HomeWord - Aug. 10, 2007

Blessing Dressed in Crisis 
This devotional was written by Jim Liebelt

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.—Romans 8:28

At a summer work camp, a work crew was making repairs to the interior drywall of the home of two women: an elderly mother on oxygen therapy and her daughter. In the course of the work, the crew had to move the women’s washer and dryer. When the washer was moved away from the wall, one of the incoming water lines broke. Water began to spray everywhere and the floor quickly became flooded. The members of the work crew frantically tried to locate the water shut-off valve, but could not find it. The crew realized that the source of the home’s water was a well, so they turned off the electricity to the home to shut down the pump. The water from the broken pipe stopped spraying.

Unfortunately, the machine that delivered the mother’s oxygen therapy was also powered by electricity and had been shut down when the crew had turned off the home’s electricity. The crew finally located the water shut-off valve, so they were able to promptly turn back on the electricity to the home; however, the oxygen machine would not function. Unable to get the machine working again, the crew summoned the paramedics. When they arrived, they found that the machine had been malfunctioning before the electricity had been turned off, and they were able to provide the mother with a new, reliable oxygen machine.

The work crew was upset, quite understandably, feeling responsible for causing the crisis that had threatened the home, as well as the mother’s health. Slowly, another perspective began to dawn on them. As it turned out, the water pipe that broke had not been installed correctly to begin with. Two pipes had been simply glued together without any sort of connector between them. Any movement of the washer would have easily caused the pipes to come apart. The local co-sponsor of the camp replaced the substandard plumbing later that day. By shutting down the electricity, the mother learned that her oxygen machine wasn’t functioning properly.

In the end, the crew realized that God had used their presence at the house – and what were scary moments of crisis – to provide the real help that the women needed. The problems would almost certainly have occurred anyway. Fortunately, the work crew was present and able to help the women deal with situations that would have been devastating had they been alone. At the end of the day, both the women and the work crew were certain that they had seen God at work, bringing blessing to everyone involved.

Today’s story is just a reminder that our God is big enough to orchestrate blessing out of a crisis. Whatever trials you face today, may this story be a reminder to place your trust in Him!

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GOING DEEPER:

1. Think back over a time when you saw God work something good out of a bad situation.

2. Consider a tough situation you are facing right now. Make a decision to trust God to work something good in the midst of this situation. Ask God to give you strength to trust in Him more completely.

FURTHER READING:

Genesis 50:15-21; Esther 4:12-14

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