Lymph Joural # 18

1/25/2012

Today was one of those days that starts with a baseline dread and ends with a greater measure of blessing.  Looking ahead I saw hours in the therapy room lounge (worked out to be five hours, and no, no Marmalade Lady) and uncertain effects on my system.  The effects may still come (but I ate like a horse upon my return home) but the time flew by (sometimes a bit drowsily due to an antihistamine infusion).  And the time had a focus the object of which was set by two passages in Scripture and a remembrance of past adventure.

The first passage was suggested by my ride in today in the gracious hands of BFCF’s pastor David.  He told me he would be covering me in prayer guided by Psalm 20.  Needless to say it was the first place I went once settled in the lounge.    It begin with:

            May the LORD answer you when you are in distress,

            may the name of the God of Jacob protect you…

It concludes with verses 6&7:

            Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed

            He answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his righteous

right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we will trust in the name f the LORD our God.

A very encouraging Psalm, to say the least, but then I went on to where I’ve been reading of late and that is from the book of the prophet Isaiah, specifically chapters 35-38.  This piece of Isaiah is more narrative than prophecy. It tells the tale of  the Assyrian field commander of Assyria’s, up to this point overwhelmingly triumphant king Sennacherib.  The commander taunts the agent of the godly king in Jerusalem, Hezekiah – a king who has restored right worship and worked to rid the nation of its idols and “high places” of unholy sacrifice.  His taunts include an accusation that he was trusting in the “broken reed” of Egypt for his safety.  He then scoffs that Hezekiah might be trusting in the one known as “the LORD our God” when everyone knows that Hezekiah has torn down the high places (well, I didn’t say the field commander was a good theologian) and everyone also knows that Sennacherib has overthrown every god he’s encountered to this point on his romp through the Near East – no god has delivered anyone.

Hezekiah’s response is prayer (chapter 37)(there are other details but you can read them for yourself).  His prayer starts with praise to God for his creation.  It moves on to a realistic assessment of the situation – he’s knows what he’s up against. It finishes with the request:

            “Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD are God.”

In other words – God you cover this and show your name strong.  Pretty close to where I started in Psalm 20.

So, then I got to remembering the craziest English Camp I’ve ever had the privilege and responsibility to direct.  We were way understaffed and everyone was doing double or triple duty.  Very few of the staff knew each other at the start so teambuilding was an on the job affair.  The kids were one of our wilder bunches.  The temperature was hot, hot, hot and the flies were the worst I’d ever experienced at camp (I remember our Bible teacher swatting flies, a weapon in each hand, during morning staff prayer).  Injuries were unusually high staff and campers alike. 

One night during the Bible teaching one of our campers sort of screamed in a terror stricken way and then passed out in her seat.  Well, well – what do you do?  We pulled her into the side room where two of our leg injures people were already laid out.  The doc [Larry P for those who know him] had already been see them and was on his way back with medical supplies – was he surprised to see a third body laid out!  But we knew this case was less medical and more spiritual so we surrounded her with a handful of staff and the hands of the wounded and I told folks to pray out loud whatever they felt they were called to pray.  We all did and what came to my mind to pray was this:  Show your name strong God, show your name strong! 

In all this, show your name strong!  David, when he trusted in God’s name, often saw the God of Jacob deliver him.  Hezekiah, when he trusted in in the name of the LORD our God, saw deliverance.  Our camper as we together called on God’s name saw deliverance from a particular memory that was haunting her. 

I felt a buoyancy within and in leaving the treatment room that I did not have going in.  I’ve heard of people being “uplifted” by the prayers of God’s people.  Now (well, not for the first time but plainly evident today) I’m one of those people.  Diane is another.  Thanks to all who pray and thanks to the name of the LORD our God.

Don’t stop tomorrow for there are toxic chemicals awaiting me.