--- On Tue, 9/2/08, [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [worldchangers2010] Fw: [SMCTQ] AWWY #5572 - Shock Therapy
To:
Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 9:20 AM
A Word With
You
#5572 - Shock Therapy
1 Chronicles 11 : 16
Hanna lives in coal country
so she's been around miners a lot. Being in youth ministry for years
I've been around miners a lot too. Oh wait, that's a different kind - spelled
differently. But Hanna and a friend of mine were talking recently about
the mines and the miners and a surprising fact came out. Hanna said
the most common cause of death among those coal miners was electrocution.
They live in a real remote area and the mining operation there is
pretty old and relatively primitive. So there are sometimes problems
with the wiring in the mine, and miners actually get electrocuted. What
compounds the problems is that the nearest doctor is many miles away, which
led Hanna to ask the doctor one time if there was anything the local folks
could do to help while they're waiting for the doctor to arrive. She
was surprised by the doctor's answer. "Well," he said,
"there is one thing, hug the injured miner." Well, obviously
Hanna wanted to know why. He said, "When people are about to
go into shock, I think there is something about a hug, about human touch
- about human tenderness.
Not all shocks are electrical are they? People around us are getting shocked
every day by bad news they've just received, by bad treatment, by unexpected
developments, by a death, or a failure, or by pain in a relationship. And
not all hugs are two arms around a person - although that kind of hug is
great. But a hug can be a word of encouragement, or an offer to help,
a gift, a compliment, a place to rest and recover. It's practical
love when someone has really been hit hard.
David never forgot the men who "hugged" him, so to speak, when
he was battling shock. The king that David had served loyally turned
on him out of jealousy and he wanted him dead. And the king is in
hot pursuit of David; he is ready to kill him when he finds him. This
was way before electricity, but it must have been a shock to David. Our
word for today from the Word of God comes out of that incident: I Chronicles
11:16. It says this, "At that time David was in the stronghold and
the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. David longed for water
and said, 'Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well
near the gate of Bethlehem.'"
That's his home town, he's nostalgic for it. He's hurting because of the
pressure he's under. The Philistines, his enemy, they're in charge of things
there. But the Bible says, "So the three broke through the Philistine
lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried
it back to David." They knew his language of love at a time
when he was really needing encouragement. It was behind enemy lines,
but still they sacrificed and risked to bring David a gift that would let
him know that he was cared about. Years later when David is king,
these men are some of his main men. He never forgot that "hug"
he got from them during his shock time.
Sometimes we are so preoccupied with our own business and our own burdens
we don't even notice the shock victims around us. But your hug might
be just the margin for someone who's been really hit hard. And it
isn't that difficult, it usually involves a simple step like a note, or
a card, or a good deed, or allowing someone to use your car, or your getaway
spot. It can mean just an offer to baby sit, or grocery shop, or
maybe cook a meal. Years ago when my wife was bedridden with hepatitis
for months, people from our church hugged our family over and over again
with some home cooked dinners. You never forget things like that!
Neither does Jesus.
In Matthew 10:42 He said, "If anyone gives even a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones because he is my disciple he will certainly
not lose his reward." Jesus notices when we stop to administer
shock therapy. When we find a way to show practical love to someone,
like even a drink of cold water, He'll turn those hugs, those cups of water,
into eternal reward someday. So open your eyes, open your heart to
see the shock victim near you and find a way to hug them. And when
you do, you'll be acting so very much like Jesus.
Copyright (c) 2008 by Ron Hutchcraft.
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