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I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens. I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord; my life was an open wound that wouldn't heal. When friends said, "Everything will turn out all right," I didn't believe a word they said. Once again I'll go over what God has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished, and give a long, loving look at your acts. O God! Your way is holy! No god is great like God! You're the God who makes things happen; you showed everyone what you can do - You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble, rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph. Ocean saw you in action, God, saw you and trembled with fear; Deep Ocean was scared to death. Clouds belched buckets of rain, Sky exploded with thunder, your arrows flashing this way and that. From Whirlwind came your thundering voice, Lightning exposed the world, Earth reeled and rocked. You strode right through Ocean, walked straight through roaring Ocean, but nobody saw you come or go. Hidden in the hands of Moses and Aaron, You led your people like a flock of sheep. (Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20 The Message)
May it be a word of encouragement and comfort to you, dear Friend for today and the rest of this week is my prayer. As we pray let us pray for Mr. Gene Kridler as today he is having knee surgery. Also, prayers for Erin & Kyle Schroeder. Kyle is the former worship leader at Two Rivers Bible Church in Gonzales, TX. They now live in Colorado. Erin just found out she is 6 weeks pregnant with twins and today she was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. Prayers for all the family. Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.
As a pastor I have been present at events and occasions where I could not begin to understand the deep grief and sadness in the hearts of those experiencing the loss or events. One that comes to mind was a wedding, which one usually associates with much joy and gladness. On the night of the rehearsal in the church, a young boy was to walk his mother down the aisle to be wed to her intended. The child was the son of the mom and her ex-husband who had divorced some years prior to this marriage. As the music began and the son and mom were approaching the altar, the boy broke free of his mom and shouted, "NO!" and ran down the aisle into our cry room. This took place in a matter of seconds that seemed like hours in slow motion. I knew I had to be the one behind the mother to comfort the son. In his heart and mind the hope of a reunion between his mom and dad, like most children of divorce I'm supposing, was what he actually wanted to happen. The idea of another man marrying his mom shattered his dream and he believed, his life. I imagine the experience that King David went through led him to write the words of this psalm. One can hear him or us yelling at the top of our voices, "Help me God!" The wound was very much open and bleeding, the pain very real, and the words of friends trying to help us sounded like muffled pillows on our ears. If we hear "Everything will turn out all right," we, like the author of this version would say, "I don't believe you!" Your similar experience may have involved illness, or an accident, a loss, or something very devastating.
David then laid out on a table what he knew God had done in and among the "ancients," and then the things that God had done in his life. It is in those moments that we either realize that God is awesome, or we are mad at God. David chose to make this a holy moment. It is both a moment of surrender and worship. He realized that even in the loss or sadness that God was love, and that God's way was holy. All creation realizes that God is awesome and though we may be a step or two or a million behind, we need to affirm and accept that too.
God has pulled His people out of the worst kind of trouble, and guess what? He's still in that business! Take a moment. Take a deep breath. Say a little prayer. Turn it over to God. And lay it all out on the table and realize again, and again, that God is good. Maybe not right away, maybe not tomorrow, but we know that everything will be alright!
PRAYER: Loving Father, You know the heart and need of this dear reader. You know what it is that stands before them as a tough challenge; make Your presence real by sharing Your peace. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be the person of comfort and support that your neighbor may need.
Blessings of love,
Eradio Valverde
ConCafe is now on Spotify and also at anchor.fm. Please click below to hear yesterday's ConCafe on "Tough to Say Goodbye."http://bit.ly/31YYYcC
