Prayer Answered

Wow, in this past week since I last wrote to you all, a lot has happened. One of the most beneficial is that my severe pain has subsided. We don’t know the reason—there are medical ideas but no known explanation. We know from all the miracles that Jesus worked that He has the power to work in our physical bodies, to strengthen us, even to heal us. Jesus did this again and again throughout His short ministry. While I don’t believe that miracles are as common in our world as during Jesus’s time on earth, I do believe that Jesus Christ can and does heal some people miraculously. I also firmly believe in the power of prayer—and that’s what I believe is going on…what I received on Thursday last week was pain relief from my Lord and Savior as the answer to prayer. 

Because of my own pain, I’ve been thinking a lot about the pain that Jesus suffered. It’s more than I can get my head around. I know I’ve written about this before—the physical suffering Jesus experienced. But that’s not what I thought about as Rick and I were driving to Fort on Monday to make this week’s dinner. I was thinking about how the pain Jesus suffered is a kind of pain none of us can identify with because it’s so far beyond our understanding. You see, when Jesus suffered, it wasn’t limited to physical pain. For sure, He suffered real, painful, bloody wounds—to say it was severe is an understatement.

However, that was not the only kind of suffering Jesus experienced that day. For believers, on our behalf, Jesus willingly suffered spiritually. How? He suffered by being separated from God the Father, taking the Father’s wrath against sin on His own body, though Jesus was sinless. In becoming sin for believers (2 Corinthians 5:21), Jesus was separated from God the Father. If you don’t believe in Jesus Christ, His separation from God means nothing to you. I don’t mean to be harsh, but you can’t comprehend this kind of separation. Why? Because, you are dead in your sin. It’s how I lived most of my life. Dead in my sins. Then the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to my sin and breathed life into me. It’s why Jesus came to earth—to give life to those who would believe in Him. But in order to do that, the sin of all believers had to be dealt with. So Jesus dealt with sin. He took on Himself my sin and the sin of all believers and paid the price for sin.

The other thing that struck me on our drive into Fort on Monday is that Jesus did all this—took the physical and the spiritual suffering on Himself—knowing what would happen. He did this willingly. In a very small way, I can kind of understand what it means to be separated from God. I can’t imagine going through this cancer without Jesus. I’d be facing all this alone—sure, I’d be with friends, but not with the Giver of Life, Jesus. He knew He would suffer, physically and spiritually. He had full knowledge. It’s not like me being surprised by cancer. I wasn’t expecting that, and I have to confess, I wouldn’t have chosen cancer. But God knows what the best plan is for me. I’m already seeing that He’s using my cancer to make me bold about speaking His truth, He’s using cancer to open up conversations that wouldn’t happen any other way. You see, He’s doing through me what is best. Rick and I praise God for His great kindness toward us. Don’t waste another day, pretending you’ll be okay without Jesus. You won’t. Come to Him, confess your sin, ask Him to forgive you and repent of that sin—leave it all behind. All you need is Jesus. If you’d like prayer or a Bible, let me know.