On the one hand, it seems as if New York business-owner, Nick Gemayel...
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
By Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
"Lighting Strikes"
June 17, 2017
The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
~ Psalm 121:8 (ESV)
On the one hand, it seems as if New York business-owner, Nick Gemayel, is a very lucky fellow. On the other hand, there are those who would say he is an incredibly unlucky fellow.
Here's Gemayel's story: a few weeks ago he was minding his own business, sitting in his office, when some powerful thunderstorms swept through Rochester. Being used to nasty weather, Gemayel didn't give the storm a second thought. He just kept going.
Yep, that's what he did until a bright light shot out of his light switch.
At the same moment, Gemayel heard a large explosion and then the room went dark. He says he wasn't entirely with it. That's why it took him some time before he saw that his left hand was burned and blistering.
This is the kind of thing, my friends, that happens when a lightning bolt travels through your wiring, jumps out of your light switch, and zaps you. That's Gemayel's story, and you can see why some folks say he is a very unlucky man.
But there are those who, hearing the story, adamantly say, "Unlucky? Not so! The man is incredibly blessed. It's not every person who can get fried by a bolt of lightning and still be around afterwards to tell the story."
As for me, I'm a thankful person.
It is impossible for me to add up the number of hours I have sat at a desk and not been struck by lightning. But it doesn't end there. At my desk I have never been buried in an avalanche; I have never been swept away by a tsunami; I have never been obliterated by a comet, and I have never been the victim of a suicide bomber, or rocked by an earthquake.
This is just another way of saying the Lord watches over me.
The psalmist said it better than I ever could hope to. In Psalm 121 it says, "The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore."
Over the years, I have run into numerous folks who are incredibly upset when something nasty or unpleasant happens to them. They demand to know, "What have I done wrong? Why does the Lord have it in for me? Why is He pickling on me?"
That's a sad attitude. It's sad because it fails to thank the Lord for the times when He did protect you: for the days when no evil befell you and when no great difficulties bothered you.
In short, we all need to thank the Lord for His preservation, which is very much alive, no matter what we may feel or think. And that, my friends, should not be a surprise. How could the Lord who loves us and gave His Son to save us do otherwise?
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, may we give thanks for the good You have done for us in the Person of Your Son, our Savior. May we also show our appreciation for Your protection in keeping the bad stuff away from our children. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen
Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
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