Author: kezha1

In Chapter 3 of Daniel three young Hebrew men have been charged with rebellion for not bowing down to a golden image and sentenced to execution by fiery furnace. They stood firm in their faith that their God would deliver them…but if not…nothing changed, they would still not renounce their Lord. Jesus spoke about it frequently & made no bones about it, we will suffer during our time here on earth… partaking in His sufferings. Only with our personal suffering, we want to know why and His purpose beforehand…but many times God won’t reveal the reason. So we must remain obedient whatever the outcome or consequences of our or a loved one’s illness, disease process, or physical decline. Things may change…or they may not, but that shouldn’t change our faith in God.

In this passage, Jesus appears to His disciples right before His Ascension to Heaven, opening their minds & giving them immediate knowledge and comprehension into the wisdom of God’s Word. But in doing so Jesus also removed their Spiritual blindness & slowness of heart that had been hindering their understanding & acceptance of the Gospel Message. (This illumination of the Scriptures by Jesus was before the Day of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit’s arrival.) Paul elaborates about this in Ephesians 1:17-18 when he writes that God will give Believers the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may know Him better…and that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which He has called us. This illumination by the Holy Spirit thus enables us to hear, receive, and properly understand the Message of God’s Word as He opens our minds.

As I Peter 5:8 tells us, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” So why is the devil so angry? We just have to look a few verses back in Revelation 12 to see how the devil and his angels were soundly defeat and kicked out of heaven, “For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” (Revelation 12:10) The devil’s collapse orchestrated by way of our Lord’s Resurrection. Therefore, he’s none too happy about it and the main reason why he’s filled with such intense and violent anger, for he knows his time is short. This is also why he’s so aggressively attacking Believers at every turn with his lies, accusations, and deception. Thus as Christians, we must stay alert…our eyes focusing on Jesus, looking to Him for the truth, and depending entirely on Him. James 4:7 says to resist the devil and he will flee, for he’s in no way equal in power or authority to God. And though he has some power- he’s not invincible – and can’t stand against God’s people who are covered by the blood of Jesus.

This fear of the Lord springs from our faith…but there are times when our faith is wavering and our hope is dim. Maybe you’ve been caring for a loved one and they just don’t seem to be getting better. Or maybe the bad medical reports are outweighing the good ones. Either way, think of this – If you can’t see the light ahead, look back and remember God’s faithfulness. Romans 12:12 tells us to be joyful in hope and patient in affliction…which can seem like a contradiction to the person smack-dab in the middle of tribulation. Them asking, “How can I be glad about all this suffering & misery my loved one & I are going through right now?” But we can be joyful in hope for, “We have this hope as an anchor for our souls.” Hebrews 6:19 tells us. And this blessed hope and assurance comes from looking back and remembering God’s faithfulness, His loving kindness & mercy, and how far He has brought us to this point. And as we gain hope from looking back, we can move ahead with renewed strength & determination.

Here in Acts, Paul is remembering the very words of the Lord Jesus as He spoke about The Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would want them to do unto you. (Luke 6:30-31) So holding on to this thought, let’s look at both sides of giving & getting. “Call me if you need something.” This is usually our stock expression when a friend is in need…I know, because I’ve been guilty of saying it too often. It makes us feel better, but in reality does nothing for the other person other than putting the responsibility on them to make the phone call. But in their defense, they may not even know what they need, for their world has become a jumble of Doctor’s Appointments, Home Health visits, tracking of new medications…not to mention the daily mundane running of the household of laundry, dishes, & groceries. My mantra for all my Nursing Staff used to be, “A good Nurse sees a need and fills it, but an excellent Nurse anticipates a need and fills it.” So put yourself in their place & ask the Lord what you might be able to do…and then follow through. But also remember Caregiver/Friend in need, nobody can read your mind…and even though your brain may feel like oatmeal, you must make your needs known to those offering to help. Finally, As a friend, don’t stop checking in with them. I know it’s easy to dismiss it with a, “I don’t want to bother them.” But a short conversation shows your care & concern, gives your friend a chance to vent, and gives you the opportunity to encourage them in Jesus’s Name.

