08/17/2019
Do you give much thought to the mercy of God, and what He does for us in this regard every day? Sometimes we look at a chain of “fortunate” occurrences and think we were “lucky”, but that discounts the ever present hand of God in our lives. Today let’s contemplate the mercy of God.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Psalms 147:3 ESV
This morning I opened today’s entry in the devotional I am reading this year, and the subject was mercy. The Bible verse was...
“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.”
Psalms 52:8 KJV
You are probably thinking “that’s nice”, but yesterday God demonstrated His mercy here at Glacier National Park in a most amazing way. The fact that my devotional reading just happened to deal with this subject emphasized this occurrence to me.
I am here with a large group of family members to celebrate the wedding of my wife’s niece, and before the rehearsal yesterday a group of them decided to hike to the top of a 7,000 foot high mountain and the ski lodge at the summit. This was an extremely difficult hike, and many of the participants were older. As they approached the summit the climb became very steep, and coupled with the lack of oxygen they were more than struggling. Finally reaching the top, most of them were complaining about their lungs hurting, but the father of the bride was experiencing much more than that... he was having the early symptoms of a heart attack! As he sat there the group began to realize the urgency of the situation... this is where the hand of God became obvious. Not with the main group, and unbeknownst to the group, another member of the wedding part, a cardiologist and his wife, were also hiking the trail. Knowing there was a cardiologist attending the wedding, one of those at the summit called him on his cell phone and relayed the seriousness of the situation... only to find that by some miracle the doctor and his wife had nearly caught up with the main group and were mere minutes from summiting. I would like to think that this in itself was a miracle, and more than strong legs had helped in this regard... Miracle two.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31 KJV
The ski patrol had already been alerted and started oxygen, but almost at once the doctor was at my brother in law’s side, diagnosed what was happening, called for an ambulance, and selected a hospital that had a Cath Lab and was equipped to handle their emergency.
The first miracle was that he was able to make it to the summit where he could easily be triaged, then placed on a gondola, and then a ski lift to get him off the mountain. He was unable to walk unassisted, so had he experienced the heart attack somewhere along the nearly 4 mile hike they would have had to carry him down the mountain on a stretcher... increasing the time to hospital significantly. Once again God’s hand.
By the time he arrived at the foot of the mountain an ambulance was waiting and with his doctor at his side they began treatment immediately as they raced to hospital.... Miracle three, and another of God’s intricately woven threads.
Arriving at hospital the EMTs unloaded their patient but as they rolled him into the Emergency Room he had a major heart attack.... right there in the ER! Here there was a full staff and medication... he was in the right place for this occurrence... miracle four.
They took him straight into the Cath Lab where they inserted a stint in one of his larger arteries, and his life was saved... miracle five. The surgeon performing the procedure told the family that they caught it in time, there was minimal heart damage... miracle six, and that he would be released the next day in time for his daughter’s wedding... miracle seven.
“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 KJV
God’s mercy is active in our lives all of the time! This was a rather extreme example, and most are not this dramatic, but those things we are quick to call chance, fortunate, or happenstance are far from that! They are quite often the merciful hand of God in our lives. Often times those being placed, or used by Him aren’t even aware they have become His tool. A good example would be the cardiologist friend... whose life was orchestrated from birth for just this moment... and who knows how many others.
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5 KJV
So be aware of the mercy of God that surrounds you at all times, and thank Him for it. Praise Him for the amazingly intricate garment He has woven about your life, and the lives of all those (including your own) that shout His glory as it demonstrated His love via mercy and grace.
“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.”
Jeremiah 17:14 KJV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your grace, and the mercy you pour out upon us each and every day. Thank you for knowing us before we are formed, and also the lives of those you have interwoven with us. Great are you who has set all creation in motion, and hovers over it with loving kindness. Today I thank you for the life of my brother in law, and all of the mercies you have bestowed on me and my family. Thank you for your blessings and the many miracles that we are so often inclined to discount your hand in. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God whose hand guides our steps, and ladles love upon us as if oil. Praised be your name for the unwarranted grace we receive through your Son Jesus, and for His intercession on our behalf. Great are you our God who works all things together for our good, and saves us from disaster, and ourselves. All glory is yours Lord, and May we give you the glory even in the small, seemingly insignificant, and yet loving caresses of mercy you give us.
“And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,”
Exodus 34:6 KJV
Rich Forbes