Prayer Request:

Zach is going down for a surgery on his lungs right now to help remove the pus (empyema) around his lungs. Please pray for guidance for the hands of the surgeons and that this surgery will help Zach to heal more.

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The theme for today is: Immanuel.

Psalm 124. Another pilgrimage psalm. A psalm of affirmation. A psalm of acclamation.

A psalm of affirmation. If God had not been on our side. If God had not been on our side. What if? Two times. David asks two times. What if God had not been on our side? Well, it’s simple. No God. No victory. No God. No life. No God. No hope. No God. No truth. No God. No protection. No God. No salvation. We need a Hebrew lesson again. Hayah lanu. A beautiful phrase. It’s the past tense of Immanuel. It’s the past tense of God with us. Hayah lanu. This is Immanuel! This is Jesus! It’s affirmative! God is on our side!

David affirms that God is on our side. David affirms Immanuel. David affirms God is with us. We won’t be devoured. “People attacked us…anger flared against us…swallowed us alive…torn by their teeth.” Circumstances can attack you. Trials flare up out of the blue. Hard times can consume you. Circumstances can eat at you. God is on our side. Immanuel. We won’t drown. “The flood would have engulfed us…torrent would have swept over us…raging waters would have swept us away.” Circumstances can swirl around you. Circumstances can sink you. Circumstances can drown you. God is on our side. Immanuel. We won’t be deceived. “The fowler’s snare…the snare has been broken…we have escaped.” Circumstances trap you. Circumstances can break you. Circumstances can lie to you. God is on our side. Immanuel!

A psalm of acclamation. If God had not been on our side. If God had not been on our side. Don’t go there! Hayah lanu. Immanuel. God is with us. He promised Immanuel! He sent Immanuel! He gave up Immanuel! He resurrected Immanuel! Praise God for Immanuel! God is on our side! God is with us! Immanuel has set us free! Praise be to the Lord!

What if? What if? If God had not been on our side, we would have been devoured, we would have drowned, and we would have been deceived. God has been on our side. God is on our side. God will be on our side. The gals wrote yesterday that the doctor reminded us that where Zach is right now is a miracle. We believe it. God gave us this miracle. We’re boldly praying for another miracle. Hayah lanu. What if God had not been on our side? Don’t go there! God is on our side. He gave us a miracle. His name is Immanuel.

Today’s Updates:

Zach’s surgery went well. He went in for a “thoracotomy,” where they make a small cut to drain out the extra fluid and pus (empyema) around his lungs. They removed both of Zach’s old chest tubes during the surgery as they weren’t draining anything and inserted a new one. They weren’t able to manually remove much of the empyema, but they hope the new chest tube will drain it out over time. The doctor hopes that this procedure will help Zach wean off the ventilator again.

Zach was fairly settled for the rest of the day. He is still sedated after the surgery, so he is sleeping and having his breathing controlled by the ventilator. Please pray for Zach as he recovers from his second surgery, and ask God that this procedure may help Zach heal. Thank you for your continued prayers for Zach’s recovery, particularly for his brain. We are comforted knowing that our loving God is with us every day, and He is always in control.

Megan’s song recommendation that fits with the devotional’s theme today is “God Is With Us” by the Afters.

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“If the Lord had not been on our side— let Israel say— if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

(Psalm 124)