“16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1
Thessalonians 5:16-18
I don’t
know whether you would call Philip ‘lucky’ or ‘unlucky’. His mother Monica went
through 19, yes nineteen pregnancies, but only one son survived infancy. All
Monica wanted was a brother for her only son. So after getting pregnant the twentieth time, Monica gave birth to a baby boy after a long labor. Much to her grief, the
midwife declared the boy stillborn and took the ‘body’ away from the grieving
mother. But all of a sudden there was a cry from the supposed stillborn. The
boy survived and Monica named him Philip.
Monica herself
was an orphan and she considered her younger son a miracle. So she took good care
of her younger son but sadly she died when Philip was only 8. Four years later Philip
lost his father. He was born in a rather well to do family but now he was an
orphan. After a greedy guardian lost the family wealth, Philip became a penniless
orphan. Then a Presbyterian pastor took the teenager under his wings and helped
him to become a pastor. Philip served as a pastor and wrote hymns but died of
tuberculosis at age 49 in 1751.
So dear friend,
with all that he went through, would you consider Philip lucky or unlucky? I
don’t know your answer but let’s learn, from Philip himself, about life–
Many for
every occasion sing the hymn, O Happy Day,
which Rev. Philip Doddridge wrote. It was used in movies and is covered by
many. Even after 250 years the singing of O
Happy Day brings great joy to many.
I give thanks to
you O God for you are good and your love for me endures forever. Help me to call on your name and make known among nations what
you have done for me. I thank and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
.
Please
indulge me and watch this too - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zT8AyfsFmA
