January 22
Gen 44:1-45 | PS 18:37-50 | Prov 4:11-13 | Matt 14:13-36
Being an obstetrician for over 35 years there are very few first events that occur for me any more. The other day was one. In the middle of the night a patient came in with twins, slightly premature, complaining of blood pressure symptoms. When she arrived, she seemed to be in pain. She was in labor, these were her seventh and eighth children, and this was her fourth c-section. The babies looked fine, so we quickly moved towards delivery. When she got into the OR, one last quick check noted that it was difficult to find the babies’ heartbeat. Praying, we proceeded as a stat c-section. When I entered the abdomen, there was a blood under pressure. It was my thought that the uterus probably ruptured at this point, but to my shock, not only had the uterus indeed ruptured or burst open, but the babies were no longer in the uterus. The force of the rupture threw the babies into the upper abdomen, away from their blood supply. Unable to see the babies due to the location of the incision and the location of the babies, I reached up blindly and grasped one by the head, still in its sac, then the other by the feet and brought them out. Though both went to the NICU, they both went home perfectly fine. This was God's hand from beginning to end. In retrospect, any deviation from the timing would have led to a much different outcome. It was God who moved this woman to come for blood pressure, to every moment in between, and I see it was God's hand through mine that actually grabbed these babies. All praise to our God who sees all and is ever present.
We read the story of Jesus walking on the water in Matthew 14:22-33. The apostles were experienced fishermen, yet in the middle of the night, in the middle of the sea, they faced seemingly insurmountable winds. Then Jesus approached them, walking on the sea, and though they were fearful, thinking they were seeing a ghost, Jesus told them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." (Matthew 14:27). Peter, then responds in 14:28-30, "And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” In faith, Peter was able to walk on water. When he took His eyes off of Jesus and onto the situation, Peter began to sink. We then see Jesus' saving hand in 14:31, "And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”"
We should not miss this. In Jesus, we can do much, without Him we cannot. God doesn't need us, but He often uses us. Even in the feeding of the five thousand, it was Jesus who multiplied the fish and loaves, but we read in Matthew 14:19, "Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.", it was from the disciple's hand that the people received it. In my example above, I truly believe it was the hand of Jesus in every part that happened which resulted in the positive outcome, including His hand through mine that actually grabbed these babies. The same holds true for each of us at home, at the workplace, in our mission fields. He never asked us to be special or powerful. He asks us to keep our eyes on Him and allow the power of the Holy Spirit to work in and through us. Just as with Peter in the water, when our eyes remain fixed on Jesus anything is possible, but when we take our eyes off of Him and onto our circumstances and problems everything seems tedious and difficult. May we keep our eyes on our Savior in both the routine and the unexpected moments in life.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: