I had not been home long before my cell phone rang. Clay called and asked me if I would come down to his place and pray. I could feel the heaviness in his voice—the sound of one trapped before the storm with no place to hide. Driving home I had just taken a call from a man whose wife is penniless and unable to provide food for herself and her two children. Complicating his situation, she is back in the Philippines and is still recovering from a serious surgery. After sharing possible organizations that could help him, I was about to hang up when he asked if he could come in and meet with me. I understood that this was a spiritual request from an unchurched soldier and silently thanked God for the opportunity to be light to a man trapped in the shadows. Two phone calls, plenty of pain and the red sun was not yet down.
Kathy opened the door and gave me her trademark farmer’s daughter hug (no frailty in her arms)! Then Clay asked her if we could be alone. As we sat at his small kitchen table he said, “Pastor, please open your Bible and read with me.” Then he read from Acts 12:1-17. As he finished reading, he noted that the key to this passage was the earnest prayer of the saints for Peter. “Pastor, Kathy has Alzheimer’s. We received the news today. Will you pray with me?”
Meditation
Daniel 4:17—“The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.”
Every moment every day, people of every position in every corner of this round planet are brought face to face with the reality that they are not in control. Those that do not know Jesus are left in the vicious grasp of an empty fate bereft of joy, hope or the song of salvation. Those who love Jesus possess the priceless knowledge that no verdict is final except what passes from His lips. Though doctors may name our disease, only God can name our eternity. We will all die but only those with the grace judgment will be given life with the Heavenly Father. Therefore, in our brokenness on earth we who know the Savior can gather together and talk to Him. No situation or affliction can steal us from His refuge. In the humility of honest prayer we find a Lord Who hears us and races to hold us! He loves us. His favor is not capricious. His blessings run deep and His verdict over our broken, sinfested lives is M-E-R-C-Y. Something to think about . . . in reveration!
Inspiration
The very noblest effort of human ingenuity brings us to the conclusive verdict that we don’t have the key to reality and that ultimately we know nothing.—Oswald Chambers in Shade of His Hand
