The Upper Room 23rd March 2024 Devotional: Our Source of Power

The Upper Room Devotional 30 July 2022 | Birth Story

by admin July 30, 2022

written by admin

THE UPPER ROOM DEVOTIONAL 30 JULY 2022, SATURDAY

Today’s Topic: Birth Story
Ivan W. Nicholson (Minnesota, USA)

TODAY’S READING
Luke 1:57-66

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Even when I struggle to comprehend God’s love and presence, God is still there.

[Zechariah] asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. – Luke 1:63 (NRSV)

One day my daughter-in-law asked me to share my son’s birth story. In her Native American tradition, birth stories carry particular importance. She knew her own birth story and those of their two daughters, but not her husband’s. I realized that I had never told my son this story.

On a fall evening, my wife and I went to the hospital anticipating the arrival of our first child one month early. The next morning, under a clear blue sky, my wife went into labor. She was sedated, but I was present. Soon after delivery, my wife began hemorrhaging. She never regained consciousness, and she passed away six hours later.

The first person to come to the hospital was our pastor, David. Then came my best friend, David, and his wife, along with my oldest brother, John. As my wife and I had not chosen baby names, John David seemed appropriate. John means “God is gracious” or “gracious gift of God,” and David means “beloved.”

I know God was present at John’s birth and grieved at the death of his mother. God surrounded my son with love that day and has continued to love and watch over him. My son now knows that in him God gave the world a beautiful gift.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear God, help us to love and trust you even when our situation causes us to question our relationship with you. In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer. Amen.

PRAYER FOCUS
First-time fathers