Thoughts On The Live Rescue Of The Trapped Chilean Miners

Tonight, my heart filled with joy watching the Chilean Miners, trapped deep underground, rescued live via a video feed.

My family heritage is in the coal mines of Northern Pennsylvania, and the stories of my grandfather and uncles running to the mines to attempt to rescue trapped friends in the middle of the night continue to haunt my thoughts. Such a depth of desperation for someone to come to you, to fight for you, to listen for you, to deliver you, must have filled the souls of those trapped miles beneath the unyielding ground.

The need to be rescued does not visit us crisis to crisis – we are born with a need to be rescued. The forces around us fight the independent, welcoming their strength to be revealed, but also humbling that strength again and again by sheer force of will.

Tonight, the strength of the miners was revealed. Yet, their strength was more greatly revealed in their capacity to trust in those fighting for them. Yielding to the drill, to the time frame, to the dull sounds above and around them, must have taken the great strength of humility as they awaited rescue.

May our strength be as bright, as rich as the humility of a trapped miner welcoming his saviors.

LIVE BROADCAST: THE RESCUE OF THE TRAPPED CHILEAN MINERS

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Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms

Sheltering Mercy, along with its companion volume, Endless Grace, helps us rediscover the rich treasures of the Psalms—through free-verse prayer renderings of their poems and hymns—as a guide to personal devotion and meditation.

The church has always used the Psalms as part of its prayer life, and they have inspired countless other prayers. This book contains 75 prayers drawn from Psalms 1-75, providing lyrical sketches of what authors Ryan Smith and Dan Wilt have seen, heard, and felt while sojourning in the Psalms. Each prayer is a response to the Psalms written in harmony with Scripture. These prayers help us quiet our hearts before God and welcome us into a safe place amid the storms of life.

This artful, poetic, and classic devotional book features compelling custom illustrations and foil-stamped hardcover binding, offering a fresh way to reflect on and pray the Psalms.