"Lord, by thy favour
thou hast made my mountain to stand strong:" -Psalm 37a KJV
Forty years ago
today Mt. St. Helens erupted in Washington State at 8:32 am. I was just getting off the night shift at Mid-Columbia
Medical Center in The Dalles, OR. We
were about 90 miles east of St. Helens.
I remember all the staff and the ambulatory patients crowding into the
observation lounge which looked north across the Columbia River and we could
see the ash cloud rising miles up into the sky.
We all worried about friends and loved ones who lived in Vancouver, WA, and Portland, OR. It was a terrifying
event, to say the least. As I drove home
I prayed about protection from further eruptions or from Mt. Hood (in Oregon)
which was much closer to us. After I got
home the Lord led me to this verse, "Lord,
by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong:" -Psalm 37a
KJV. I was immediately filled with God’s
peace. Mt. Hood, my mountain, would not
erupt because I had his Word on it.
We, our communities,
our nation, our entire world, have and are still going through another
terrifying event: a pandemic. I could sit here and judge all those around
me as they react in fear but I too have experienced fear. Fear of going outside, especially to the
doctor; fear when a caregiver enters my apartment and does not have their
facemask on, does not have gloves on or does not wash their hands right after
they enter. Being from a medical background I know just how virulent these unseen bugs can be. I could be paralyzed with fear, having the
medical knowledge I have. But I am
not. Why? I have prayed and God has taken me to the
Word again, but this time He has given me two verses:
1.
I am covered by the
blood of Jesus just as the Israelites had covered their doors with sacrificial
lambs blood…the plague shall not come upon me to destroy me (Exodus 12:13).
2.
Since I live my life
submitted to God no plague will even come near my apartment (Psalm 91:10).
There is something
important to note: if you do not believe
in Jesus and God’s Word why should you expect Him to keep you from harm or heal
you?
Leviticus 26:21
says, “And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will
bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.” Ouch!
