the great sadness......

the great sadness....(to steal a term from Paul Young's "The Shack") seems to be permeating the hearts and minds of many people (I meet) right now. It reminds me of when Isreal, in captivity, hung their harps in willow trees and could not sing the songs of Zion in a foreign land. In discussion, the reasons for this sadness seem varied. Moral decay, political unrest, ecconomic stress, relational breakdown, church pressures all seem to be ingredients in a toxic soup of discouragement. The evil one seems more than willing to sow seeds of death on this fertile soil of dispond. I simply want to remind us all of the power of running to our Father in our weakness. The following story best illustrates how the father responds to our humble and weak cries for rescue.


In "The Necessity of Prayer", E.M. Bounds relates the following story as told by A.C. Dixon:

"A dear friend of mine who was quite a lover of the chase, told me the following story: 'Rising early one morning,' he said, 'I heard the baying of a score of deerhounds in pursuit of their quarry. Looking away to a broad, open field in front of me, I saw a young fawn making its way across, and giving signs, moreover, that its race was well-nigh run. Reaching the rails of the enclosure, it leaped over and crouched within ten feet from where I stood. A moment later two of the hounds came over, when the fawn ran in my direction and pushed its head between my legs. I lifted the little thing to my breast, and, swinging round and round, fought off the dogs. I felt, just then, that all the dogs in the West could not, and should not capture that fawn after its weakness had appealed to my strength.' So is it, when human helplessness appeals to Almighty God. Well do I remember when the hounds of sin were after my soul, until, at last, I ran into the arms of Almighty God."

mickey