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1 Oh, thank God - he's so good! His love never runs out. 2 All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression, 3 Then rounded you up from all over the place, from the four winds, from the seven seas. 4 Some of you wandered for years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live, 5 Half-starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion. 6 Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to God. He got you out in the nick of time; 7 He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live. 8 So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves. 9 He poured great draughts of water down parched throats; the starved and hungry got plenty to eat. (Psalm 107:1-9, 33-37 The Message Bible)
Dear Friend, greetings and joy and peace to you. I'm glad to report that The Rev. John Alsbrooks, underwent a very successful surgery in Austin. I spoke to him after he had his supper and he will return home tomorrow. We praise God for these news and ask that God continue to bless him with health and recovery. May we continue to pray for The Rev. John Fletcher, who awaits a transplant surgery in Houston to continue his battle against cancer. Prayers also for his congregation, Kelsey Memorial UMC of Corpus Christi, who will be without John's presence and pastoral leadership for about two months. Prayers for Gloria, Brittani, Ashlei, and Nate. May God bless them with comfort, victory, and healing.
If you had the ability, and some of you actually do, to weave a tapestry of your prayer life, and blue was the threads that reflected the amount of thankfulness you have shared in your prayers, and red for the requests for help that you had lifted up; which color would be more prevelent? Blue or Red? I suspect mine, to be honest, would have red as the dominant color, for many have been the times I have cried out to the Lord for His help. And seriously, the times that God has helped me/us, should be equaled or surpassed by the times we have said, Thank You, Lord!
I believe that King David's tapestry has more blue for he was a soul who recognized the times God had helped him and many of his psalms are songs of praise and thanksgiving, as is this one. We should list Gratitude to God as number one on our prayers lists, so that when we pray we say, over and over again, thank you, Lord! We will notice the blessings of God increase when we say thanks rather than help. God is ready to help and will do so, but God loves when we say thank you for all things.
Our prayer life should also acknowledge God's sovereignty over all circumstances. God knows when we face hardships like wandering in deserts, enduring storms at sea, and imprisonment, and countless other things; we should know that God is always in control and God has the last word. King David also knew of the power of prayer in all things as he says, those who "cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress." David knew, as should we, that prayer is important as it sustains and supports us as we await God's response to our needs. Prayer affirms also that we know that God has transforming power to "turn barren deserts into springs of water," which symbolizes His ability to transform the seemingly hopeless situations into certain victories.
We should also seek to understand the purpose behind our challenges as we realize there truly is hope for restoration. The entire Old Testament is a message of God's ability to turn things around and to make new. And the message of Jesus as found in New Testament continues and affirms that.
May we maintain a spirit of hope as we let this psalm be a source of comfort and inspiration as we navigate our own life's journey. Remember, God is ever-present, offering deliverance, hope, and the promise of a brighter future.
PRAYER: Loving God, renew in us the hope that we need to face the daily challenges and opportunities that come our way. May we serve as inspiration to others in similiar needs with Thy help; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Remember all the times God has pulled you out of things you faced, and share your story with others!
I love you and I thank God for you,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
