As we gather on behalf of Trey today, please consider the infamous Jonah. Our scripture picks up right where Jonah is stuck in a pretty seemingly hopeless situation!
"From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said:
'In my distress I called to the LORD,
and He answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and You listened to my cry."
and He answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and You listened to my cry."
Think about it: Jonah is still in the belly of the fish at this point!
He is already acknowledging the help and power of our ever listening and faithful God!
He is already acknowledging the help and power of our ever listening and faithful God!
While Trey is still stuck in his recovery, we need to have that same focus!
3 "You hurled me into the depths,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all Your waves and breakers
swept over me.
Jonah's circumstances appear to be pretty grim, huh?
Trey's are as well!
But if we take a closer look at the sentence structure here we see that the waves and the breakers belong to God.
God is still present in the storm!
God knows where Trey is, He knows what Trey needs, and God knows what Trey's family and friends need.
We can trust him despite the circumstances!
Sometimes God uses a storm to water the seeds, clean out the gutters and make everything new! (Springtime is coming, right?) :0)
4 I said, ‘I have been banished
from Your sight;
yet I will look again
toward Your holy temple.’
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever."
But you, LORD my God,
brought my life up from the pit.
brought my life up from the pit.
8 “Those who cling to worthless idols
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
Look at the words that were bolded above.
turn away from God’s love for them.
9 But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
Look at the words that were bolded above.
Look at the hopeful change God can create!
Often times what looks bad to us can be used for good by God!
Often times what looks bad to us can be used for good by God!
So now, let's take everything we know about Trey - his diagnosis, his prognosis, his blood cell counts, his treatment plan, his parents, his siblings - and boldly and confidently present them to God!
Let's pray for:
- Trey to be bathed in the protection of God through his skillful doctors and nurses!
- Trey's cancer to drown in the sea of his treatment plan!
- Jay and Rachel to feel the refreshing mist of hope and peace that passes understanding!
- God to use his powers over the sea to raise Trey's blood counts numbers to a safe level!
Now let's go back to the beginning and remember the faith-filled prayer of Jonah!
'In my distress I called to the LORD,
and He answered me."
and He answered me."
Amen and Amen!
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