Thursday Devotional - Timely Encouragement

My Dad’s been back in the hospital this whole week with lots of fluid on the left and right side of his lungs. They gave him strong medicine to help drain the fluid, but he still can’t move much or breath well. Yesterday, they surgically went in and drained another liter of fluid and he’s still not a lot better. On top of that, he got a hematoma where they made the incision in his back. So, it’s been a scary week for all of us. He’s lost over 20 pounds since he’s been in the hospital, so now he’s down to only 160 pounds (and he’s 6 feet tall).  

The doctors still don’t know why fluid is pooling or what the underlying issue is. He had stents put in a couple arteries back in the summer, changed his diet completely and got an excellent report back in September. However, now his heart function is very poor and they don’t know why.

We know we can trust God and ask Him for guidance and healing and care. We’ve been crying out to Him. In God’s perfect timing, we’ve been studying several chapters in the Psalms in Bible Study the last couple of weeks. I’ve read and re-read them. Here are a few of the verses that are especially encouraging right now.

Psalm 59:17  You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
    you, God, are my fortress,
    my God on whom I can rely.

Psalm 23:4    Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

Psalm 139:13-16      For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

Maybe you are going through something difficult or you know someone going through something difficult. Which of these verses encourages you and which ones will you share with someone else to encourage them?

Alice