Choosing Hope

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”? ?Psalm? ?23?

This is the passage that kept coming to my mind as I looked into the yellow blood shot eyes of a patient in the hospital this past week. Barely able to move, we lifted him up so that we could lay our hands on him in prayer. His wife standing steady beside him, tears streaking down her face with hopelessness her face. This man was on his death bed. His kidneys were infected and the doctors had tried everything in their power to bring him healing but there was no more that they could do. It was just a matter of days until he went into complete kidney failure and slowly passed as his body began to shut down. Standing there, translating to my squad mates for our leader Alvaro, the words were almost unable to come out as I got choked up with emotions watching my brother in Christ be in this much pain. Listening to his wife tell us his condition, I didn’t want to tell my squad mates what she had said. I wanted to protect them from the sadness and pain I was feeling for this man. He was hopeless and unable to speak. He couldn’t sit up without us supporting him. He couldn’t even lift his own head to look at us, we had to squat down to see his eyes. Alvaro began to share with him that because the doctors could not heal him his only hope of healing was through the power of God. He shared with him how the Lord calls us to pray for the sick because through our authority in Jesus, He can heal the terminal and raise the dead. He shared with him how if he died soon that things would get better. That the Lord had a purpose for his pain right now. He shared how even if he died there in that room that he would have the opportunity to walk beside the most beautiful of rivers, see the most beautiful trees, and be in the presence of his creator for all eternity. At this point he managed to lift his head just enough to nod in agreement at what Alvaro had said to him. Alvaro then looked at me and told me we were going to pray twice. Once for his security in heaven and his life after death as well as strength for his wife through that. Another time for his kidneys. That the Lord would bring miraculous healing and restore all that he had lost physically. As we prayed tears started to stream out of the eyes of Alvaro and the patient’s wife. The patient sat there, head hung low, muttering any kind of words that he could get out in his own strength. I prayed the same phrase in Spanish over and over again, “Señor, yo oro pro curación completo en el nombre de Jesus hoy sobre su cuerpo.” (Lord, I pray for complete healing in the name of Jesus today over his body.) After our two prayers I bent down again and looked him in the eyes. What I saw was the same yellow blood shot eyes but behind his tears, I saw hope. I saw a comfort I know can only come from the Lord. This man was walking in the valley of the shadow of death. However, through the power of the Lord he was able to receive the comfort that the Lord was fighting for him and that His rod and His staff were with him. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

We walked out of that room the other day, shaken up. We had just seen a man laying on his death bed with more hope in the Lord than most of us have in our daily trials. As I sat in the back of the truck in more prayer over this man I began to ask the Lord why he had brought me to that man. Psalm 23 came to my mind again as I sat there in prayer. This is a verse I have been reading almost daily. I’ve been allowing it to transform the way that I think as we are called to in Romans 12:2. I knew that the Lord had brought me there so that I could testify to those back at home what I had seen and heard the Lord do in the life of this man. I knew that the Lord had brought me to the man to share about this famous chapter of the Bible and encourage those reading in their walk with the Lord.

What I saw that day was that the Lord had lead this man beside still waters and had him lay down in green pastures. He had brought him to a place of security and a place of hope. He had restored his soul. Even though he was walking through the valley of the shadow of death he was comforted. His fear of the evil plaguing his body fell to the ground as he felt the comfort of the Lord’s rod and staff in his life. A place is prepared for him in heaven and goodness and mercy flowed out of him as he sat there, head hung low, waiting for his day to return home. I may not ever know if the Lord physically healed him that day but what I do know is that the Lord brought him a kind of hope and peace only accessible through the power of the Holy Spirit. What I know is that the Lord used our physical presence in his life to restore his soul and prepare him for whatever is to come. What I know is that even if he dies on that bed, he shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Many times in life we look at the mess ahead of us, whether that be a lost job, the loss of a family member, a fight with our significant other, or anything in between that leaves us feeling hopeless and we dwell on them. That is exactly what the enemy wants to happen in our lives. He wants us to walk through the valley of the shadow of death and die there. He doesn’t want us to dwell on the comfort of the Lord. He loves any hopelessness we have and the way we tend to handle it. However, as children of God, we are called to abide in the Lord. (John 15) We are called to dwell on His hope and His comfort. We are called to put on the full armor of God to defend against the schemes of the enemy. (Ephesians 6) We are called to lay down with Him in the green pastures. To walk with Him beside the still waters. To allow Him to restore our soul and lead us down the righteous path so that we can handle the trials. Our trials in life can either build faith and trust in the Lord in our life or they can build hopelessness and give the enemy what he desires. It’s the choice we get to make in every trial we go through. This man in the hospital chose hope in that moment even in his impending death. He chose to pray. He chose to abide in the Lord. What he received was peace and comfort from the Lord. What he received was exactly what he needed to make it through whatever is to come for him. What do you run to when things get hard? What do you choose to dwell on in the trials of life? What is your hope and assurance placed in? Is your hope and strength put in people, or is it put in the only One who will never fail you? 

My challenge to all of you reading this is, next time you walk through the trials of life to put on the the full armor of God. (Ephesians 6) Abide in the love and the Word of God. Allow Him to transform you through the processes. When you walk through the valley of the shadow of death you don’t have to fear evil because He is with you. Your trials can build your faith and allow you to testify to others what the Lord has done for you, or they can lead you the pit of despair away from the Lord. Which are you going to choose? Choose hope. 

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”