WHERE WILL YOU TURN WHEN YOUR WORLD IS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN?  #287

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I know we have all heard, and probably even repeated, phrases such as, “life is fleeting, so make the most of every moment”, or “live today to the fullest because you never know what tomorrow will bring.” Those are well meaning phrases, actually words of encouragement, intended to bring a sense of peace to someone wanting to make a decision about the future, but perhaps still a bit unsettled. I know I have used both phrases numerous times, and truth be told, Pam and I have consciously tried to live that attitude throughout our marriage. But think about what remains when the words of encouragement are lifted. What is left are two life-truths that each of us will have to deal with some day: “life is fleeting” and “you never know what tomorrow will bring.” I don’t think most people dwell on those two truths for any length of time.  I know we didn’t. We were too busy making the most of every moment, and living our life together to the fullest. So, my question to you is, “what will happen when your world is turned upside down? Have you thought about that?”

Unfortunately, Pam and I are living that scenario right now. Let me give you a brief history. On December 10^th of 2018, I had knee replacement surgery. Pam cared for me during my healing process. On December 21^st, 2019 our roles changed when she had two disks replaced in her cervical spine. On January 15^th of this year, she had a second surgery, a lumbar decompression in her lower back. Back pain and nerve pain are common with this surgery, and can last for a month or two after surgery. But shortly after that procedure, other issues began to raise their ugly heads. Muscle weakness got worse on a day by day basis, dizziness and balance issues became more prominent, along with excruciating lower back pain that radiated down her legs. At this time, she was using a walker, but she still experienced two falls.

Last Friday, she passed out in the bathroom.  I took her to the emergency room where they treated her for dehydration and messed-up electrolytes. She came home that afternoon. The next Monday morning, I took her back to the ER when she said she had problems raising her arms and her legs were too weak for the walker. This time they admitted her to the hospital, and she was there for five days under the scrutiny of five specialists ordering test after test after test including two brain scans and a spinal tap. All the test results are not back yet, but the consensus of the five specialists seems to be MS. Talk about a shocker!  Wow!

The point is, when we are faced with a traumatic issue such as an unexpected illness, a divorce, or financial collapse, we have one of two options.  We can either shake our fist at God and say, “Why God? Why is this happening? We can be angry with Him, maybe we even blame Him, OR we can press into Him as our source of strength, and ask for wisdom, courage, patience and perseverance to deal with this in a way that honors Him. Pam and I have chosen the latter.

I keep thinking to myself, “What do people do in catastrophic situations when they are not in Christ?” Where do they find their source of strength? As followers of Jesus Christ, we are heir to all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms, which includes spiritual healing; we are heir to all the promises in the Bible, which are numerous, and we are gifted with the indwelling Holy Spirit who empowers us to rise above our circumstances. Jesus was blatantly up-front about what it means to be a Christ-follower.  He never soft pedaled it, and He never promised us a rose garden. “In this world you will have trouble. But fear not, for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) What that Scripture means to those of us in Christ is this…if Jesus has overcome the world, so have we!

Last week I used a quote from Neil Anderson, author of “Victory Over the Darkness” which seems very appropriate here: “Do not let your circumstances or your feelings define you, because both can change. Instead, stand on the truth of what God’s Word says about you.” (I’m a Child of God; I’m forgiven; I’m unconditionally loved; God delights in me; He created me for a relationship with Himself; He will never leave me nor forsake me; God is merciful and full of grace; He is faithful.)

Whenever anyone is faced with trials and tribulations, you can count on satan, our adversary, to show up to amplify your pathos. This is when he is at his worse. His primary purpose is to keep us separated from God, and he will use every lie, deception, or scheme in his playbook to keep us focused on our circumstance, or in this case, our pain and suffering, rather than on God…the source of our strength. C.S. Lewis explains this tactic in his famous book, “Screwtape Letters”. Screwtape, satan, teaches his nephew, Wormwood, the art of deception. “Wormwood, you should make the patient focus on his own feeling instead of God. You should make the patient want to feel better rather than praying for forgiveness or courage. This way the patient will try to feel forgiven or feel brave. Humans do not know our full power, Screwtape writes, so they can easily be tricked into following our lead.” (Screwtape Letters, Letter 4)

Apostle Paul’s rebuke to the above presentation can be found in 2 Corinthians, 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” When we are dealing with pain and suffering, it is very real. And don’t think satan doesn’t know that, because he is the author of pain and suffering. His ploy is to make that pain and suffering more real to us than our God. This is a pretension that we must demolish by standing on the truth of God’s Word. Here are some truths we can stand on. “He forgives all my sins, and He heals all my diseases.” (Psalm 103:3) “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) “He (Jesus) healed people who had every kind of sickness and disease.” (Matthew 4:23) “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now, rather, we look forward to the joys yet to come.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) “For He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) And, because we are in Christ, “we are heir to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms”, one of which is spiritual healing. (Ephesians 1: 3) Now that we know we are healed in the spiritual realm, we can pray for the manifestation of that healing in the physical realm. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are heir to every one of those promises.

So here is where the rubber hits the road. Do you believe those promises are true? Do you think they pertain to you and your situation right now? Are you willing to trust God to be faithful? Remember what Jesus said to Jairus when he got word his daughter had died; He said, “Don’t be afraid. Trust Me!” (Luke 8:50) That’s the same message Jesus gives to all of us today when we are going through a crisis.  Our challenge is to believe that our God is more real than our circumstances.

Pam and I have talked about our situation and what it may mean in the short term, and possibly in the long term.  We are committed to keeping our focus on the prize at the end of this journey, which for us is restoration of her body, and a return to some semblance of normalcy. Our challenge will be the same as everyone else’s: Not to be afraid, but to trust Him! Our confidence lies in the fact that we know our source of strength, and we know the Holy Spirit is a gift to empower us to do things that we can’t do through our own effort. We will call on Him for His wisdom, His strength, His courage, His patience, and His perseverance as we follow our commitment to dig ourselves out of this dark place. No doubt satan intends to use this infirmity to separate us from God’s love, but we are counting on the Holy Spirit to bring this tribulation to victory! “The Spirit that is in me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than the spirit in this world.” (satan) 1 John 4:4.

We ask everyone who reads this to lift us up in prayer. Please pray with us that we will face this journey in a way that brings honor and glory to His holy name!

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May God Bless Ya…

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan) and Pam