Boundless GratitudeSample

Reason #4: He Heals and Delivers

One afternoon I sat in an office as my friend received a call from her teenaged son. The gist of the conversation was to clarify what he could do before she came home from work. This kid was not going to be satisfied with watching YouTube or playing video games. They lived in the country with a backyard of 200 acres where he experienced life like a wild boar. I never knew what his plans entailed, but His mom had to make sure it did not involve guns or fire, and she insisted he stay off the roof. Today was a typical day for her fifteen-year-old. She was talking from experience. My friend had already made multiple trips to the emergency room for broken bones acquired because of that child’s untamed spirit, which would continue into manhood.

Sometimes you and I follow our wants and desires at a feverish pace headlong into sin. Like that young, wild bone-breaker, we do so only to our detriment. Sin has consequences, some of which we pay for with our physical bodies. These next verses focus on a person in this predicament. The repercussions are so taxing they are unable to eat. Their physical beings begin to deteriorate and fade toward death, resulting from their spiritual malady.

Realizing how dire is their situation, they finally cry to God for help. The place where we cannot possibly plummet further is the exact locale where grace stations itself to catch us when we call. And how does God rescue this time? How does He seek out the person who has been a fool in pursuing sin until her life lies in the balance?

God hears, He heals, and delivers. He will surely do so for you.

If you are a person suffering the consequences of sin, don’t throw guilt and shame in the mix. You are not a lost cause. Follow this example by crying out to God. Ask Him for deliverance and healing. Only God knows for sure what you need to make His Name glorious. Deliverance is assured. For such undeserving mercy, gratitude is the inimitable response.

How has God shown mercy to you?

What in today’s reading inspires you to be grateful?