Calling on God...He is REAL!

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.(Psalm 63:1-8) Last July 5 I was awakened from sleep with the room spinning, severe nausea, sweating and real fear. I was totally out of control. For the next several hours I could do nothing but lie in bed and pray...in between bouts of dizziness and trips to the bathroom. I actually had to grip the toilet to hold it still. I was literally being drained...inside and out. . . poured out . . . My bride did all she could to cool me down and hydrate me with water, cool rags, a fan and gatorade. After nearly eight hours, things began to calm down. We learned it was severe heat exaustion. Several days of yardwork in 90° heat and a July 4th of constant grilling (with not enough water!) had done me in. I am no longer young! I now realize what a blessing it was and is. God wanted to remind me to allow Him more control of my life. Just about a week later, things are just about normal. I write all this to bring glory to God...not me or anyone else. For the first time in my life I was out of control. I could not even stand without my world spinning like a bad satellite feed. Closing my eyes did not help. I feared sleep, not knowing how I would awake or if I would. I know my future in Christ but I did not know my present on earth. But I had the sense and courage to call upon God! Many times we read in Psalms how the psalmists would call upon the Lord in times of danger, strife, and even in praise. While it is a scary thing, God gives us courage to face adversity as we rest in Him and Him alone. Listen to these words . . .

145 I cry out with my whole heart; Hear me, O Lord! I will keep Your statutes. 146 I cry out to You; Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies. 147 I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word. 148 My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word. 149 Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O Lord, revive me according to Your justice. (Psalm 119:145-149)

I depend upon Him like never before. He reminded me that my life is NOT in my hands but His. I cannot even depend upon my next step because it may not be steady. Yet as I exclaimed in church last SONday, even upon some shaky ground if you would, He has picked me up, turned me around, and placed my feet upon solid ground! It's in God's strength and His healing that I can STAND and WALK with Him today! Through the night watches I called and He answered. He has revived me again . . . and just in time too because we have a mission trip to serve on beginning next SONday!!!!