Psalm 107:17-22

Psalm 107 is entitled “Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles.” Beginning in verse 17 the request to God is for healing from sickness. When we think about healing, the questions that come to mind are: Who is, who isn’t, and why?

Five years after our son’s death, my husband, Jim, set down some of his thoughts on healing and prayer. His second insight on healing says, “Even in the days of Jesus’ ministry, the people healed represented no more than a small fraction of the population. For every sufferer made whole, there must have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, left untouched. God has power to heal, declares the New Testament; but it is silent on how the healed were chosen from among a sea of sufferers.”

I feel that secret is hidden deep in the heart of God. So, we must be content to leave it there. Frederick Buechner was right when he said, “If God doesn’t seem to be giving you what you ask, maybe he’s giving you something else.”

The one thing I do know is that God does not abandon us. In Romans 8:38–39 we are promised that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.

Recently I read a lovely article by Pamela C. Hawkins entitled “And So We Hope.” The writer speaks of Holy Saturday—that day that lies between the crucifixion and Easter morning. She writes, “Even as stone hit stone, trapping Jesus in earthly darkness, love was present through two women who risked staying behind to see where he was buried ([Mark] 15:47). And although we cannot be sure from Mark’s text that the white-robed young man found by Mary and the others in the empty tomb had been with Jesus all along, we have no reason to doubt it (16:1–5). Why would the God of love ever leave a child of God alone in the dark, or in grief, or in death, or doubt or fear or struggle? God would not and does not and did not.”**

The last verses (Psalm 107:21-22) speak of thankfulness. God truly loves a thankful heart. Just how does one express thankfulness to God? In today’s society we hear an expression, “Pay it forward.” My interpretation of this expression is that you have received a gift you didn’t expect or perhaps deserve. With a thankful heart you in turn do the same to a friend or a stranger. Remember the biblical directive: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” Perhaps one more biblical guide for us is the one found in Micah 6:6–8: “Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”

Prayer: Dear God, help us today to trust in your ways. Help us to look around and within for signs of your presence. Please give us a thankful heart for the gift of your grace and goodness. Amen.

                                                                                          —Jean Cook

*James I. Cook, “Confessions of a Secondary Sufferer,” Perspectives 2, no. 9 [November 1987]: 5

**Pamela C. Hawkins, “And So We Hope,” Weavings XXVII, no. 2 [February/March/April 2012]: 40