God Watches Over Us
The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. -- Psalm 121:5
Word came a few hours ago that a church member was headed back to surgery. The next 24 hours are critical. She had surgery recently so a trip back to the operating room at night is a bad thing.
I don’t know her. I don’t know her family. But I prayed for her just the same. I prayed for them too. Because it’s what we do in the family of Christ. We care. We pray. We trust God to be in every situation.
During some seasons of life it seems that despair is just everywhere. An elderly gentleman went to the doctor with a backache. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has a choice now. Two months to live if he says no treatment and maybe a year to live if he has treatment. We pray for this man and his family.
Two other wonderful people are entering a season of life most of us dread. He has Alzheimer’s. She fell a few weeks ago and broke bones that make it impossible for her to drive or care for him. He’s in a facility that specializes in Alzheimer’s patients. She’s depending on friends and family for transportation and care. We don’t know if he’ll ever come home. We don’t know when she’ll be able to care for herself again. We pray for them both.
That’s how it is when we’re part of God’s family. We turn first to Him for strength, for healing, for guidance when it seems that the world is crashing down around us. We cry out and immediately His hand steadies us amidst the turmoil and pain. I can’t imagine how anyone makes it through the valley without Him.
Several years ago I underwent unexpected surgery. I still remember the voice of the man who wheeled me toward the operating room as he sang hymns. The words comforted me. I have no idea what songs he sang. I don’t even know his name. I just remember being thankful for the reminder that God was there, present, with me as I lay there.
He never leaves us alone. We know that in our minds. Do we know it in our hearts? He is with our church member in the operating room even as I write these words. He is with that dear man faced with impossible choices and a likely quicker-than-planned trip home. He is with that dear couple as their lives are turned upside-down from illness and injury. He is with you and me no matter what we face, no matter what time of day or night, and no matter how long the journey.
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