Today’s devotional is an excerpt from ‘The Root of Beautiful Patience’ by John Piper.
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‘You Can Do All Things’
James, in his book in the New Testament, points us to the connection between God’s providence and our patience.
“Be patient . . . brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. . . . As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. . . . You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:7-8, 10-11).
James says that our patience in life, as we, like a farmer, sow our seed faithfully in the spring and then wait and wait, and the summer months are long and they’re hot and we don’t know if the seed is growing the way we want — our patience as we wait will be strengthened and sustained if we look at the story of Job and take special notice of his endurance in God’s passion and love and care.
He calls it the Lord’s “merciful” purpose in it all, which is amazing because it’s a very painful story. Satan gets permission from God in chapter 1 of Job, and God permits Satan to actually kill all ten of Job’s children. And Job meets the news by falling on his face (in Job 1:20-21) and worshiping the Lord instead of hating God for taking his children, and he says, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Satan then returns to God again, and he gets permission to go afflict Job with boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. And his wife tells him, “Look, just curse God and die” (Job 2:9). And Job responds again with patience and endurance in faith in God’s providence and says, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). And at the end of the book, in chapter 42, Job expresses one of the most sweeping and powerful statements of God’s providence in all the Bible when he says, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).
And for that faithfulness, God had mercy on Job and restored his fortunes, including his children. And James says that lesson in providence from the book of Job is the foundation of the patience of our life.
Today’s Updates:
We received the disappointing news this week that Zach’s application to the long-term neurological rehab facility in Ponoka was rejected. According to their assessments, Zach has not improved enough in his therapies to be a candidate for the Halvor Johnson facility.
Zach’s current care team is very surprised by this news, since he has been regularly attending his therapies and has made a lot of gains since coming onto the unit, so they are going through an appeal process to get the Halvor Johnson facility to reconsider Zach’s application. Please pray that the appeal process will be successful so that Zach will have more opportunities for rehab in his long-term care. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors and care team as they investigate Zach’s long term care options. Pray that Zach will continue to receive the care that he needs, wherever God sends him.
Zach is still really enjoying his meals and eating lots of food, which we are happy to see, but he has been refusing to drink his beverages. His nurses are giving him extra water through his PEG tube to avoid dehydration. Please pray that Zach will start drinking more liquids again soon and that he will continue to enjoy all his meals and snacks.
Zach had a consultation with ACETS this week to determine his current communication needs. They are planning to come back in a couple of weeks to try out some communication devices for Zach. Pray for God’s blessing on the efforts to improve Zach’s ability to communicate. Pray that he will be able to communicate his needs more clearly to us and to his care team. Pray also that the Lord will one day restore his ability to speak again.
Zach has been doing well in physio and OT this week. He sat up independently for 5 minutes at a time during his physio sessions while leaning forward and reaching for things. Pray that Zach’s balance and ability to sit up and move independently will continue to improve. In OT, Zach has been working on some fine motor skills like picking up small objects. They have also been doing a lot of work with his left wrist to improve his strength and flexibility. Please pray that Zach will gain more functionality in his left wrist and hand.
Thank you for continually lifting Zach up in prayer. Please continue to pray for healing and strength for Zach. Have a blessed Sunday.
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.”
(Psalm 37:7-11)
