God Has Never Left Us Down Here

For the past few hours and part of last night, I have been glued to my computer monitor, watching the amazing rescue of 33 miners who have been trapped in a mine in Chile for over two months.  Every time one of the men is raised up and released from the metal capsule, so aptly named Phoenix, I am filled with emotion.  Each man has had different reactions - from stunned silence to fist-pumping, high-fiving, and cheering, and everything in between.  There have been a couple, though, who immediately upon emerging from the capsule, dropped to their knees in prayers of gratitude.

©Hugo Infante/Government of Chile, used with permission.

In today's reading, Alma was chastising some people who complained that they were not allowed into the synagogues to pray because of their poverty.  He reminded them of what Zenos, a prophet of old, said concerning prayer and worship:

For he said:  Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn them to me.  Yea, O God, and thou was merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my field; when I did cry unto thee in prayer, and thou didst hear me.  And again, O God, when I did turn to my house thou didst hear me in my prayer.  And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me.  Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them.  Yea, O God, thou has been merciful unto me me, and heard my cries in the midst of thy congregations.  Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been cast out and have been despised by mine enemies;...

And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy...(Alma 33:4-11)

These men, who were at the height of their afflictions, knew that they could turn to God - no matter where they were - and that he would hear their cries.  This was evidenced when, even before the rescue began, a letter was sent to the surface from the miners in which nineteen year old Jimmy Sanchez, the youngest of the miners, wrote "There are actually 34 of us, because God has never left us down here."   Mario Sepulveda, the second miner to be rescued, said, "I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God."  What awe-inspiring faith.

Not only is the rescue of these miners a modern-day miracle, it is a lesson to me that wherever I go, whatever I do, whenever I need Him, He is there.  I do not have to wait until Sunday to speak with Him.  I do not have to be in a church building.  I can be in my car or my house or 2000 feet below the earth.  He will hear me.  I am never alone, no matter how alone I feel.  God has never left me down here.

Click here to read what I read today: Alma 33