The Upper Room Daily Devotional from The United Methodist in Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Thursdat, 12 July 2018 "Our Intercessor" by Karen Woodard (North Carolina) Romans 8:18-27

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The Upper Room Daily Devotional from The United Methodist in Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Thursdat, 12 July 2018 "Our Intercessor" by Karen Woodard (North Carolina) Romans 8:18-27
The psalmist wrote, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2 (NIV))
I usually begin each new year with a feeling of excitement at the chance for new beginnings. But the first month of 2014 did not hold much hope. My four-year-old son, Ben, was lying helpless in a hospital bed with a traumatic brain injury. For our family, a sense of sadness and hopelessness permeated everything. We didn’t know what the future would hold or even if Ben would survive the next 24 hours.
I couldn’t see past the bleakness of our current situation. Although I could feel that God was there in that dark place with us, I found that I couldn’t manage more than a frantic prayer that I muttered over and over: “God, please help us.” A short time later, I read Romans 8:27 — “the Spirit intercedes for the saints” (NRSV).
The Spirit knows our innermost thoughts, our feelings, and the desires of our hearts and conveys them all to the Creator of the universe on our behalf. When we are at our weakest and don’t have the words, the Spirit will intercede for us. The Spirit is always there, our constant helper. Even in the most helpless moments, that kind of love fills me with peace and hope.
TODAY'S PRAYER: Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of your Holy Spirit who intercedes for us when we are at our weakest. Amen.
TODAY'S READING: Romans 8:18 I don’t think the sufferings we are going through now are even worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us in the future. 19 The creation waits eagerly for the sons of God to be revealed; 20 for the creation was made subject to frustration — not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it. But it was given a reliable hope 21 that it too would be set free from its bondage to decay and would enjoy the freedom accompanying the glory that God’s children will have. 22 We know that until now, the whole creation has been groaning as with the pains of childbirth; 23 and not only it, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we continue waiting eagerly to be made sons — that is, to have our whole bodies redeemed and set free. 24 It was in this hope that we were saved. But if we see what we hope for, it isn’t hope — after all, who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we continue hoping for something we don’t see, then we still wait eagerly for it, with perseverance.
26 Similarly, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we don’t know how to pray the way we should. But the Spirit himself pleads on our behalf with groanings too deep for words; 27 and the one who searches hearts knows exactly what the Spirit is thinking, because his pleadings for God’s people accord with God’s will. (Complete Jewish Bible).
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: When I don’t have the words, the Spirit intercedes for me.
PRAYER FOCUS: People with traumatic brain injuries
READ MORE: More From Karen Woodard

More From Karen Woodard

JULY 12, 2018 BY KAREN WOODARD (NORTH CAROLINA)

RELATED DEVOTIONALS: OUR INTERCESSOR

Karen holding Ben three days after his accident.

He had not yet regained consciousness. 

On January 11, 2014, my son, Ben, who was four years old at the time, fell from a 25-foot-high deck and landed on a brick patio. I watched my son take what I then thought was his final breath. Ben’s heart stopped beating that day, but he was resuscitated. A machine breathed for him because of a collapsed lung, tubes and wires streamed from his body, he wore a neck and back brace, his face was bruised and swollen beyond recognition, and his skull was webbed with cracks. Ben had suffered a traumatic brain injury; and he did not show any signs of life for three days.

This is the period of time I wrote about in today’s meditation. I have never known a more heart-wrenching, helpless, hopeless-seeming situation. Doctors did not know if Ben would survive. We didn’t know if he would wake again, if he would know his family, if he would ever walk and talk again, or if he had suffered permanent brain damage. Ben had a team of talented medical professionals who worked around the clock doing all they could to assure him the best possible outcome. But, thankfully, we serve a God who defies the boundaries of what modern medicine can accomplish and earthly logic can explain. God is still a God of miracles. Those who know Ben were witness to the miracle of God’s healing hand on him. Ben went into the hospital on January 11th, came home on February 11th, and went back to preschool on March 11th, my birthday. I’ve learned not to limit God with my feeble expectations. I can now boldly take my prayer requests to the throne of God with the absolute certainty that there is nothing beyond God's power to accomplish.

A month after the accident when Ben was in in-patient 

rehab. We had a big snow that year, and they allowed us 

to take Ben out briefly to make a snowman.

A year after the accident. From left: Lauren, Jenna,

Hannah, Karen, Ben, Jackson, and Kenny Woodard 

Today, Ben leads a normal, active life as an eight-year-old. He suffered no permanent brain damage. He walks, talks, runs, plays, and fills our lives with joy and wonder. The horrors of my son’s accident will always be with me, but I am so thankful for God's help, provision, and healing. God sustained us through many dark hours and showered us with the love and support of family, friends, church family, and even strangers. Care packages, cards, gifts, prayer blankets, food, money, visits, and, most importantly, PRAYERS, were offered on our behalf from people around the world. We are so appreciative of every kindness shown us. I’m thankful, too, for the gift of God’s Holy Spirit who accompanies all believers in Christ through our earthly lives. The Holy Spirit is our assurance that we’re never alone. The knowledge that God loves us so much and knows and cares for us so intimately gives me peace and courage to face whatever trials might come in the future. I’m thankful to The Upper Room for the opportunity given me to share with others what God did for us. May God’s blessings be upon this ministry, its leaders, contributors, and followers… family in Christ.
I wrote this poem a year after Ben’s accident based on my favorite scripture, used in today’s meditation.
An Intercessor
Jesus knows and cares about the sadness that you feel
He’ll carry the burden of your trials; His love for you is real.
He’ll intercede on your behalf when you don’t have words to say,
Take your requests to the Throne of Grace and carry fears away.
He knows your thoughts and feelings, the secret desires of your heart.
And when you’re at your weakest, grace and peace He imparts.
So when this life seems heavy, and its cross too much to bear
Remember that He loves you and that He is already there.
Karen Gower Woodard
Romans 8:26-27
2015
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