This story goes on to say that this curse can only be driven out by prayer. Woo! (said while loudly exhaling). Some things, can only be driven out by prayer...I am going to let that marinate as I go into a little bit about why I have been away from the computer and some things that have taken place since my last post about my grandpa's hospital stay.
On June 17th I pasted (scotch-taped) a Facebook post in my journal from Heart of the Prophetic that shot an arrow straight in to my feels:
Embrace your wilderness moments. Learn all you can. There's surely a war ahead to obtain your Promised Land but you will strike down every enemy if you build your faith in the desert places.That same day a devotion read discusses that our expectations rarely align with God's timing.
In the the wilderness we can often: See His miracles more clearly, feel His presence more intensely, worship Him more authentically, and obey Him more sincerely. Even when we don't think He is working...He Is!My prayer for myself at the end of journaling that morning was: Steadfast in Prayer
Friends I feel I have been a 'Wilderness Wanderer' for most of the month of June, and therefore, for the most part, disqualified myself from trying to inspire you. I knew it would be a busy month as I put two teenagers schedules into my calendar, but I could not foresee a few bends in the well-worn path as the month began. Much like the wilderness, we can find a plethora of beauty, but some spiders and snakes makes us jump into patches of poison ivy when we least expect it.
My grandpa was released two weeks ago into the care of a skilled nursing center, with no improvement in memory or physical ability. Still not eating or sleeping. Last Thursday he was driven to the hospital with dizzy spells and continued kidney decline. They admitted him, sent him back to skilled nursing Saturday afternoon, and that same evening we were back in the ER with extremely low blood pressure and readmitted.
When I walked into the room Monday morning, he burst into tears. As I looked from him to grandma, completely concerned, her reply came, "he remembers". Apparently he was allergic to the antibiotic they had been given him for almost a full month, topped with taking too much blood pressure medicine. When all of that worked out of his system, all swelling left his body and his memory returned.
He cried and said, "this is the best day of my life". I smiled through my tears with "well, I am not sure about that, but we will take it". He asked, "you want to know the best part? I got my wife back". Although she had been there everyday, when he was "hanging out there" (his words), he thought she had gone for good. So that is pretty great, but I am not going to lie, I was a little skeptical that we were just having a good moment. But as the day progressed he was just so happy that he remembered.
Here is the cool part...how he remembered. He didn't just get his mind back, God came to him and cast out the darkness. His explanation: We were all standing there, no one knew what was going on or what was going to happen, and then He just cast all the demons away. His favorite song was playing, by his favorite singer during this "revival". Although grandpa says it was waaaaay better than a revival! As he told us, he just teared up and said, "God is so good, best day of my life".
And I love what God has done for him, and that He allowed us to pray it away. Next to God casting out the darkness, my second favorite moment Monday was Grandpa praying over our lunch. It was the best prayer I have ever heard in my life! (I'm not sure about that, but we are going to take it!) My plan from here on out is always to visit at meal time and hear as many of those that the good Lord will allow.
As thrilled as I am at the miracle healing that God is affirming for our family, I am sticking firm to my steadfast prayer for a friend whose brother has been in CCU for a little over a week now. We are praying, interceding, and declaring that same miracle healing for him, and I am so excited for the work God is doing in His kingdom for His children.
At the beginning of June I got a summons for Jury Duty. Each Friday I would call in and a recording would tell us that all cases had been settled or dismissed...except last week. So I had to show up for the Jury pool this week, and then I had to go and get myself picked. I have to say, I needed to have my faith in humanity restored. Through deliberation and conversation, it was very interesting to be a part of. Of course it gave me something new to pray for...
As I drove to the court house this morning, Casting Crowns song Just Be Held came on. In it they sing, "Hold it all together, everybody needs you strong", "When you're on your knees and answers seem so far away" and, "Your world's not falling apart, it's falling into place" and the tear drops fell. I have known I am wandering, that it has a purpose, not necessarily that things were falling apart, but they were not on the beaten path, and just trying to be strong...to survive the month, the unknown trail I was traversing.
Another post on my Facebook wall, just yesterday: When you go through the wilderness, you understand that prophetic ministry is not about theology alone, it's also about experience. - Jennifer LeClaire
I am reviewing this month blossoming with blessings, triumphs, emotions, illness, healing, civic duties, obligations, choices, prayers...and I am pleading with God to "help my unbelief!" - allow me to pray it away, to surrender to the path in the midst of tall trees of trials and tribulations, of discernment and compassion, of hope, faith, and love beyond any earthly revival.
Relying on God to be sovereign in His alignment of people, places, and events...
Praying even when we don't understand His ways...
Surrendering to His embrace when the worry of disbelief overgrows the rocky path...
The wilderness is about the experience...
Just be held...
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