Devotions Q2 2013 final

Devotions Q2 2013
Testifying of God's security and deliverance.


MONDAY
Psalm 91. NIV
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

As I sit today in the cancer center of the local hospital and look at our verses, I can't help but feel for those who don't know our Lord.

Those of you who have been reading my devotions for the last couple of years have shared Tracy's cancer journey. I owe you an update, and it fits our topic well. Today we started a monthly IVIG treatment that is supposed to boost her immunity, helping her to feel better and to keep her from catching every virus that passes by. It's a very good thing. An even better thing is that as of a month ago, her leukemia is still considered in full remission. We are richly blessed!

And as if leukemia wasn't enough...

But what you have missed was her 15 days in the hospital in March and April with necrotizing faciitis, or flesh eating bacteria, throughout her abdomen. I almost lost her, but God answered our prayers with good doctors and other hospital staff as well as good insurance. After 5 surgeries in 7 days, renal failure, pneumonia, a wound vac, and home care, she is on a path towards being even better than she has been in a long time.

And we rest in the knowledge that as we walk this journey, we aren't alone.

We have friends in several states who love, pray, and even feed us (Haley really likes it when she doesn't have to eat my cooking), and a God who is with us. We aren't alone, and while we have opinions of how we want this to come out, we know too that God has a plan, and sometimes all we can do is to trust Him. Easier some days than others, for sure, but I am finding myself more aware than ever of those around me who don't have this refuge. Who don't know or choose to call out to Him for shelter in life's storms. And I pray for them, and try to tell them what God is doing for us.

Are you keeping your eye on Him as you take your own journey of ups and downs? Are you noticing those who don't. Are you praying with me for them?



TUESDAY
Psalm 91. NIV
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Our home menagerie includes a yellow and orange cockatiel we inherited from some good friends. Sunny is an awesome pet. He greets me excitedly when I open the door each evening with whistles and calls as he struts back and forth on the perch in his cage. He even dances when I whistle the Aggie war song. When I walk over to him, he lowers his head so I can rub the back of his neck. Sometimes I take him out and he'll sit on my shoulder or walk back and forth leaving presents on my tee shirt. He'll sit on my finger sometimes, and I've come to appreciate how fragile he really is. Small talons and beak. Wings that are mostly feathers on a lightweight structure. And his neck seems so small, I wonder how it holds his head.

Now we don't have any fowlers in our house, but a couple of cats have auditioned unsuccessfully for the role. I can tell you about the time Bandit jumped on the bird cage and the top opened which led to Sunny escaping to fly in mad circles around the kitchen until I could recapture him. Or the time he was out on the screened lanai in Florida, and flew in circles until he dropped into the pool, with his wings deploying like living life rafts to support him until we could rescue him as both cats watched intently from the poolside. Or the time he got out when no one was home, and we found him perched safely on the chandelier over the dining room table staring down at Smoky who was intently Looking up. In every case so far, Sunny has been kept safe from those who might harm him.

As I read our verses today, I think of Sunny, and a contest I once read about. The challenge was to paint a picture reflecting peace. There were beach scenes, mountain vistas, sunsets, and sleeping toddlers. But the one that won was a bird's nest on the edge of a precipice with small birds inside and a momma bird covering them with her wings. All around, the storms were fiercely raging - lightning flashing, rain pouring, and winds blowing. I could almost hear thunder just looking at the picture. But in the nest, the chicks were sound asleep. Momma had them under her wings, and that was good enough for them.

When God covers us in the midst of our stormy lives, do we recognize His protection and relax in that knowledge? I don't always, but I'm working on it.



WEDNESDAY
Psalm 91. NIV
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

Picture a long weekend on a near tropical island with sun, sand, warm blue water, jeep trips, and no cell phone service. We planned it for weeks. I took off work at lunch, picked up the family, loaded the car, and started off on the 3 hour drive expecting dinner on the beach. And everything went exactly according to plan, except the 3 hour part (can you hear the theme from Gilligan's Island playing now?). Inexplicably, we went the wrong direction for a while after missing a turn. After driving for over four hours, I came to a place I knew I wasn't supposed to be near, and decided to stop for gas and directions.

Did I mention this was part of our Brazilian odyssey? And that it was early in our assignment and we were not exactly conversant in Portuguese? And we had no map? And that no cell phone service is not always a peaceful blessing?

