Hit by a Truck

A series on the Psalms - the voice of emotions
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
When you’re feeling fearful.
Psalm 91 

[Life is filled with emotions… anger and love; fear and courage; anxiety and peace. The Book of Psalms is also filled with emotions. They help us to validate our feelings and understand ourselves better; to grow in our faith and our relationship with Jesus; to understand the character of our Lord and how He works in our life.]

 

The definition of surreal is, “an event that seems strange; not real; like a dream”. Have you ever had something happen to you that felt surreal?

 

Recently while on vacation, I was walking to a water park with my daughter and three grandchildren. As we crossed the street, there was a shuttle bus blocking our view of oncoming traffic. In his excitement, my nine year old grandson ran ahead of us and was hit by a pickup truck. It was terrifying! It happened so quick that it felt totally surreal.

 

In a split second, my daughter was at her son’s side, followed by a stranger who identified himself as a retired policeman and EMT. He immediately took charge of the situation, holding Beckett’s head and neck in place; asking for a blanket from the crowd that had gathered; and then for an umbrella, as it started to rain.

 

The author of Psalm 91 may very well have gone through many terrifying experiences that were also surreal. He wrote about “terrors of the night, arrows in the day, disease that stalks in darkness and disaster that strikes at midday”.

 

But he also wrote about the presence of the Lord during those difficult and terrifying times.

 

^2b He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
    he is my God, and I trust him.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers.
    He will shelter you with his wings.
    His faithful promises are your armor and protection.         NLT

 

As Beckett lay on the pavement, he never lost consciousness and was talking. He asked if he was going to die; if he would be able to play soccer again. Thankfully, the retired policeman just happened to be there. He came out of nowhere. And afterwards, he disappeared without a word.

 

Maybe that’s what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote these words.

 

¹¹ For he will order his angels
    to protect you wherever you go.
¹² They will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. NLT

 

After being released from the hospital with a couple of bumps and bruises, Beckett said that he wanted to have a t-shirt made that said, “I was hit by a truck”. But in the ambulance, on the way to the hospital, he and his Mom prayed passionately.

 

The Psalmist wrote about fear. But he also wrote about the faithfulness of the Lord, including this promise which not only applies to Beckett, but to you and me.

 

¹⁴ The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
    I will protect those who trust in my name.
¹⁵ When they call on me, I will answer;
    I will be with them in trouble.
    I will rescue and honor them.
¹⁶ I will reward them with a long life
    and give them my salvation.”               NLT

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

But Really, It’s the Beginning

Matthew 24:22-31

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024%3A22-31&version=NIV;NLT;GNT

  

One day this past week, just as I was leaving the office, the sirens went off. It was a tornado warning. We’d already had heavy rains accompanied by high winds. Now the sky was dark. The trees were still. It was all very ominous. But I wasn’t going to wait until 6:30 when the warning was supposed to be over.

 

During my drive home, I listened to the talk radio station. A local meteorologist was on the air. As the sirens were screaming to “run and hide”, he was warning everyone to “find your safe place”.

 

He went through the list. “If you have a basement, go there. If you don’t, go to a room without a window. And if you’re in your car”… you’re screwed. He didn’t really say that, but it’s what I thought.

 

He was on the air for over thirty minutes dispensing a message of fear; of impending disaster. Afterwards, the announcer on the following program shared how when he was a little boy he was so afraid of thunder that when he heard a loud clap, five seconds later he would throw up. It was like clockwork.

 

You’d think it was the end of the world. Maybe it was.

²⁹ “Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.          NLT

 

I’ve never been that interested in the “end times”. The guys who carry a sandwich board declaring the end of the world, are an oddity to me. It’s not that I don’t believe; it just seems irrelevant to right now. Following Jesus is difficult enough without worrying about something that’s been predicted since Jesus was on earth.

 

I think that the question to ask is, “Who is in control”? The answer is Jesus. Knowing that he is in control, makes life bearable; makes life meaningful; makes life hopeful. And when he does return, it will be apparent to all.

 

²⁷ For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west... ³¹ The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.   GNT

 THE END…

 

But really, it’s the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

1 Peter 3:18-22

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%203%3A18-22&version=NIV;NLT

  

One thing almost everybody admits to being afraid of is, speaking in front of a crowd.

About twenty-five years ago, I joined a Toastmasters Club to improve my public speaking and confidence.

 

Each week the ladies who organized it would honor one of the speakers of the day with some special recognition that they would make up. It was silly, but having received one of their honors, it felt good to be recognized because you knew that you had overcome your fear. You knew that you had gone outside your comfort zone.  You knew that you were growing.

 

We all like recognition. We all like to be honored. James and John, two of Jesus’ closest disciples, asked if they could sit in the seats of honor next to Jesus when he became king. Of course they had no idea what they were asking. But Jesus knew.

 

Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”        Mark 10:38 NLT

 

In fact, Jesus was able to endure the suffering because of what he knew would follow. What he knew was on the other side of the cross.

 

¹⁸ Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. ²² Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.          NLT

 

Jesus knew that one day he would sit in the seat of honor with his Heavenly Father. He knew that he would hear His Father again saying, “This is my son whom I love. With you I am well pleased.” Those words were enough to carry Jesus through all the pain and suffering that he endured.

 

Like Jesus, it will help us to endure the pain and suffering of this world if we keep in front of us that day when we will be in His Presence in hopes of hearing Him say to us, “You are my son; you are my daughter whom I love. With you I am well pleased.”

 

“He is risen!”

 

“He is risen indeed!”

 

 

 

 

Eeyore or Tigger?

Numbers 14:1-9

Who’s your favorite: Eeyore or Tigger?

 

Have you ever noticed that there are two kinds of people in the world? One sees everything as half empty and the other as half full. In Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore is a half empty kind of guy: “It’s not much of a tail but I’m sort of attached to it”. While Tigger is always bouncing around: “Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! I almost bounced clear outta the book!”

 

In today’s passage the Israelites are half empty as they respond in despair to the report concerning the Promised Land: “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?” Sort of sounds like Eeyore doesn’t it?

 

While Joshua and Caleb are half full kind of guys: “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.”  Do you feel like bouncing with Tigger?

 

How did the other ten spies explore the same land as Joshua and Caleb but came to the totally opposite conclusion? The answer is in the last statement in today’s passage. “The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them”.

 

There are many examples in the Bible of people who believed and trusted that God would be with them in difficult, if not impossible situations. Moses ran away from Egypt and Gideon was hiding in a winepress when God promised each of them, “I will be with you”. The same promise is true for you and me.

 

Eeyore and Tigger are make believe characters from a fictional children’s book, but they have human traits. Traits that can be seen in people throughout the Bible. Traits that we can see in ourselves.

 

Are you more like Eeyore or Tigger? Or a better question to ask is this; do you see God at work in your life or do you only see the obstacles? Like the Israelites, do you ask God why, or like Joshua and Caleb do you ask God why not?