03- 24- 11 MI DAILY DEVOTION (Psalm 30:1-5)
“JOY COMES IN THE MORNING”
(Rev. Jimmy Jones, Kay and Lori God’s testimony of His amazing grace)
1-“A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 2- O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3- O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 4- Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5- For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
I’ve known Pastor Jimmy Jones for almost 20 years. We just did a mission trip in the Philippines last month. He is a godly man who has kept his integrity and good testimony since he became a Christian and a minister of the Gospel. But that won’t keep you from having problems, trials, sufferings and difficulties or sickness such as he just went through recently. Here’s the testimony of God’s grace through the life of this man of God…
To Joyce and all those who prayed for us and Lori. Thank you again for sharing the prayer request for Lori. It has been a very challenging time for Kay, for me and the whole family. But the Lord is faithful and loving every day. We got a great report today. Lori’s kidneys are functioning. This was our major concern. She was also taken off the respirator this morning and is breathing on her own. They are still searching for the source of blood in her stool. We hope to get a report today. She was given a transfusion yesterday. We would like to thank all our brothers and sisters in Christ for your prayers. “To God be the glory, great things He hath done…”
Let me share to you God’s wonderful grace to us. As some of you may have known Kay and to those who do not know her, she is my wife for 53 years. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. She had 7 positive lymph nodes, which at that time was a death noticed for her. The Lord used her doctor to recommend a bone marrow transfer. The Lord allowed us to go to Duke Medical Center in North Carolina for the procedure. We felt lead to the experienced of the three Hebrew children in the book of Daniel as their response to the threat of death for not worshiping the idol of Nebuchadnezzar was basically; “Our God is able to deliver us from death but He may not deliver us from death, but we will not doubt or desert Him for he has already delivered us from you.” We said to the Lord; “We know you can heal, but sometimes; You (Lord God) do not… as many great Christians have died from cancer, but we know You have already delivered us from death,” Jesus said; “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” Therefore, if You (LORD) heal Kay or take her home, we are going to love you, we will praise You Lord and give You Lord God all the glory and the honor. As you know, the Lord used duke University as His instrument to heal Kay. In this experience with Lori, we again came to this same place and the same commitment. We gave Lori to the Lord and this Tuesday; the doctor gave a report that she had made improvement, but was very sick and she might still die. That night I broke before the Lord as tears flowed beyond control. I asked the Lord for a word. I searched His Word, but I found nothing; not even a word from the Lord. I wondered why I could not find a word from the Lord. Then I felt the Lord gave me a word from memory. Over and over I kept thinking “Joy cometh in the Morning”. I began to look for it in the scripture and I could not find it. I knew that that was not the full verse, but I could not find it. So, I called Gary and he called me back after a few minutes. It’s in (Psalms 30:5b) “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” That was the Word from the Lord for me. Pam and David persuaded us to go home and get some sleep. We got home at 10:00 p.m. to sleep two hours before going back to the hospital. I tried to lie down and I wondered if I could go to sleep. I do not know what happened, Perhaps a short dream, but I saw a nurse coming toward me saying; “she is over the hump”. I yelled out loud! Kay woke me up and asked me, “What’s wrong?” I said nothing and the alarm went off at 12:00 AM. I got up, the phone rang and it was Pam. She said Lori was responsive and was communicating with them. The nurse said she was responding well. Her breathing was better, and her pulse was down. Everything was turning around. I looked at the clock and it was 12:05 in the morning. Do Baptists shout? Well one does... From that time on there has been continual progress. When we got to the hospital, I saw Lori’s new nurse, do you believe it, I recognized her. Thank you for your prayers, your love and concern. We give God all the glory for showing us again His love to those so undeserving. Keep praying for the Lord’s direction and grace in our lives.
Jimmy, Kay and Lori
(Psalm 30:6- 12)
