28th. April 2020.Daily Devotion.

Matthew 7:24-27

24 ‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.’

Statistics and projections overwhelm us these days. The daily toll of newly confirmed infections and deaths and the tensions around when to ease the lockdown do not make comfortable reading. Facing a new threat to human life and wellbeing is understandably fraught with unknowns. Alarmingly, this week we have heard that children with Covid-19 may present with a form of septic shock. A horrifying new fear for parents and grandparents is added to the burden. We need something solid to stand upon.

I read this testimony yesterday:
Come to the Rock
Playing the odds is a fragile place to put your hope. Odds like 3 percent versus 10 percent, youth versus old age, compromised health versus no history of disease, rural versus urban, self-isolated versus meeting with friends. Playing the odds provides little hope. It is not a firm place to stand.
There is a better way. There is a better place to stand: A Rock of certainty rather than the sand of probabilities.

When Cancer Came
I recall being told on December 21, 2005, that I had prostate cancer. For the next several weeks, all the talk was about odds. Odds with waiting to see. Odds with medications. Odds with homeopathic procedures. Odds with radical surgery. My wife, Noël, and I took these numbers seriously. But in the evening, we would smile at each other and think, our hope is not in the odds. Our hope is in God.

We did not mean, “It is 100 percent certain God will heal me, while doctors can only give me odds.” The Rock we are talking about is better than that. Yes, better than healing.

Even before the phone call from the doctor telling me I had cancer, God had already reminded me in a remarkable way about the Rock under my feet. After my usual annual exam, the urologist had looked at me and said, “I’d like to do a biopsy.”
Really? I thought. “When?” “Right now, if you have the time.” “I’ll make time.”

What God Says
While he was going to get the machine, and while I was changing into the typical unflattering blue gown, there was time for me to ponder what was happening.
So, he thinks I may have cancer.
As my future in this world began to change before my eyes, God brought to my mind something I had read recently in the Bible.
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. (1 Thess. 5:9–10)
Awake or asleep—that is, live or die—I will be alive with God. So how can this be?

It’s because of Jesus. Jesus alone. Because of his death, there will be no wrath toward me. Not because of my perfection. My sins, my guilt, and my punishment fell on my Saviour, Jesus Christ. He “died for us.” That’s what God’s word says. Therefore, I am free from guilt. Free from punishment. Secure in God’s merciful favour. “Live or die,” God said, “you will be with me.”

That is quite different from playing the odds with cancer—or with the coronavirus. This is a firm Rock under my feet. It is not fragile. It is not sand. I would like it to be a Rock under your feet in these anxious times. John Piper

Yes, we face an existential threat, but we face it from the security of the rock that is Christ. Today pray for wisdom for doctors and nurses assessing children that they may be guided to make accurate diagnoses rapidly. Pray for courage and calmness for them and the families they help.

Psalm Fragment

P1 Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
2 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
4 I long to dwell in your tent for ever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. (Psalm 61:1-4)

Prayer
Gracious Lord, as people wait for the results of medical tests about an affliction, let them offer you their anxieties for their good. Lead them to Jesus, the Rock that is higher than they. Calm them in their worries, knowing these do not add wisdom but stress to the situation. Guide their physicians, through the power of your Spirit, to make wise decisions about treatment. Keep them close to You in these fragile, painful moments. Comfort them with grace and strength as they place all their concerns in your loving hands with Jesus’ prayer, “Thy Will Be Done.” Amen

Lead me to the Rock