In the great vastness of the universe, and against the backdrop of the sheer greatness of God, our lives are insignificant within God’s grand scheme…but yet it says in this Scripture that He not only cares for , but knows us intimately. Elsewhere in Psalms, the term of God “caring for us” is used in Psalm 8:4, but with a different Hebrew word…this one meaning God’s loving & beneficial actions directed towards His people. And in Hebrews 2:6, we find the Writer quoting Psalm 8:4 but using a variant Greek word with even more meaning for “care for”. Here its intent is looking upon the person with mercy & compassion, looking after their needs, and taking care of them. We have been created in the image of God and because of that, as Believers, we’ve been exalted in status to be “‘cared for” by our Heavenly Father. And so in turn, we can implement, use, & learn from God’s “caring for us” template in our own caring for others.

I can still remember the conversation with a friend who’s husband had been battling a debilitating disease for years. It had come to the point that he was no longer able to carry out his job and was forced to retire from a very lucrative position. And besides that, his physical ability to care for himself was slowly dwindling…and the job of caregiving was now on her shoulders. I remember the conversation because of her candidness…she was angry. Angry at the disease that was taking the love of her life away from her…and angry at the prospects of the burden she would be bearing on her own to care for him. But what had her so very upset wasn’t her anger, but the shame she felt because of it. Her rational was, “How can I dare be angry when it’s him that’s suffering?” When we become caregivers for a loved one we’re not immune to suffering right along with them…but then we also suffer privately in completely different ways. But the good news is that God looks inward, not outward…or as Psalm 139:23 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” God sees our heart, not the troubled, worried, and stressed ideas that roll around in our head. And He knew this woman’s heart and the deep love & commitment she had for her husband.

The gist of the verse is this…because of God, not me, I am able to endure, sustain, and effectively handle what life throws at me daily. And this notion really comes into focus when you become a caregiver. I thought I had learned much a few years ago when I became my mother’s caregiver until she passed…but it didn’t hold a candle to suddenly becoming my husband’s full-time, twenty-four hour a day caregiver. It’s not like I wasn’t prepared for the job…I had spent 36 years as a Nurse working with families caring for loved ones at home, constantly preaching to them the importance of “caring for the caregiver”. But yet, here I was doing the exact opposite of what I advocated for. I was relying on myself, my expertise & nursing skills, and my pride rather than relying on God and God’s people to help me. My mantra had become, “I can do it all.”…but this only left me exhausted, stressed, and so very weary. This verse makes it very plain…it’s only through Him that we can do anything, and it’s only with His dependable strength we can persevere.

The chorus of this famous old Hymn goes like this – “Count your blessings; name them one by one. Count your blessings; see what God has done.” This speaks of the very goodness of the Lord experienced in the many gifts & favor He blesses us with on a daily basis… but many times they escape our attention. It’s not that we’re ungrateful for God’s grace & mercy, it’s just we are so taken up in the chaos & turmoil of caring for a very sick loved one that we don’t even realize what God is doing… until we stop, and very consciously thank Him for what we’ve failed to see. And as we sit quietly for a moment and recall the day, God is faithful, and all those blessings will come flooding back into our mind…all the good things we didn’t deserve, and all the things God spared us from. And then again we can praise Him for what He has done.

I Timothy 1:13 tells us that we are shown mercy by God. The Greek word here for mercy has been many times inadequately defined merely as clemency or forgiveness…a holding back of deserved punishment or affliction. But actually, this word means to relieve affliction, alleviate suffering or distress, and ease misery. In other words, it’s a concrete expression of pity and compassion for the destitute & afflicted. God’s mercy is more than anything you’re going through today. His mercy is more than illness & debilitation…more than weariness & fatigue…more than hopelessness & despair. The Writer of Hebrews puts it well, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) God’s mercy is more…