord in prayer.Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer;In His arms He'll take and shield thee, Thou wilt find a solace there."In Christ,Brown
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