WATCHWORD:
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22
Meditation:
Preamble to a Miracle
Thanksgiving Day. The feeling of not being quite right began and worsened as Christmas approached. The decline continued into the new year requiring my friend, call him Carl, to start taking sick days. Doctor visits and multiple tests followed, the diagnosis not clearly defined, then more tests. Cancer? Liver? This was dragging Carl down, what could be worse? Then his sick days were used up, his source of income. Then the second shoe dropped; his application for disability was denied! What next?
How about you? Have you or a loved one been on a downward spiral, where the bad seemed only to get worse, and a solution or an answer was elusive? A recent Watchword, entitled “Wisdom”, cited this James 1:5, verse: If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the father. He loves to help.
Is that our standard? We do go to God when things are looking bleak and our health, or finances, or our relationships are all somewhere deep in the plumbing that you don’t know the way out? Be straight, do we rely on the Lord, and say “Heavenly Father, I really don’t know what to do. I need your help”, and then trust Him?
Ever been there,? Of course you have, and so have I. I’ve felt my depression melt away in the face of prayer, a talk with the Lord, a conversation that involves confession and admitting that I can’t handle it without His help, and then gratitude is expressed and He is there; He is always there. The lamp that dispels our darkness is truly and fully trusting in the Lord.
This meditation is entitled, “Preamble to a miracle.” Maybe not the miracle you thought I might reveal at this point, but a slightly different one. I received this text message from another who has been a close friend of Carl through his bleakest times: “A miracle happened today. God has heard our prayers and Carl’s disability has been approved! What an amazing day, at a time when we needed something to go right.”
Carl is still going to face a difficult medical procedure, but he is on the long road of recovery, healing and then back to work. But at least the worry of finances has been lifted and he can move ahead with a better attitude. We sometimes look for major miracles, like the crossing of the Red Sea, the curing of the untouchable lepers, the winning of a lottery, but some of the miracles that litter our lives like seasoning have been little things that we took for granted. For Carl, it was lifting the weight of his financials from the burden he was carrying.
If we have learned anything from our walk with Christ, aside from the obvious of love God and love others, it’s that the graces of God come in little and big ways and regardless we must have an attitude of graciousness, an attitude of acceptance, an attitude that says thank you, Lord, I love being your child. Amen.
Jesus Says to Carl and to Us:
Trust not in horses, wealth, family, friends, work — Trust only in Me, the source of true Peace.
Prayer of Gratitude:
Heavenly Father, Your miracles surround us and we lift our hearts and voices to you in praise and gratitude, Lord. There is none like you. From your great mercy we have received life and hope. We joyfully yield our lives to the lordship of Jesus. Through Him we have overcome, through Him we have received graces and gifts far beyond our ability to imagine. Give us the strength to complete the course you have chosen for us. Fill our hearts with joy. Open our eyes to see the majesty of our God. Let the earth be filled with praise to our God, in Jesus name, Amen.
