Episode #15 - He Cares For You

I received a phone call that brought me to my knees yesterday, as one of our young mothers who was giving birth had everything go sideways. Her life was in danger, the babies life was in danger. All we could do was beg the Lord our God for mercy & grace on these souls. Well...do we realize that is exactly what God wants us to do as his children? He cares for us more than we could possibly understand, and he wants us to come to him with our heavy hearts. 

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Transcript

Welcome to the Set Your Mind Above podcast, where every day, ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths! I am your host BJ Sipe, and I’m so glad you’ve tuned in today! I am excited to share my life & my faith with you, and I sure hope you’ll do the same with me along the way.

There is a song I love written by Mat Kearney entitled “Closer to Love”. In this song, there is a powerful lyric right out of the gate that goes like this: “She got the call today, one out of the grey, and when the smoke cleared it took her breath away. She said she didn’t believe it could happen to me. I guess we’re all one phone call from our knees.” Well, I received that kind of a phone call yesterday. I was at the office, having just finished recording yesterday’s podcast and working on some upcoming lessons when my phone rang. I picked it up and saw the name Deb pop up on my screen, and I got excited! I had been anxiously awaiting a call from the family, because her granddaughter Journey had been in labor for some time and we were waiting to hear news about the baby. I picked up the phone and with a big smile said, “Hey Deb, how’s it going?” My words were returned with sobbing on the other end of the phone, and immediately my joy turned to concern as I asked what was wrong. “It’s not going well, and we need you to pray” she said. She went into more details that I don’t feel I should share here on this podcast, but in summary both Journey & the baby were in great danger. The birthing process turned into an emergency c-section, where they almost lost our brave and strong mama & did for a short time lose the baby. She was resuscitated and the doctors & nurses clamored around this brand new child to start the fight for her life. She had no other information to pass along, but she begged us to be praying and to petition our Lord to save this child and her mother. I hung up the phone, tears streaming down my face and I got down on my knees by my chair and begged God for mercy & grace to be given to this family, to the mother, father, and child. After calling my wife, I emailed the rest of the church and called for immediate prayers regarding this urgent matter. The texts and responses started coming in, everyone was praying. We came together a few hours later for our mid-week Bible study where we paused our classes and came together for a period of prayer led by our Shepherds. We petitioned the God who breathed life into Adam, who heard the prayer of Hannah, and who extended the life of Hezekiah. Our hearts were heavy as we wept together as a family, and then….we waited. During that period of prayer we received word that the child had been air lifted to another location for the best of care. Then we went home and waited more, and prayed more. Finally, around midnight, we received word from Grandma Deb that mama was stable from all the tests they had run that her daughter was going to be okay. I didn’t know what else to do but pray and praise God for hearing our cries, now crying tears of joy. We continued to text and as she shared what they were experiencing as a family. It was a dangerous, dreadful situation that so easily could have turned out for the worst. And yet they sat together as one family, with their arms extended to heaven, turning to the only one that could restore their soul. She shared with me that another young member of the family, only 11 in age, pulled out his flip book full of different Scriptures. As they prayed, he read and meditated on the promises of God & his faithfulness to his people. They found comfort in the Lord, and at their lowest point he heard their cry and lifted them up. I would personally ask that you pray for this family today, they are not out of the woods yet, and we know that God hears the prayers of his children.

Sometimes we do not receive the answers to our prayers that we want to hear. Sometimes the answer is no, sometimes it’s later, and sometimes it is yes. Learning to pray that God’s will be done, even when it’s not our will, takes great faith and is very difficult to do. In this instance, our prayers were answered and we are ever grateful. But one thing that we can be certain of, no matter the answer we receive, is that our eternal Father loves us and cares for us. 1 Peter 5:6-7 reads, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” As a father I can tell you that the love I have for my children is unlike any other love I thought I could ever experience. I cherish my children, they complete me and I would do anything for them if I could and if it were the right thing to do. When my children are hurt, or afraid, angry, or even joyful I want them to tell me about it, and I want them to turn to me for help. How much more do you suppose our heavenly Father cares for us? He formed and fashioned you in the womb. Jesus suffered and died so that we might be adopted as sons & daughters of God. He gives us every good and perfect gift in Christ. I know that there are people who are listening to this podcast today that have a great weight pulling down their hearts. There are people listening in today that are dealing with loss of someone that they loved. There are people listening today that are dealing with division, betrayal, and disgusting sin that is greatly testing their faith. There are people listening today that are dealing with doubt, that are dealing with poverty, or sickness, or even righteous anger. But you know who else is listening? Your Father is. He wants you to cast these cares upon him, because he cares for you! We are his children, and he desperately wants us to come to him with our heavy hearts. These heavy burdens that bring us so low are not meant for us to try and carry alone, they are meant to be given up to God. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) I cannot promise that God will answer your prayers the way that you hope he will, but I can promise that no matter the response, you can rest assured that he loves you more than you could ever possibly understand. He is with you, he sees you, and he knows the pain in your heart. Find comfort in him, turn to him, and he will help to guide you every step of the way. Let’s conclude today with the powerful words of Psalm 94:18-19, and may these be your words that you pray today. “When I said my foot is slipping, your love oh Lord supported me. When anxiety was great within me your consolation brought joy to my soul.” 

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Friday’s, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and weekly video sessions that are uploaded on Saturdays. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above!