Letters from LZ - A Cops Morning

It was a crisp Fall morning when he woke.  The anger he had from the night before still filled him.  His teenager was turning out to be unreliable, untruthful, and untrustworthy.  He learned over the years to suppress emotion however, so he contained himself and quietly prepared for his tour of duty without waking anyone.   When he left out the door his home was peaceful, but his heart remained angry.  He knew when he returned his teenager would have found a new way to rebel and the peace which filled the house would be gone.  

The morning weather was typical for a Northwest Fall; dreary with the promise of rain.  This didn’t help his mood, but the cool morning air felt good and for unknown reasons woke him to God’s presence.  He began to pray.  He prayed prayers for his wife, his other children, and his teenager.   He then started on a prayer for his safe return home, but it was interrupted by an unexplained hope which filled his heart.  With this hope his thoughts changed and his prayers turned to prayers of thanksgiving.  He thanked the Lord for the morning air, the trees, and the clouds above.  He thanked the Lord for the wife he was blessed to be loved by, for the children he was blessed to love, and for the hope that his teenager would one day have a heart of obedience.  He also thanked the Lord for the Lord’s goodness and might, and he thanked the Lord for his life.  By the time he arrived at work he was filled with joy.   

Work started at a slow pace. By late morning not much had occurred, but that was soon to change.  Armed men entered a bank and robbed it.  The call came in and he responded.  While en route he considered what he might encounter and before he knew it he was face to face with the gunmen.  It was intense if for no other reason than the gunmen were set on killing a cop.  He prayed for help.  The gunmen deployed an explosive device.  He prayed for courage.  The gunmen let loose a barrage of gunfire.  He felt God and with confidence returned fire.  He would not be deterred by the will of evil men. When the shooting was over the robbers were no more. 

In the days that followed he tried to make sense of why he lived.  His morning anger was washed away with a hope he didn’t deserve.  An explosive device went off, but only sputtered and his life was sparred.  The rounds that were fired struck things around him, but he was untouched.  He thought maybe it was faith that held off death, but he knew faith didn’t prevent death from coming whether by tragedy or in peace.  He thought maybe his prayers granted him passage to another day, but he knew prayer didn’t guarantee tomorrow.  Then it came to him.  Grace – it was by this he stood.  Grace that beautiful “gift of God (Eph 2:8)”; that beautiful gift which our eyes are opened to through faith in Christ and prayers to the Lord.  Grace – not deserving, yet received.   

Friends, the day will come when you wake to a Fall’s morning and your life’s forecast will be dreary with the promise of rain.   Circumstance will bring you to anger, or troubles, or chaos, or even to death.   Faith and prayer may not change your circumstance, but it will open your eyes to the depths of God’s grace.  So, I pray you would not be deterred by whatever that circumstance might be; for the Lords grace is sufficient to see you through. 

Your brother in Christ,

LZ.