Courage

— For the week of August 17, 2008 —

"Courage," he said, and pointed toward the land, "this mounting wave will roll us shoreward soon." In the afternoon they came unto a land.
— Alfred Lord Tennyson

Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,
for the Lord your God goes with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you.
— Deuteronomy 31:6

At precisely 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, got a wake-up call — and courage went to work. For the next 72 hours, people from all over the world gathered to rescue those who had been trapped from the terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building downtown.

Story after story began to surface of rescuers burrowing deep into the dangerous darkness and precarious pockets of debris — hoping for a pulse and praying for a miracle. Such a miracle occured late that first evening when the weak cries of Diana Bradley, 21, were heard.

For ten hours she had been pinned beneath the rubble. Choked by dust and numbed by shock, she waited for someone to hear her. Finally relief came, but at a high price. Her leg was caught under large amounts of steel and concrete. Knowing she would die before rescuers could extract her, doctors were called in to amputate. No anesthesia. No attending nurses. No high-speed instruments. Only a doctor with a sharp scalpel.

Three months later to the day Diana, wearing a prosthesis, held a news conference in Oklahoma City. She praised the courage of those who saved her life.

Where do you need courage today? Draw upon the strength of the Holy Spirit within and remember: Courage is a gift from God that enables us to see beyond the moment into the eternal eyes of our heavenly Father.

Taken from The Minister's Little Devotional Book.
Copyright © 1997 by H.B. London Jr. and Stan Toler.
Used by permission of RiverOak Publishing, Tulsa, Okla.
All rights reserved.