Jesus is the answer

I couldn't figure out what that funny sound was until I suddenly recognized the familiar ring of my cellphone. Who would be calling in the middle of Sunday School? I saw my daughter's name but thought it might have been my granddaughter Rebekah playing with the phone. "I'll call her back as soon as the class is over," I thought as I sat back down to finish the game the third-graders were playing. I felt a little uneasy because I knew she wouldn't have called unless it were an emergency, but the bell had rung and we were finishing up. When I saw Jerry through the window outside the door I knew something was wrong. I stepped out into the hallway and he gave me the news. Carlos, Rebekah's Daddy and Melissa's boyfriend, had been in a serious car wreck and had been taken to the ER. Melissa needed to drop almost-two-year-old Rebekah off on her way to the hospital.The next thirty minutes seemed like an eternity as I waited for them to get to the church. All kinds of thoughts were running through my head. How bad was Carlos hurt? Is he conscious or in pain? Is he going to survive? What if he has profound injuries? What will they do? He's a policeman, does he have insurance to cover his needs? He had just bought a house, will he lose it if he can't work? He and Melissa aren't married, what will happen to she and Rebekah? How will Melissa be able to cope with this, finish her last semester of college, and take care of Rebekah? Will she be able to cope emotionally? Will Carlos? Will this draw them together or drive them apart? Lots of questions, and I had no answers.

But Pr. Phil told us once that it doesn't matter what the question is, Jesus is always the answer. And the more that hinges on the question, the more we need to seek Jesus as the answer. So I prayed. I told Pr. Phil and asked him to pray for Carlos. I asked friends to pray. Van had Jerry and the Men's Group circle up outside where they were smoking chickens to pray. Within that 30 minutes, there were a lot of prayers being lifted. And I knew Carlos' family and friends were praying too. There's power in prayer, I know that. I also know the answer to prayer isn't always what we want it to be. This time it was. That tells me that God isn't through with Carlos yet, so I will continue to pray. I will pray that God's will be done because I know that he is a good and gracious God whose love for us and whose power and mercy are without bounds. He wants the best for us that life can offer: the best love, the best healing, the best relationships, the best forgiveness, the best gifts, the best peace, the best joy, the best trust, the best compassion, the best fellowship, the best faith, the best strength, the best humility, the best wisdom, the best of anything and everything. But we can only experience that best when we trust God and submit our will to his. I will pray for Carlos, for Melissa, for our family and for Carlos' family, that we never forget the gift we have been given. Maybe for Carlos, life will never be as easy as it once seemed, but maybe it will hold a different kind of value. It is still life, it is still a gift, and it is still full of possibilities because "Whatever is impossible with men is possible with God." ~Luke 18:28.

Today, in his Living the Lectionary blog, Pr. Phil wrote about Psalm 31. Used during Lent, it expresses the psalmist's suffering and hardships endured. But for every lament of sorrow the answer of Jesus steps in, turning them to statements of victory through faith. My question is, will I moan about my worries to a world that will at some point or other turn its back and disappoint, or will I carry my sorrows to the cross where Jesus beckons the weary to lay down their burdens and find rest? His promise is eternal and never-changing. Jesus is the only answer for those who truly want the very best life.

All praise to you Lord God Almighty. You who live and reign forever and ever. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End and Everything in between. Fill me daily with the answer of your love and grace, even before I am faced with the questions of life. You are all I need to know to pass every test. Amen.