Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Devotional Snapshot 81 - 33 miners

"I was with God, and I was with the devil. They fought, and God won"....Mario Sepulveda, a miner in Copiapo, Chili ... October 13, 2010

"Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving might of His right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright."
Psalm 20:6-8

What a drama! For months it was presented before the watching world. Thirty-three miners in a life and death struggle, caught in the dark bowels of a Chilean mine. They were alive, but they had to remain sane. They were alive, but for how long? Each man had to face the possibility of his own death.

For seventeen long days in the dark they could not know they would ever be found. Small amounts of liquid and only teaspoons of food were doled out each day. They knew the small amount of nourishment would not last long.

With the first realization that they were alive, the battle begins. Far more important than food and water was the inner struggle to trust, to believe that there is a God who cares, who hears, who is all powerful. A God who can. A God who is able. A God who gives purpose and life. They could choose to give in to despair...Satan's way, or to hope...God's way.

Mario sensed the battle raging within. His heart saw the devil and God. He saw good and evil. God's hand stretched toward Mario and (praise God!) Mario grabbed it and never doubted from that point that he would be rescued.

God is the Great Victor. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world...1John 4:4. He saves with His mighty right hand. He answers those who cry out to Him.

You also have the same God in your dark moment. Never doubt that He is for you, that He can lift you up from any fear, any trouble, any discouragement. He is greater than what enslaves you. He greater than your darkness. God will always win.

That is good news worth singing about.