Listen to this devotion
Beyond Tears
In the Word
"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:3b–4a).
Of the Word
Our nine year old daughter Carrie lay in pediatric ICU, my husband and I at her bedside. The doctor’s words were devastating! “She is in heart failure. We can’t give you any hope for her survival. We’ll do everything we can. We don’t know what caused this or how to treat it.”
We knew all we could do was to cry out to God. Beyond tears, I turned to Him and prayed, “What did I miss? What could I have done, Lord? Through Baptism we know Carrie is Yours, so take her if You must, but we love her so much.” Softly these words came to mind: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:2b–3).
God answered our prayers with a magnificent “Yes!” Today Carrie is an active woman, pastor’s wife, and mother of two. She has known difficult days and has had three dangerous heart surgeries, but she shines with the glory of God as He faithfully displays His work in her life.
Walking with my Lord
Thank you, Lord, that in moments of hopelessness I can rely on You to hear my prayers and work everything for my good and Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Mustard Seed: Living as a Woman in Mission. Author: Helen Roenfeldt. 24/32 ©2009 Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, 801 Seminary Place Ste. L010, St. Louis, MO 63105. www.lwml.org
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations were taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved worldwide.
