NEVER Let Go!

Okay… Be honest with me.  Do you ever find yourself talking to the TV?  I admit that on occasion, I have been guilty of an emotional response… or two!  The other night I suddenly laughed and cringed at the same time at the beginning of a commercial for a Final Expenses Insurance Plan.  My reaction wasn’t due to the idea of having a Final Expenses Plan for I actually took a couple out for Piper and I a number of years ago.  When the time came to use the plan for Piper’s final needs, it was easy to execute and the payout came quickly.

What bothered me though, was when the scene opened up showing an older lady sitting in a hospital bed with her daughter hovering over her.  The daughter’s first line was “Mom, you gave us such a scare!”  And with that fearful comment, I yelled out to the TV saying… “Well that’s the dumbest thing you could say.  Here the women supposedly almost died and instead of comforting her and saying something to build her faith you react by trying to put your worst fears on her?”

After I calmed down a bit, I realized that the scenario acted out in the commercial had hit very close to home!  Hebrews 6:17-18 in The Message Bible tells us that:

“When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go.” 

Piper and I had followed the writer of Hebrews advice as soon as we got the first negative result from her initial MRI back in 2007.  We metaphorically and in my case… literally ran for Piper’s very life to God and His promises for her welfare.  As soon as I disconnected from the call from the Doctor’s office, while at work, standing in the middle of the power tools aisle in the Garden department at the South Tulsa Home Depot, I ran outside to the very back corner of the covered soils area, fell to my knees and gave it all to the Lord in prayer and tears.

From then on, the last thing that Piper or I needed was for people to project their fear over Piper’s situation onto us.  I guess I had been pretty naïve thinking that everyone would come along side us, stand strong and be supportive of our needs while giving of themselves to assist me in the care of my wife.  But you know… while many people seemed to come out of the woodwork to support us… many did not.  I quickly learned that a part of my job as Piper’s 24/7 caregiver was also to encourage those who could not or simply would not be able to present their best side when in Piper’s presence.

This may sound strange… but it seemed that our faith in the unchangeability of the promises in God’s Word or “the immutability of his counsel” as the King James Version puts it, had to be strong enough to carry others when they were around us.  It was clearly evident to see how other people’s fear, depression, hopelessness or despondency physically affected Piper… and I did my best to assure that this wouldn’t happen.

The idea of grabbing on to the promised hope or expectation within God’s Word with both hands and NEVER letting go, became more than a positive thought… but a lifestyle for us.  One of the implications of the Greek word “immutability” is the inability to “transpose” something which, according to the Oxford Online Dictionaries means “to cause two or more things to change places with each other.”

In respect to our subject today, it would mean to take someone’s actual faith or even their need for faith and to replace it with fear.  One of the most important lessons I learned about positive pastoral hospital visitation from one of the Pastor’s I worked under, which was also confirmed through my classes at Bible School, was to take the time when visiting someone to find out where their faith for their need was… and then to hook up and support them from that point of view.

In respect to the point of today’s blog, it would be like going into a hospital room, not listening to the one laying in the bed and railroading them into thinking like you without even caring about their true needs, feelings or level of faith… just so you could feel better when you left the hospital!  I really don’t think that most concerned individuals would do that, do you?  So why then, would people put their fears on other people in need instead of trying to build them up!  

I was looking at a picture of Piper laughing at our wedding rehearsal dinner (as I was whispering something funny in her ear) and I thought of how much I enjoyed making Piper smile and laugh.  It was one of the most rewarding feelings that I have ever enjoyed!  I’ve also begun to realize that while it seemed to bother me at first… of how much I ended up enjoying helping those who interacted with Piper and I in her final years, to help them to rejoice along with us and catch the flavor of the goodness of the Lord that we were experiencing… in the midst of the toughest time in our lives.

And now… well now… I am getting the pleasure of encouraging others who are going through similar situations that Piper and I went through!  It turns out that grabbing onto the promises of God and hanging on with both hands has had positive results for my past as well as for my today and tomorrow! 

How about you?

Have a great week.  Seek to be an encourager to others in need to today and shed the joy of the Lord wherever you go!