Sunrise view from Chilhowee Mountain Retreat in Tennessee – looking over the Smokies. It was a powerful reminder that “His mercies are new every morning…”
It was an incredibly long day yesterday for Ben and his family. A nearly 12 hour surgery that the doctor described being “difficult” and at times “hairy”. Not two words you want to hear from your surgeon. On her facebook page, Jenn commented late last night – “Just saw Ben a little while ago….so many wires, tubes, etc. but he is alive.” Ben is not out of the woods and there are critical days ahead. And so much uncertainty about the future. Please continue your prayers for this family. Ben needs a miraculous touch, he needs all of his organs to begin functioning again, he needs permanent healing. His family needs the kind of assurance that can only come from the Spirit of God, Himself.
Another devotional I had read yesterday reminded me of Psalm 147, which has a promise I felt was completely relevant to not only Ben’s condition, but to many suffering people I know.
“Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
make music to our God on the harp.
He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Extol the Lord, Jerusalem;
praise your God, Zion.
He strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your people within you.
He grants peace to your borders
and satisfies you with the finest of wheat.
He sends his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?
He sends his word and melts them;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his laws and decrees to Israel.
He has done this for no other nation;
they do not know his laws.
Praise the Lord.“
(Psalm 147, NIV)
Our God is powerful, controlling the very forces of nature, but compassionate enough to be concerned with the affliction of the humble. He Binds our broken hearts, “strengthens the bars of our gates”, “grants peace at our borders”. What’s convicting to me is how the psalmist reminds us throughout to “Praise the Lord”. The psalm opens with this command, it punctuates stanzas in the middle of the psalm, and it ends the psalm decisively with “Praise the Lord”. From beginning to end God is worthy of our praise. And the praise really isn’t for His benefit, it is for ours. It’s in the praise that God powerfully moves heaven and earth and displays His greatness on behalf of His children.
Whatever you may be facing today, let the beginning, middle, and end of your day be punctuated with praise…and all the in-between moments as well. Whether it’s a literally broken heart, or an emotionally and spiritually broken heart, God can and will bind it up.
