When I awake—I am still with you (Psalm 139:18 translated from the Hebrew).
On Saturday afternoon, my father returned home after one month of confinement to a hospital bed in Brisbane. My mother sent me a photograph of him and I understand why the hospital staff nicknamed my father, “The Mummy”. He is almost covered head to toe in bandages following lengthy surgery. Then on Sunday, my sister, Leanne was admitted to hospital in Alice Springs and placed in quarantine with suspected pneumonia. I pray that my brother, James is okay where he lives in Tokyo. Like other mortals, I feel a modicum of distress when I hear unsettling news. When ill at ease, my reflex is to turn to scripture for perspective, and voila, Psalm 139 again speaks a simple, yet profound truth: When I awake—I am still with you. I have nothing to fear. Only one of two things can ever happen to me, and both are good. If I should die, I will be with Jesus. If I should live, I will be with Jesus. Either way, I will be together with Jesus. What a thought to cherish! In good health or in sickness, in joy or sorrow, in life or death, Jesus and I will always be together. “When I awake—I am still with you”, says David. That is the comfort in every Christian trial. The night may be long and trying, sleep intermittent and feverish, body faint, heart anxious, but regardless what trials the night may bring, “when I awake, I am still with you”! And what greater comfort can there be than to be with Christ! Even when the night of “life’s fleeting moment” is over, when the veil of eternity is lifted and the Sun of righteousness beams in all his healing brilliance - even in death, “when I awake, I am still with you”! How can we ever thank our heavenly Father for assurance so glorious? Dear Saints, there is nothing in sickness that can harm us when through faith in Jesus, we rest eternally in the security of our Father’s hands. He is always present with us in sickness or in good health, and in the presence of God, no evil dare come near us! We can rest assured with the conviction that Christ’s healing presence pervades every scene of life, and remains with us at the very door of death. Praise be to God in the highest heaven and in our every breath. With love, Pastor Greg Saturday 18th April 2020.
1 Comment
26/4/2020 10:57:50 am
How comforting it is to know that Jesus is with us no matter where we go or what we do. Thank you Greg for reminding us all of this most valuable gift and protection that we all have with us every Minuit of every day. Blessings to all that read this.
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