TRANSFORM: DAY 36

SCRIPTURE READING - DAY 36


Psalm 86:1-4

Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me;
For I am afflicted and needy. Preserve
my soul, for I am a godly man; O you my
God, save your servant who trusts in you.

Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to you I
cry all day long. Make glad the soul of
your servant, For to you, O Lord, I lift up
my soul. (NASB)

MEDITATION BY Joyce Lievano


Nobody likes affliction, and pain is not a welcome companion. But such experiences are powerful magnets, drawing us to cry out to the Listener, the Eternal Father, and Sustainer of the Universe.

My husband, Francisco, has lived this psalmist's prayer throughout his personal experiences with hardship, pain, and affliction. His family lived on
the border of Colombia and Venezuela on a steep hill in a house with no running water. Orphaned by a father at the age of 10, Francisco worked to help his mother take care of their family of five. As the eldest son, he needed to carry water up to their house from a nearby stream. He had jobs such as collecting flowering branches and tying them up to make brooms, taking rocks out of the stream to sell, and selling vegetables at the market. Going to school was not an option, so he applied himself to learn on his own. Using the Bible, Francisco’s mother taught him the alphabet; he then taught himself to read. Later, a missionary tutored him.

He also learned how to preach under the guiding example of another missionary. During his adolescent years, the missionary sent Francisco to preach in neighboring mountain towns with no Gospel witness. When Francisco was not selected for military service at 18, he consecrated his life to serve God and his people.

After graduating from Bible school in Venezuela, Francisco continued his mountain treks and traveled non-stop for seven years. Severe persecution of Christians prevailed in Colombia then, and many believers died for their faith. At different times, Francisco's beverage was laced with poison, a bomb exploded at a church where he was sleeping, he was jailed, and he was chased by a man intent on killing him for preaching Christ. Once, two large men suddenly stood by Francisco at the pulpit to protect him. A drunk man, upset to learn that he was “dead in his trespasses and sin,” had walked up the aisle with his machete drawn. Upon hearing "but God, who is rich in mercy,” the man returned the machete to its sheath.

Then Francisco went through 27 years of personal crisis that prevented his itinerant speaking ministry. Limited to writing, editing, translating, and teaching at a Bible institute in Venezuela, Francisco learned meekness, gentleness, and humility as God developed in him a quiet spirit and a soft answer. He cultivated a deep, unmovable trust in God in spite of the daily storms. Soon after Francisco's personal crisis passed, invitations to preach came pouring in from all over Venezuela. Since then, Francisco has been traveling almost every weekend to preach.

Affliction may not be our choice, but our Lord inclines his ear to our cries. Jesus knows and understands our pain since he himself experienced agony. In the midst of difficult times, let us lift up our souls to him and allow him to conform us to his image.




REFLECTION


How do you respond to pain? How can you welcome it as a friend that will draw you to intimate communion with the God of mercy and comfort? In the middle of the storm, does your gladness come from God? Ask God for his joy, as you lift up your heart in worship and trust.


This psalm was probably on Jesus’ heart often. His example of total trust in the Father strengthens my feeble trust, as I “consider him who has endured…” (Hebrews 12:3).


How is God working in your character to prune, to cultivate, and to mold you into the likeness of Jesus?