BBD 06.06.14 When Problems Come (Classic 2002)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
If for
some reason you do not receive your email version of the devotional please
check the Burning Bush website at http://www.theburningbush.net for the “Devotional of the Day” and read the devotional
there.
The Burning
Bush Devotional
Classic
from 2002
Today’s devotional is
from an article written by my son, Clark Wrather, for his church newsletter
while he was the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma. He
has been the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Yukon, Oklahoma since 2012.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose
hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which
spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its
leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will
cease from yielding fruit. - Jeremiah 17:7-8.
“No one really wants to
hear that their baby is not perfect.” Those were the words Libby and I heard
from a pediatric neurosurgeon at Children’s Hospital in Dallas a few weeks ago.
All I could do was nod my head. The doctor continued and said, “...we’re most likely looking at surgery.”
The phrase hit me like a shot to the belly from Evander Holyfield.
Mason, the newest addition to our family was
born with three dimples at the base of his spine. According to his doctors,
this could be nothing or it could be something. Sometimes these dimples
indicate that there is an underlying problem with the spine. The problem could
be several different things and most of them are easily correctable by surgery.
Often there is a connection that leads from the dimples on the outside all the
way to the spinal cord on the inside.
There could be a microscopic opening from the
dimples all the way to the spinal cord. This means any infection that Mason has
could enter through these openings and travel to his spinal cord. An infection
there could cause paralysis or death. Because of this, the neurosurgeon did not
recommend that we wait until Mason was older to do surgery. Because it has the
potential to be very dangerous, the doctor said that exploratory surgery should
be done even if an MRI does not show anything.
“Surgery” - the word just
reverberated through me when I heard it. “How could they
do surgery on such a small baby,” I wondered to myself.
Needless to say, Libby and I were dazed and upset during our drive home from
Dallas. The upcoming months no longer seemed like a future full of wonderful
opportunities waiting to be discovered. Instead, they loomed dark and menacing
inspiring the kind of fear that only the great unknown can give.
At times, I have thought about why this
happened or that it seemed unfair. A couple of times the thought, “how could God do this to my family,”
would float across my mind. Usually, another phrase would come to me at these
times: “they killed my Son (God speaking).” It was a still and quiet
voice, but gave the impression of iron beneath velvet. My Lord was right. It
could be much, much worse. I should be deeply thankful that Mason’s problem may
be correctable with surgery.
I know my Father in heaven did not make this
bad thing happen, but he could use it as an opportunity to work creatively in
my life. I also know that whatever happens in the dark weeks ahead, my Good
Shepherd will be right beside me, leading and guiding me through them.
(As of
June 2014, Mason has had three surgeries for this problem and only God knows if there will be more. - Ed)
Copyright © 2002 - 2014. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of
these first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent
to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
Visit the
Burning Bush websites:
The .org
Burning Bush website
is being updated.
The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.
You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.
There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.
Prayer Warriors Wanted! Please join the
Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998. Send prayer requests and
receive prayer requests. To join send an
email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn
profile with endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105
Prayer Requests: Please pray for the return of the Nigerian school girls. Please
pray for Debby Burroughs who I found out yesterday has stage IV cancer which
started out in her colon and has metastasized to her liver. She is very ill and
surely needs the prayers of many to survive. I want to encourage you to pray
for Debby and to ask others to pray for her as well. Thank you!!! Here is
Debby’s facebook support page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Debby-Burroughs-Support-Page/197118363821211 Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of
prayer - please pray for me.).
If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org
There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.
You can unsubscribe to the
burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
You may subscribe to the html
text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now
in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org
and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.
--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org