Our Daily Bread

Jason's family was mentioned today in Our Daily Bread, a devotional publication written and published locally. I thought it would be worth sharing. :) They were also mentioned in another daily devotional from Our Daily Bread last October, so I will post that one as well. :) God bless!

May 30, 2007

How Long?

READ: Psalm 13

"How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?" —Psalm 13:1

My friends Bob and Delores understand what it means to wait for answers—answers that never seem to come. When their son Jason and future daughter-in-law Lindsay were murdered in August 2004, a national manhunt was undertaken to find the killer and bring him to justice. After 2 years of prayer and pursuit, there were still no tangible answers to the painful questions the two hurting families wrestled with. There was only silence.

In such times, we are vulnerable to wrong assumptions and conclusions about life, about God, and about prayer. In Psalm 13, David wrestled with the problem of unanswered prayer. He questioned why the world was so dangerous and pleaded for answers from God.

It’s a hard psalm that David sang, and it seems to be one of frustration. Yet, in the end, his doubts and fears turned to trust. Why? Because the circumstances of our struggles cannot diminish the character of God and His care for His children. In verse 5, David turned a corner. From his heart he prayed, “But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.”

In the pain and struggle of living without answers, we can always find comfort in our heavenly Father. —Bill Crowder

Not ours to know the reason why
Unanswered is our prayer,
But ours to wait for God’s own time—
To lift the cross we bear. —Anon.

When we pray, God wraps us in His loving arms.

And here is the one from last October. I love the last line, "God can turn tragedy into triumph." He can indeed. :)

October 28, 2006

Good Out Of Evil

READ: Romans 8:18-28

"We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." —Romans 8:28

The events of life can challenge our trust in the Scriptures. Romans 8:28 teaches that God can bring good out of "all things." But in August 2004 "all things" seemed hard to fathom. Some longtime friends of mine contacted me and others asking prayer for their son and his fiancée who were missing. It was so out of character for Jason and Lindsay that we feared the worst. Several days later, their murdered bodies were found, just 2 weeks before their wedding.

In those troubling days, "all things" seemed incapable of including such a senseless act. Yet the victims' families were amazing in their resolve to trust Jesus Christ, reaffirming their confidence that God would graciously bring good out of great evil.

In the following months, incredible stories began to roll in. Through letters, e-mail, and phone calls, we heard of people who had seen the families' example in the media coverage and had come to Christ. Eternal destinies had been changed and lives had been won through the testimonies of Jason and Lindsay and their families.

Nothing could ever justify those murders or replace precious lives cut short. But we are drawn again to hope, for we see God's ability to bring good out of evil. —Bill Crowder

We comprehend Him not,
Yet earth and heaven tell
God sits as sovereign on the throne
And ruleth all things well. —Gerhardt

God can turn tragedy into triumph.