Frozen Hearts May Yet Thaw

It was a frigid cold morning when I first arrived at the abortion center. I was all alone for the first half hour. A policeman stopped and asked where everyone was.

“They’ll be here,” I said, “For now, it’s just me...and God.”

“That sounds like all you need,” he said.

“You are right about that.”

It was a spark of warm encouragement on this cold morning. 

One young lady also stood out in the cold, on the porch of the abortion center. Her boyfriend hovered near. It was clear that the young woman was listening to me, and then nodding, and speaking to the boyfriend. It looked to me like she didn’t want to abort, but was being pressured by the young man. The interaction between the two was heated at times. She went in the center but came back out. Several times. And the arguments with the boyfriend continued. Finally, she stomped to her car, he stomped to his, and they peeled away before the abortionist arrived. I wanted to cheer. Good for you, young lady! Good for you!

I read that 60% of abortions are coerced. Sometimes, all a young woman needs is an advocate speaking truth, confirming in her heart what she already knows. So many people are afraid to confront others when they wander from God’s clear commands. We will be held accountable for that action...or lack of action. What we don’t say can sometimes cause more damage than what we do say.

We can always use help out on the sidewalk. Please prayerfully consider joining us. Click HERE for information. It was a bitter cold morning, but the sun rose in the sky, sending rays of comfort and warmth. The sidewalk began to fill with people praying and speaking for the unborn. We all began peeling off our coats. 

Frozen hearts do thaw sometimes, I thought, as we all watched the cars gathering in the abortion center. At least we know of one that day that did.

My day ended as it began. Reading Bible verses and praising God in front of my Christmas tree. I was reading Psalm 34 and hit this verse: “The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them, He delivers them from all their troubles.”

This stopped me in my tracks. I was in prayer over a dear woman who is engulfed in unbearable grief and loss right now. How would she read this verse? Does she feel delivered? I am sure she does not. She was clearly NOT delivered from her troubles. What was I missing?

We all know we have troubles on earth that the Lord does not remove. So I studied and pondered verses of deliverance and read what others had to say. In the end, this is what I think these verses mean. We WILL have troubles on earth; we will struggle. We are promised that over and over again.

“In this world you WILL have troubles,” Jesus says, “But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

We should pray. We should call out to God. Sometimes God removes the troubles but often He does not.  He does promise that in the end, when He returns, if we have put our hope and trust in Him, we WILL be made whole and all our troubles will be ended. Also, and I think this is very important, He delivers OUR SOUL through all our troubles. If we rely on Him through our trials, He protects us from the Evil One who desires to destroy our souls. It is easy in our troubles to become bitter and denounce God, even renounce our faith. But the Psalmist is reminding us, even in the midst of great heartache, God can deliver us from the worst trouble of all....losing Him.

“The Lord is close to the broken-hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

I have lived the truth of this verse. I know the comfort of God when I was completely broken and crushed. 

The last line of the Psalm summarizes what I had wrestled with: “The Lord WILL rescue His servants, no one who seeks refuge in Him will be condemned.”

He WILL rescue us...but it may not be completely fulfilled until we stand before Him for all eternity. If we seek refuge in Him as we go through the agony of struggle on earth, our souls are secure. We will not be condemned.

I sat in front of my Christmas tree thinking of the One who was born a baby with the sole purpose to die in order to pay the penalty for all our sin that justice demands. He suffered that we would be delivered from all our troubles one day and be eternally safe in His presence.  I pray this comfort of God reaches my friend in her sorrow.

Hebrews 4:16 

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.