"We're serving a God who is all-powerful. There isn't anything too big or too difficult to keep us discouraged. God will help us through life's circumstances, no matter what." -- Charles F. Stanley
During a time of heart-break and sorrow, this message came to me in the mail from In Touch Ministry.
I have an ailing family member who is not expected to recover from her condition and it is breaking the hearts of all that love and cherish her. Her husband is bitter because he is losing his wife of 46 years and there is nothing he can do to keep her here. Her children are grieved because they watched her throw caution to the wind and ignore doctors' advise time and again. Her friends are fearful because that could be them lying lifeless in that hospital bed.
We are never given more than we can handle. That is what I keep repeating to myself as I stare across the waiting room, avoiding all contact with family members who are bent on destroying me and my child. I am caught in a waiting game. Waiting for doctor reports saying that she is slipping away inch by inch, waiting to hear the gentle whisper of the Lord as I pray his will and peace for those suffering and grieving. Waiting for the other shoe to drop and the attack to begin.
My family is not a close and loving family. We are a motley crew of believers and unbelievers butting heads and throwing insults. We have the devote Catholics who sure are glad they are not Christian, we have the athiest who hates God (I always thought an athiest was one who did not believe in the existence of God, therefore, how can you hate one who does not exist?). Then there is the holiday Christians and the "it's okay as long as you don't get caught" Christians. There are also those who are seeking Him and working towards completely turning their lives over to Him and His will. An interesting group of broken souls, righteous indignations and humble beings.
As I look about me and see this rag-tag gathering, I really think of the words uttered by Charles F. Stanley. We do indeed serve a God who is all-powerful. While my relative is lying in the hospital bed with little hope of recovery, we know that the Lord is the divine physician and He is able to heal the broken and infirmed. He is also capable of calling home his people and then giving those left behind the peace and strength necessary to carry on.
God will walk beside us through any situation and it is that promise that I am clinging to while I watch the suffering that is before me. During my stint in the ICU waiting room and sitting by her bedside, I spend much of that time is silent prayer for those around me and for His will to be shown. It is a difficult prayer to pray, especially when His will is not always your will. But I know that He will be there through it all and will lift us up and give us hope as we face one of our biggest challenges.
During a time of heart-break and sorrow, this message came to me in the mail from In Touch Ministry.
I have an ailing family member who is not expected to recover from her condition and it is breaking the hearts of all that love and cherish her. Her husband is bitter because he is losing his wife of 46 years and there is nothing he can do to keep her here. Her children are grieved because they watched her throw caution to the wind and ignore doctors' advise time and again. Her friends are fearful because that could be them lying lifeless in that hospital bed.
My family is not a close and loving family. We are a motley crew of believers and unbelievers butting heads and throwing insults. We have the devote Catholics who sure are glad they are not Christian, we have the athiest who hates God (I always thought an athiest was one who did not believe in the existence of God, therefore, how can you hate one who does not exist?). Then there is the holiday Christians and the "it's okay as long as you don't get caught" Christians. There are also those who are seeking Him and working towards completely turning their lives over to Him and His will. An interesting group of broken souls, righteous indignations and humble beings.
As I look about me and see this rag-tag gathering, I really think of the words uttered by Charles F. Stanley. We do indeed serve a God who is all-powerful. While my relative is lying in the hospital bed with little hope of recovery, we know that the Lord is the divine physician and He is able to heal the broken and infirmed. He is also capable of calling home his people and then giving those left behind the peace and strength necessary to carry on.
God will walk beside us through any situation and it is that promise that I am clinging to while I watch the suffering that is before me. During my stint in the ICU waiting room and sitting by her bedside, I spend much of that time is silent prayer for those around me and for His will to be shown. It is a difficult prayer to pray, especially when His will is not always your will. But I know that He will be there through it all and will lift us up and give us hope as we face one of our biggest challenges.
