Devotional

Devotionals Archive

Uncle Abe

Jul 05, 2021

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. – Psalm 121:1

It was in November, the night of the elections; Abe’s son-in-law had just been elected to serve as county assessor. Then
the call came that Abe had passed away. I was asked to go over to the home and comfort the family. I had been in the home many times to visit with
Abe. He was a faithful church member, and as a younger man, he had sung in a male quartet, and he served in the church as well as in the community.

I remember when visiting the home, that there was a well-used Bible next to his favorite chair. On the night of his passing, the family asked if some of
Abe’s favorite Scriptures could be read at his memorial. I told them I was sure it would be possible if they could tell me which were his favorites.
They were somewhat stymied, as they were not church people, but they knew a little and just needed some help. As I reached for the big black Bible,
I turned the pages toward me and could see the soil on the edges from much use. One area seemed to stand out when I opened to Psalm 121, and as I began
to read, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills . . .” the family cried out and said, “That is it! That was his favorite Scripture.” They asked,
“How did you know?” I showed them the edges of the Bible where, from many hours of reading, he had left a trail for us to follow. Little did he know
that during those many years of reading the Bible, he was preparing for that moment when his family needed the comfort of those Scriptures from the
Psalms.

Often the Lord works in ways that we do not expect. We bring our needs to Him in prayer, just as Abe surely had prayed for his family, and God is faithful
to answer. If we are walking in His will every day, He will use our lives in ways we cannot imagine. As we follow the Lord, those who follow us will
find their way to Him.