He Meets Us There

by Kathy Lay

This Week's Verse: Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Devotion:
Anyone familiar with my dad knew that the man enjoyed food. Restaurant gift cards were always a great gift option because we always knew they'd be used with pleasure.

As my brother, sister, and our spouses shared stories the other day as we gathered around Dad, my brother-in-law commented that Dad's chili was always an adventure unto itself because you never knew exactly what he'd throw in. Each dish was an experimentation because Dad was into sampling and dabbling and bringing taste to new heights.

So imagine the difficulty that my brother, sister, and I faced when told that Dad's condition was worsening and that he would never again swallow. The doctors said we should start considering whether we wanted Dad to have a feeding tube. Or not.

At one point in the hospital room I was alone with Dad. He was peaceful at the moment and I decided to take the opportunity to speak with God about the whole feeding tube situation. I didn't want to starve Dad but I didn't want to prolong his suffering either.

From these thoughts I turned to my Bible reading for that day which happened to be John 6. Certain scriptures began to jump out at me and I knew God was speaking to me specifically about this situation. Verse 27 said, "But you shouldn't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose." Verse 35 said, "I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again..." And verse 51 said, "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; this bread is my flesh, offered so the world may live."

Friends, my Jesus had spoken His Will through His Word once again. That's what he does! I felt assured of the following: 1) God would take Dad home before we even had to make the decision, or 2) If we did have to make the decision, we need not worry because Jesus is the only nourishment Dad needed. And He had it taken care of.

It turned out that we did have to make the decision, but the nourishment of His Savior was all Dad needed to sustain him for his journey home to meet his maker.

I envision Dad sitting at the banqueting table right now, enjoying a meal with Jesus unlike anything he'd ever had here on earth and he's grinning from ear to ear and possibly sharing a joke.

And I can see that because the Lord showed me everything would be fine. God met me there in the circumstance.

He always does when we ask him to.

Lord, thank you for bringing my earthly father home to you, my heavenly Father. What a meal you must be sharing! And thank you for always meeting us in our circumstances when we only invite you in. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application:
What circumstance to you need to invite God into right now? Ask Him to meet you there and then go to His Word to see what He has to say.

Power Verses:
Proverbs 8:17, "I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me."(NIV)
Isaiah 58:2, "For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them."(NIV)