God's Promises

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.  II Corinthians 1:20

Gosh, I really don’t know where to start.  It has been a month since I last wrote and so many things have happened.  My brother was moved to a facility closer to home and is making great improvements daily, and I  cannot say that without giving God all the glory for every single thing that has happened because it is only by his healing hand that my brother is not only alive, but growing stronger every day.  I truly stand in awe of my Lord and Savior.  I have looked back over my writings and realized that all that I thought I knew about Jesus has only become more real and the love that I have for my Father has deepened beyond anything I could ever describe.  I truly feel like he was preparing me for this time my entire life.  As I look back over those difficult days all I can think about is how God sustained each member of my family.  Each day that comes to mind, God was always at the center of it all.  When we became weak, he truly became strong.  His Word was no longer just words, but they were life.  My family has faced and is still facing a battle that we have never known, but my Father has strengthened us and our faith has deepened like never before.  I have been taught my entire life to trust in the Lord, but this trial put those words to the test and I have learned that trusting in the Lord is the only thing we can do---there is nothing else that we can or should put our trust in.

As you know my brother, Eddie, was diagnosed with Eastern Equine Encephilitis and was in a coma for weeks.  There is no treatment for this disease in humans and it is usually fatal.  We were told that if he did survive he may never wake up and if he did that might be all he did.  The prognosis was not good, but our God is and that is where we put our trust.  There were days that were extremely difficult and I have never been more scared in my life, but now when I look back on those days I have to apologize to my God for not completely trusting Him.  I can honestly say that even on the worse days Jesus never left my side and he showed me things, along with others in my family, that I have never known.  Eddie’s progress has amazed all those working with him.  He is now saying some words and even phrases, he is moving his arms and legs, he is eating some food, he is following instructions, giving kisses, and smiling a lot!  With each new thing he does we would say ‘I can’t believe it’, but we have now even been convicted of saying that.  As believers, we should never say we can’t believe something that God does, after all, we have been asking him for complete healing, why wouldn’t we believe that he could and would do that for his children?  So instead of saying I can’t believe it, I will thank my God and stand in awe of who He is and what he is doing for my family.  My family has stand together on the promises of our Lord and Savior and we will never be the same.  I say all this to tell those of you that read this to never let go of the promises in God’s Word, for they are true, they are real, and they are for us…his children! 

As I say this, two very powerful moments come to mind.  The first happened while my family was in the chapel at UAB praying for my brother.  It was at a very critical time and we were all pouring our hearts out to God.  At that moment my mother went to each person in the room and said, ‘children, if one promise in the Bible is true, then they all are, you cannot believe one promise and not believe them all’.  How true is this?  I know her words came from God and this was just the beginning of understanding the true promises that God has given his children.  The next moment came when I was alone praying desperately for my brother’s healing.  I was being really honest with God and begging him to just speak to me, to tell me that Eddie was going to be alright.  I kept on saying ‘God if you will just speak to me and tell me that Eddie will be healed.’ This went on for several minutes until I finally laid my head upon my Bible and cried like I never have before.  Then I heard the voice, God spoke to my heart and said I have told you over and over in my Word.  I knew exactly what he meant, because I have been reading the promise of healing in God’s Word over and over and He was just confirming what my mother had already spoken to us!

God has truly shown me so much through all this, but he most importantly he has shown me the realness of his Word.  He has shown me that we have to ask him for healing and sometimes we just have to hold on to the promise that he gave us with everything we have.  I have learned that healing doesn’t always come instantly, but that doesn’t mean it’s not coming.  I have learned never to settle for anything but perfection from our Lord, for when we settle for anything less we are doubting what our God can do.  I will never let go of the promise of complete restoration and healing for my brother because when I do I am limiting my God and my God has no limits!