DO!

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record when I keep talking about the side effects that my wife has been experiencing with the new prescription that she has been taking.  It’s just that it has not only been hard on the both of us, but has also served as a great foundation for a lesson from the Lord!  Mind you, I am not in any way saying that He caused the difficulties for we know that the Word clearly states that He is the purveyor of life (John 1:4, John 6:63) and not sickness, disease and pain and suffering. (John 10:10, Acts 10:38 & Luke 9:56)

The three nights previous to last night had been extremely taxing on both of us.  My wife kept waking up with alarming symptoms.  Once the light of the morning came into the room and she was up, dressed, fed and had her meds, things would mellow out.  I was beginning to feel at a loss as to what I could do for her.  Each day I spoke with her two specialists in San Francisco hoping for a quick fix, and neither could really offer anything more for the situation.  Their answers were the same… we just need to “hold the course” and push on through until her system adjusted.

I have to confess, that this was not what I wanted to hear.  I was definitely feeling pushed to my personal limits of endurance and needed answers!  As I mentioned before, the new found freedom to go for a walk while pushing my wife in a transport chair was the saving grace for both of us during the last two days.  But then the evening hours would come and the potential of another rough, sleepless night loomed ahead.

I finally had a breakthrough late yesterday afternoon as I began to prepare a dinner of pork ribs baked over a bed of pasta with marinara sauce and sliced zucchini.  When I finally popped the casserole into the oven, it came to my awareness that with the tremendous emotional and physical stress of the situation, that I had become more dependent on the doctors word than I had on God’s.  

Now, you may think that this is unusual coming from someone who always preaches total allegiance to whatever the Word says in contrast to the negative reports that may try to prevail in our lives.  But you know… I’ve got to be honest with you.  I was having problems in the face of everything that seemed to be hitting us all at once, and let down my guard.  (or should I say my shield – Ephesian 6:16)  I hope that my transparency here will be a great encouragement to any of you who may find yourselves in similar situations.

As I began to clean up the counter and lick the spoon and the bowl that was coated with the residue of the red pasta sauce (hey… I’m a full blooded Italian, I could live off this stuff!) I decided that I needed to make something positive happen in the situation that we found ourselves embroiled in.  I had an hour before the food was cooked and I immediately began to use that time by praising, praying and singing unto the Lord.  Since I had already prayed for His wisdom for the need, I just thanked Him for His answers.  I went through the house and charged the atmosphere with faith.  I laid hands on my wife and thanked the Lord for her healing recovery that I believe is happening in her body (Mark 16:18) and simply released my cares upon Him.

By the time the oven timer went off I was flooded with a newfound peace that I hadn’t felt for days, my faith was stirred and I was encouraged about the night ahead… and the Lord was true to His Word! (Jeremiah 1:12)  Although Piper began to display some symptoms around 12:30 in the morning, they were light and we were able to sleep most of the night through!  Isn’t God good!  She woke up calm and alert and was even able to walk into the kitchen with a little more than a stabilizing hand from me.

James 1:25 talks about the person “who continues to study God’s perfect teachings… who remain committed to them.” (God’s Word ©)  The pastor of the church in Jerusalem who was known to have callouses on his knees due to the hours he spent on them in prayer, then stated that “People like that don’t merely listen and forget, they actually DO what God’s teachings (or Word) say.”  It is interesting to see that the word translated “DO” or “doer” in other translations literally means “a performer, a poet, a maker, a producer or an author.” (Strong’s and Thayer’s)  Webster defined a Poet as “a maker, an inventor; one who finds out something new; one who contrives and produces anything not before existing.”

Therefore it would seem that James was saying that when we “DO” the Word, we make it happen.  We make it turn the negative situation we’re facing around.  We initiate the power that changes it from what we currently see into something new that we hadn’t seen yet!  Does that sound a little incredible to you?  Well, that is precisely what happened to me and my wife last night.  By placing all my marbles on the doctor’s word, I was actually closing the door for God to perform His Word for us.  When I finally yielded to Him, I released His influence into our lives and He was free to “DO” His Word for us.  I guess you could call that a “Double DO!”  When I did the Word, He was able to “DO” what we needed at that time.

So… how does your weekend look to you today?  Is there anything going on where you need to “DO” His Word so that something new can be seen in your life?  I like it that our heavenly Father loves us and trusts us enough that He has given us an active role in our faith.  That would mean that we don’t always need to find ourselves in a defensive mode, but instead taking on an offensive position where we “DO” the Word and thereby allow the power of God to make something new in the situations of our lives.  Have a great weekend.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting To DO today?”