April 4th, 2016.

My wife’s birthday and the day I was told we had to get Davy to the hospital for emergency surgery to fix a potential bowel obstruction.

Not exactly the birthday celebration I had planned for my wife that day. You know, a little breakfast in bed, massage, facial, manicure/pedicure and a hospital visit.

That’s a great birthday celebration… said no one ever.

However, of the many things we’ve learned on this journey with Davy, we’ve learned that you have to be extremely open handed with your plans.

In the clinic, after Davy had been examined, our doctor looked me in the eyes and apologetically told me that we had to get the hospital quickly.

At first I could feel my heart sink under the weight of this disappointing news and I sat in a daze as she explained the potential diagnosis. As she was speaking though, I recalled something I had read in the Scripture that morning.

The Righteous Will Never Be Moved

Providentially, my Bible reading plan that day had me in the 112th Psalm. Verses 6-8 state this:

For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.

I believe God gave me that verse to remind me, not that I’m righteous in and of myself, but that I have been made righteous by the blood of Christ and able to respond as the righteous respond in the face of trials through the power of the indwelling Spirit (2 Cor. 5:21).

We can face bad news because even though it was unexpected to us, it was not unexpected to our God (1 John 1:20). Our hearts can remain firm because we trust in the Lord who is nothing but faithful (2 Thess.3:3). We don’t have to be afraid because the Lord is our light, salvation and stronghold of our life (Ps. 27:1) and will be with us always (Matt. 28:20).

I remember looking at Terri, our home health care nurse, and saying God had given me that word for that very moment and that we didn’t have to be afraid of this news.  God had it all under control.

We ended up staying in the hospital for almost a week, but the good news was no surgery was needed! Davy girl had gotten a virus that she was able to bounce back from relatively quickly and has been recovering nicely at home since.

Now she is at home getting back to one of her favorite pastimes – rock inspecting.

(One of my prayers is that she would be that selective with men one day as well! Find that perfect one Davy…it’s good practice.)

Steady Hearts

I’m not sure the bad news you have received, nor do I know every battle or trial you are facing; however, I do know that if you are in Christ you have been made righteous. If you are righteous, then you too can look at the challenges or trials you are facing and not fear. You can stare down your afflictions and look them in eye with a steady heart.

No matter where you find yourself, my prayer for you is that your heart would be firm and steady in the Lord and the Lord alone. At the end of the day, it is truly the only place where your heart could be those things – in the One who created it.