LESSON LEARNED WHILE LYING ILL

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2, ESV

Only twelve hours to go. Hundreds of people were expected to show up. It was crunch time.

In the weeks leading up to this moment flyers had been passed around town. Emails with outreach details had been circulating the internet. Word had gotten out and even the local newspaper called to notify us that they were sending a journalist to do a story on the event. Everything was coming together perfectly except for one major thing. ME. I had come down with the flu and I was supposed to preach a sermon at this special outreach.  Flu symptoms include fever, headaches, vomiting, muscle aches, chills and tiredness. All of which I had in unfortunate abundance!

Prior to an event like this I like pray bold things like “God, send city wide revival and demonstrate your mighty power!,” on this day my prayers were pretty much “God, please don’t let me pass out and fall off the 4ft high concrete stage when I get up to preach tomorrow.” In my illness I couldn’t review my sermon, I couldn’t coordinate with set up teams,  I couldn’t even stand up for more than a couple minutes without becoming nauseous. The one thing I could do was humbly cry out to God in desperation. So that is what I did. Over and over again I prayed.

Miraculously, God healed me that evening and I was able to lead and preach the following morning. Reflecting back on the situation makes me wonder if I would have been as desperate for God’s presence and provision if I hadn’t been so weak. I believe the Lord used the occasion to show me that he delights to heal and empower us when we’re humble and longing for his presence. While I sure hope that I’m full of strength and health for the the next outreach that comes along, I also hope that I never forget that without the provision and blessing of God there isn’t a thing I can give to others that means very much.