Dependence

Billy’s dad kissed his wife goodbye and walked out into the cool dark of early morning to go hunting.  As he backed up he felt the vehicle go over a mysterious bump in his driveway.  Concerned, he stopped opened the door and went back to examine the object.  His two-year old son lay under the vehicle. He’d just run over his head.  
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They rushed Billy to the hospital, his skull badly cracked in three places.  The doctor sent the stricken parents home and told them to come back the next day. 

Meditation
Psalm 62:5-8--Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock. My refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
  
Often today we hear cocky voices disparage Christians as weak because they trust in some fabricated Being.  Never mind that agony brings our disputed God to the forefront in the minds of His harshest critics.  I, for one, am quite happy to be “feeble” in my dependence on God.  I am grateful to have fellow believers to turn to for help and consolation in times of distress.  If dependence on God is a sign of weakness, let me be chief among His wimps.  I’d rather fall in the hands of my invisible Lord and gain true solace than rage against heaven with an empty heart.  I don’t know any proud atheists or brilliant agnostics who have managed to undo the dust-to-dust process.  I have yet to see abiding joy in any person who scoffs at the need for a Savior.  

​Billy’s parents did not go home to wail and weep alone. They turned to their pastor and the families in their small new church.  Together they all lifted their hearts to their Father in heaven and pled for the life of a precious child.  I met Billy at a men’s retreat in Washington where I had the privilege to speak about friendship with God.  He shared with me how his parents returned to the hospital the next day to find him healed—no brain swelling or infection occurred.  Billy, this well-known fifth generation logger, is unashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).  He and his folks know all about the value of dependence.  I believe that had he died his parents would have found in God the grace and mercy they would have needed to go on.  Dependence is an ingredient of faith not the affliction of the dysfunctional. It is the lovesong of God’s children who look to Him the mighty Rock as their refuge and fortress in times of peace and times of battle.
 
Inspiration
It is a good thing to feel our own powerlessness in the face of destruction; it makes us know how much we depend upon God.—Oswald Chambers in Baffled to Fight Better
 
©2001 Daniel York  ARR. Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)