This section is really a parentheses in our meditation, but I feel I must add it at this point.
Today I am waiting to see my doctor and get the report on my six month CAT scan. I was to have my appointment yesterday but it was postponed until this afternoon. Waiting is one of the hardest things, at least for me.
In the midst of all this an elderly sister, who has really been a second mom to me, called to encourage me. She said, “Remember, you have spent most of your life waiting. Waiting in airports, waiting in third-world countries, waiting for shipments of Bibles and literature to arrive, waiting for delayed planes, trains, and buses...and so on. Now the Lord is asking you to wait for this report and evidently has some lesson for you to learn, and if you learn it He has something wonderful in store.”
This was just the exhortation and encouragement I needed for the moment. It brought to mind the words of David, when he wrote: “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord” (Psalm 27:1414Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)). He also said “Wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself” (Psalm 37:77Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (Psalm 37:7)). The New Testament writer reminds us, “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:1111Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. (James 5:11)).
Waiting is one thing, but to wait patiently and without fretting, well, that takes real faith, grace, and dependence on the Lord.
* A few hours later I saw the doctor and we sent out the following post:
The results of my CAT Scan were clear, and I will not have another one for a year.
Having said that, we realize that it is nothing less than the prayers and faith of our brethren.
The other day in the midst of turmoil of mind and lack of faith, I was reading in Mark’s Gospel chapter 2, concerning the man that was let down in front of the Lord Jesus by his friends through the roof. Verse 5 was a great encouragement, “When Jesus saw their faith.” Not the faith of the man who was sick, but the faith of the ones who brought him to the Lord. I was thankful to realize that though my faith was small, to say the least, I had others bringing me to the Lord with more faith than I had.
Now as we feel relief and rejoicing we want to thank our brethren for their prayers and out pouring of love and care. It has been a real blessing and nothing less than amazing. The family of God is so wonderful and we value it more than ever before.