Many times in my life God has spoken to
me through His Word. Just when I seemed
to need special encouragement and assurance from God, the Spirit led me to certain
Bible verses that applied to the very situation I was facing. Here I will give you three very personal
examples.
The date was November 16, 1993. My husband Grover had already received
extensive cardiovascular tests and was in Atlanta Medical Center (formerly
Georgia Baptist Hospital) awaiting bypass heart surgery scheduled for the next
day. I had a guest room in the old
Georgia Baptist School of Nursing dormitory (the school being then closed
out). The dormitory was on the top
floor, but reached from a sort of tunnel passageway that went from the lower level of the
hospital across and to the dormitory. In
1993 it was a place for family members of patients to board. Knowing that Grover faced serious surgery the
next day, I was naturally concerned.
Settled into the room and ready for bed, I took my Bible to read and
pray. I opened to Psalm 118, the psalm
with the recurring refrain: “O give
thanks unto the Lord; for He is good because His mercy endureth forever” (Ps.
118:1; see also verses 2, 3, 4, 29).
Then verse 17 seemed to stand out as a special message for the
occasion: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” I felt the verse was a promise from God given
in anticipation of successful surgery and recovery for Grover from the next
day’s heart surgery. After claiming that
promise and praying, I slept well and awoke the next day very early, ready to
see Grover before he was taken to surgery and to share with him the verse the
Spirit had led me to claim for his health and well being. The surgery was successful and he made a good
recovery from it.
The date was August 28, 2007. I was in Middle Georgia Medical Center,
Macon, Georgia undergoing extensive cardiac tests and awaiting decisions about
whether I would have heart surgery. My
daughter was a long distance away on vacation, as was my son. My granddaughter, Crystal, had taken me to
the hospital and was my “family member” standing beside me during this period
of stabilization and decisions about surgery.
On August 30, 2007 I had five bypasses heart surgery. Prior to the surgery, I remembered Psalm
118:17, and going through my mind, too, was all of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my
shepherd…” I was unafraid. I knew that if anything went awry I would go
immediately to be with the Lord, but if I survived it would be assurance that
God “had not finished with me yet.” When
my daughter and my son returned from the places they were at the time of my
admittance to the hospital, I was already through with heart surgery and up and
taking those first halting steps to exercise in post-surgery therapy. “I
shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.”
The dates were May 31 through June 6,
2013. Son Keith was in Piedmont
Hospital, Atlanta, with too-rapid pulse rate and other electrolyte imbalance
symptoms. Stabilization and tests
occurred for several days and on June 3 he had heart catheterization and two
stents. Still there were episodes of
too-rapid heartbeat and he was kept for observation and more tests. On June 5 he had another probe, this time of
the veins, and two ablations were performed to mend the areas where the heart’s
“electrical” system was out of sync. The
procedure worked, and he was able to return to his home on June 6 after having
been “an interesting case,” not the usual heart-attack, diseased arteries and
other cardiac ailments with which the specialists deal. Remembering Psalm 118:17, I read it and
claimed its promise. I read another and also
claimed it for Keith’s recovery: “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for
the Lord.” (Psalm 27:13-14).
God provides light for the journey. Search His word and find reassurance…and
pray.
-Ethelene
Dyer Jones 06.09.2013
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