Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Into the Lion's Den

"So the king gave orders for Daniel to be taken and thrown into the pit filled with lions. He said to Daniel, 'May your God whom you serve so loyally, rescue you."

Ever felt you were up to your elbows in lions? The rent is due and you're not. The pain is overwhelming yet the doctor can't even find the source. Your daughter or son isn't acting like your daughter or son and you can't find a way to make it better. Your husband or wife has suddenly lost interest in you?

Lions come at us in all shapes, sizes and methods.

The question is not whether the den will come. The den will always come. The question is what do we do when the lions notice we've been thrown in there? Do we sit down and cry? Do we simply wait for the teeth? Or do we wait on the rescuer?

I hope you know how I'm going to lean on this.

Yesterday was a bad back day for me, a good day for Mary and I. I worked, Labor Day be darned, on the next sermon, then the one after that and the one after that. Just putting things in place to be gone over today as I try to finish the five-part series on The Church and it's place still in our society. Then we left to go to Lafayette. We had a great lunch, then went to shop for our grandson Gabe's birthday, which we missed since we live three hours away and they still didn't have power on his birthday.

Still, my back hurt like heck. It dawned on me that I basically have two options apparently in the time I have left on this earth: I can hurt or I can take pain pills. Nothing that any doctors has done has eliminated the pain, so my confidence in their ability to do so is limited at best.

The question becomes do I wait for the teeth, or for the rescuer. I believe I will wait on that other person in the lion's den beside Daniel.  I believe I will count on this Jesus to keep me teaching, preaching and serving. And if the pain gets so bad I can't think, then I won't think. Though some would question if I think now.

My point is this: Counting on anything to save us by the Lord our God is at best risky, at worst foolish. There are worst things than back pain. I've seen them in hospital visit after hospital visit.

And by the way, though I really, really hurt, we accomplished all we set out to do.

Isn't that enough?

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