As I was being discharged from the hospital after my heart attack my wife, daughters, and I had the opportunity to share our faith with one of the nurses. It wasn’t anything we pushed on her but something she wanted to hear. She is a trained professional in health care and very good at her job but broke down and related past experiences that no one would have imagined happening to her.
She talked about her upbringing and the discipline she was raised with by her parents. She related how naïve she was when she went away from home to college for the first time and quickly learned the ways of the world. As her failing grades reached her dad she was quickly reminded who was paying for her college and who ultimately controlled the purse strings.
He showed up at her dorm as she was getting ready to go to a party and was told to get her clothes because she was going home. At this time she realized the ways of the world had taken her in the wrong direction and her rebellion lead her into chaos with consequences.
This veteran nurse also shared experiences she and her husband have had. After receiving her nursing degree and her husband having a very good job once again they became products of a worldly system trying to keep up with the neighbors. They had a big, beautiful home and nice automobiles until one day her husband lost his job and they lost everything to foreclosures and bankruptcies.
This couple was just like many others in the world today trying to be something that they really aren’t. There are many people in this world today carrying the burdens of the world because they have gotten themselves so in debt and so far removed from their church and family they seem to have little hope of recovering. Many of us have had financial woes over our lifetime but through the love of family, friends, and our church have been able to recover because of their help. Most of this help came from the cries of help to the Lord through our prayer life and, as always, He delivered.
Our nurse friend admitted she had pushed God into a corner and tried to overcome the world by herself. She ran out of friends and family and came to the conclusion that her only hope was to go to her knees and cry out to God for help, which she did. Even though her life is not what it once was she is in a place where she can see the light at the end of the tunnel. God has provided her with two jobs and her husband is working again and together they are working themselves out of the problems from the past.
We need to remember that if God brings you to it, He will see you through it. We are told in Psalm 56:3, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” One of the best quotes I have ever seen is ‘We can’t always see where the road leads but God promises there’s something better up ahead we just have to trust Him.’
What about you? Where is your faith and trust today? Is it in the world or is it in Jesus Christ?
