Beloved, this devotional written by my colleague, Pastor Joan Jones of St. Edmonds UMC, really touched my heart this week. With her permission I am sharing it with you, in the hopes that you, too, will be blessed in the sharing. ~Pastor Peggy ~
A DWELLING PLACE
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
After suffering from a heart attack during a car accident my father was diagnosed with heart issues and was no longer employable. Being an outside person who enjoyed nature and working with his hands, he spent many hours gardening. A few years after the heart diagnosis, he was diagnosed with advanced prostrate cancer. The cancer went into remission after surgery, but it returned later much more aggressively. When the doctor informed him that there was nothing else, they could do, Dad took the news like a champ. So, we began the journey several times a week to the oncologist. He never complained in our engineering to get him in and out of the car for his treatments. Even after being placed in Hospice Care, he never complained.
Two weeks prior to his transition, he requested no visitors. It was as if he wanted to spend all of his time meditating and being in the presence of the Lord. He refused any medication and his vital signs were restored to pre-medicine stages. He was resting in that secret place beneath the wing of Jesus. Oh, what a joy it is to know God and rest in his care. What a blessing to be comforted in your last hours by the knowledge that God is your rock and your fortress! How marvelous it is to know that as we prepare for eternity, God is still our rock and our refuge. Jesus said I am the Living Water, and as Dad breathed his last I could see the living water, refreshing and renewing him for eternity.
PRAYER: God of my weary years, God of my silent tears, God who has brought me this far,
continue to be my rock and my refuge, my strength in whom I place all my trust. Amen.
Joan Jones, St. Edmonds UMC