After a frustrating half hour trying to communicate with kind Brazilian locals whose English was on par with my Portuguese, we head off on a "short cut" to Illha Bella. Without any goodies for the road, we are all getting hungry and rapidly losing our good spirits. (I don't know why we didn't eat when we stopped for gas, but I believe I was asked that more than once in the coming hours). Then it gets dark. Really DARK. And the road cuts through mountains - a small, barely two lanes wide road - and then the fog appears. The road get narrower and twistier as we go, and the darkness and ever thicker fog consume everything. The kids are quiet in the back recognizing dad was stressed. Then the road turns to gravel. I expected a tree or cliff to appear in my windshield at any time now. I remember thinking, but hopefully didn't verbalize "I've been divorced and had both parents die, and those things were more fun than this". Eventually, the road led to a hard surface road and soon thereafter we saw a sign that indicated we were very close to our destination. We made the midnight ferry, and woke up the hotel operator arriving safely at our destination only a few hours late.

In retrospect, I know we were in God's hand the entire way. Nothing happened to us as we journeyed through foreign terrain to a wonderful destination. There was no reason to fear.

Now as then, there are times when I fear a perceived darkness closing in around me. I don't have control. I don't know what to do. I feel responsible for others, and inadequate to care for them. But in our verse today, we are told we need not fear.

I'm trying to be aware of the darkness when I encounter it, so I can trust God to bear me through it. Won't you join me?



THURSDAY
Psalm 91. NIV
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling — even the Lord, who is my refuge — 10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;

In the last few months there have been some terrible things happen in our country. A man murdering his mother, stealing her guns and killing school children in Connecticut. Bombs explode near the finishing line of the Boston marathon result in death and crippling injuries. A fertilizer plant explosion in Texas leaves many dead. A mile wide tornado levels a small Oklahoma town for the second time including a school full of children. An interstate bridge used daily by thousands of cars falls into the river below.

I've personally experienced a diverse list of catastrophic type events. A tornado jumped over our house in Sugar Land in the mid 90's. A national blackout left two thirds of Brazil in the dark (1999). A category 4 hurricane (Charly in 2005) went over the building I was in, and I wondered ifI would get to see my family again. An earthquake in 2008. A hurricane in the heartland (Ike in 2008). A "once in a lifetime" ice storm in 2009. Haley said once that we've been through everything but a tsunami.

I don't know why we came through our experiences with nothing more than memories when other people in similar or even the exact same events experienced severe consequences and even died. I believe the verses we have today, but I know there were people who have had their lives turned upside down, lost family members, and died who were probably more faithful and trusting than I am.

All I can read into this is that this world is not our home. And the things that happen here, though important to our eternal development, are not able to harm our soul. I don't have to understand to trust Him.



FRIDAY
Psalm 91 NIV
14 "Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

I love my iPad. I've had it nearly a year now, and it was my first foray into Apple products. It's introduced me to so many apps, they don't all fit at one time. I have two bible apps with multiple versions, study resources, and one even reads the scriptures to me. I have a couple of news and weather apps, and my company just released one to keep track of power outages. I hope I don't have to use it very often. Another app I keep on there all the time is Pandora. It's introduced me to new music that's similar to old music I like, and led me to rediscover songs I'd forgotten. For instance,

Amy Grant sings El Shaddai, and Sing Your Praises to The Lord.
Sandi Patti sings How Majestic is Your Name, the Via Delarosa, and Upon this Rock.
The Imperials sing Sail On, and The Trumpet of Jesus.
Michael W. Smith sings Agnus Dei, Friends, and Great is The Lord.
(George Strait, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett, Simon and Garfunkel, Journey, the Righteous Brothers, Arlo Guthrie, Steppenwolf, REO, and Queen are there too, but I digress).

And as I listen to music I've known for decades now, I sing along (when I'm alone so no one else has to hear). I feel more connected to my Lord through music than I've experienced in any other way. I sail on in my earthly journey singing praises to His majestic name, grateful for my earthly friends and realizing anew how great my Lord is. And I know from today's verses that He is taking care of me in ways I never even see. And all I have to do is love Him and call out to Him. It's a pretty great deal if you ask me. If you haven't already tried it, I recommend it!





Sent from Jim's iPad.