Psalm 107:1-32
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
So I've got a pinched nerve. One minute I'm fine and the next - I cried 4 times today and realized our 1800's bed that requires me to jump up and jump down isn't the best with a hurt back. And I spent this afternoon with the Lord God explaining all the things that cause stress and finally asking Father God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit to see all my ideas, all my thoughts and flaws and see if I'm doing my best and to please help me.
And with that long and great honest conversation - my back felt better than it has in a week.
With this long debate on pain, I had a long conversation with a health insurance claim analyst. (***** A Friend, no claim has been filed on my back.) Who gets the cases when it started out as a legitimate claim - has lasted a year - and the company begins to medically doubt the claim is not honest but has now become used to the claim benefits. The Claim Analyst was telling me stories like the Best Surgeon in Denver has worked on a man just with hurting knee and after 6 operations - he barely walks. The opinion Age is just a process of pain.
I think we are very responsible for continual exercise or sports we enjoy. Prayer and Prayer and Prayer. Jesus told us to continually pray. Never give up hope.
We've come a long way, but in some ways - even with Yelp - we could really use help. I was in a doctor's office in Conroe, Texas and know the staff fairly well. One of the Nurse Aids had knee surgery from the surgeon who had been the doctor's office next door neighbor for 10 years. She didn't feel the new knee was doing well. The short version of the story is - in the middle of the pain, the knee replacement worked it's way out after 10 weeks. Metal was out of her knee. She said she didn't know what to do. I told her to immediately call to Dallas to Dr. William Tucker who had been on the cover of D Magazine for his hips and knees. He brings 12 to 15 replacements into the operation room because the MRI doesn't fully tell him what replacement he will use. He did my mother's knee 10 years ago and she took 50 steps within an hour of the operation and said her new knee was better than the last knee. Dr. Tucker's recovery times are astonishing. The nurse from Conroe didn't quibble about the distance to Dallas and went that week to see Dr. Tucker. He said it was the worst surgery he'd ever seen and they had used a huge knee replacement for a 300 lb tall man on her knee. Within a week she had a 2nd brand new knee from Dr. Tucker and said she knew when she woke up - the amazing difference.
The Nurse Aid and I wondered how do you find what you need as you need this? Her boss is a surgeon not of knees and hips. We all need the favor of God
and ways to connect what we need.
In our 18-year bible study, we have one friend who is gone all the time in retirement. He is very bright and made very good money in the Oil Industry. He told me his General Practitioner is so very wise he requires a $3,000 yearly fee and comes with a nurse to your home. The whole idea of this rankled me and I asked his wife if this was a con. His wife said she goes to a different GP but he loves this GP. I wondered... Our friend came down with kidney stones. And he said this was serious trauma. Serious. And his GP told him - you have too high calcium levels - your parathyroid needs to be removed and promptly put him in touch with the surgeon and this was taken out. I thought this was too unusual and worried. Our friend was fine.
From the same bible study, another lady had complaints of too high calcium. But she had not been to breakfast to hear about the surgery of the traveling mutual friend. At one bible study, she asked for prayer for her first kidney stone. I had her call our mutual friend and her parathyroid was successfully removed by his same surgeon. She felt much better with calcium supplements too. She said if our mutual friend with the unusual GP hadn't told him - we all wouldn't have known. God is astonishing the way He works.
Her husband had shoulder pain, he told me his physical therapist said if he'd begun with physical therapy pretty quickly - he'd never have had ever, ever shoulder surgery. She said if you are tough on shoulders (unless the cuff is torn and the arm is slipping out badly) you can repair shoulders with therapy. And our mutual friend Judy said the physical therapy for her shoulder was as tough as the before shoulder pain and lasted months during the physical surgery recovery. And this was excellent Mark told me this - because my shoulders began to ache in February and were healed with daily prayer and God and swimming for 3 months.
God tells us so much in our path. We need God. And we need Fellowship. And we need a system of being able to tell each other and improve things like knees and hip surgery by carrying in 12 to 15 replacements for workability.
While I was volunteering for pro-life, I sat with a retired physician for over 3 years. Our dog had dragged me over a metal park bench while I chatted with someone and while the dog had seen another dog to go see. My ankle was in fierce pain. After we established I did not have gout - no way - I was told to find the right elastic ankle brace and work with this for 6 months and possibly 7 months. I read all the time people are told their ankles are done - pain is inevitable. Wrapping with the right bandage (I found one I liked at Walmart after shopping many Pharmacy stores because my ankles and wrists are petite) then reading about doing ankle exercises on You Tube. In 7 months, my ankle was fine. And it had Really Hurt beforehand. Let me emphatically say - I had a hairline crack. Edward had the bad, bad ankle broken thing and this was x-rays and moon boots and Doctor visits. My ankle was merely very, very sore and not broken in apparent ways of major swelling. However, if you are still having ankle pain - after broken ankle - consider the elastic sleeves for 7 months and doing physical therapy. Don't give up on hurt ankles. Use Epsom Salts too.
Do like Winston Churchill, "Never, Never, Never Give Up." And apply that to prayer. With Hope. Pray always. Believe.
My Bad Back at age 40 from Flu Coughing and Residential Construction Clean up was finally healed with prayer, time, time, time and cat/cow exercises, stretches and Tens Unit picked by Amazon Choice for Tens Unit. I set it on a 2 and used all day. Finally, we had Jesus blessed Healing. Prayer. Being relaxed enough to believe Healing is Possible.
Inevitably, we get to the Bottom Line. In the 1980s Angels and Prayer were "In." Major studies were done on prayer and people in hospitals. The prayed for group was 80% better. Jesus would agree. Always believe Jesus.
Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told his disciples
a parable
to show them that they should
always
pray
and not give up.
2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily
Let's pray and think of what that looks like the first 3 seconds of praying.
Abba, Father, we join with You and ask for Jesus to pray with us.
We lift up tired hands, aching ankles, and sore backs. Needs we have. Needs we know of. To have You speak the Word of Healing ending our diseases and forgiving iniquities.
With Joy and Expectation, we will work on healing and Love, Joy and Peace. We will be Lights to the world with Your Help, Father God.
We Bless You for Jesus Christ and His Salvation.
Asking You cover those we Love with Your Presence and Love.
And this for the people You have given us.
Blessing our Nation. The Believing Nations trusting in You.
We ask for ourselves and the people of Your Good creation - more Heaven on earth.
In Jesus Christ. Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †