Psalm 100
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
The last few days I have been looking up Psalms of praise and rejoicing. Psalm 100 only started it. You see, a very dear friend last week had an all day brain surgery to remove a tumor. The surgery was Tuesday and was a complete success. They left a small sliver that had wrapped itself around the facial nerve. If they had pushed it, she could have wound up with major complications. She was released from the hospital on Friday and I can barely contain my joy.
But while I have been rejoicing, the question has popped up repeatedly. Would I be praising the Lord this way if Sarah had not made it through the surgery? What if my sister, who has been fighting liver and colon cancer for months, does not make it? What if my physical issues become more serious and I can’t work? What if . . . ? What if . . . ? What if . . . ? You fill in the blank. What are the things you fear or even anticipate? Would you and I be rejoicing that we are His people and praising Him with joyful shouts?
I know we would grieve and carry heavy burdens. Would we still believe that the Lord is good? That His mercy is everlasting? Should we still be shouting with joy?
So now I must confront that question. Since writing the first part of the blog I have found that my dear friend has some pretty drastic side effects from that surgery. Half of her face is paralyzed. One eye does not want to stop moving or shut. She cannot sleep because of the stimulus to the brain through the medicines and the brain surgery, etc. She is having difficulty speaking because of the paralysis. So now what?
I am weeping while I write this. I am grieving as she is. But I have this confidence: I know God is going to do something miraculous with and through her life. I do not know that it will be healing, but it may be something much richer, something that brings glory to God in a way I could not imagine. I choose to be thankful unto Him and bless His name.
~~~Faith Himes Lamb
