A STORY OF MERCY
Romans 8:18 NIV
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Dear Friends,
We would like to share with you some of the ways the Lord has touched our family throughout this storm. We are not worthy of the blessings the Lord has bestowed on our family. We desire for you to realize that what we are going to share has nothing to do with us; it is purely meant to show you how marvelous our Lord can and has been (Romans 8:28 NIV: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”). When we have cried out to Him, our Lord has been faithful to be found. His mercy has sustained us; His healing has made our little girl stronger (Psalms 46:1 NIV: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”).
This has been an emotional journey for us. When we have grown tired and scared, the Lord has comforted us. When the devil has tried to steal our joy, the Lord has mercifully given us strength (Psalm 28:7 NIV: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.”). Stephanie and I were raised in the Word by our precious parents. The foundation of reading the Bible, learning to pray, being taken to a Bible-believing church and, most importantly, having experienced salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ helped to prepare us for this storm. Special prayer warriors have prayed for us over the years; not because we were special, but because the Lord placed a burden on their hearts. Our Lord was laying the groundwork for this storm many years in advance (Isaiah 40:11 KJV: “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in His bosom, and shall quietly lead those that are young.”).
When our storm arose with our Alison, Stephanie and I were brought to our knees (Psalms 95:6 NIV: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God, and we are His people.”). Fortunately for us, we knew from where our strength would come. We just didn’t know how He would choose to reveal Himself. We cried out in fear, hurt and sorrow. We turned to our families, our church family, and our friends for earnest prayer for our daughter. We never would have been able to believe how you would respond and how our Lord would use your response to strengthen us and our daughter and bring deserved glory to Himself (Romans 8:27 NIV: He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance to God’s will.”). It has truly been an amazing journey from our vantage point.
A dear couple, with whom we are friends, registered Alison’s name for a web address during her early hours. The call to prayer went to places and people we had never known before (James 5:16-17 NIV: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”). The prayer warriors who came forth were a blessing beyond our expectations. The Lord only reveals what you can handle at any given moment in time. His knowledge and love for all mankind is nothing short of amazing (Romans 8:38 NIV: “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”). The way our Heavenly Father has chosen to move through a great hospital, the healthcare professionals that are attending our daughter, the technology and medicines He has provided, our insurance company, our family and friends, our church family and complete strangers has brought us to tears of joy on more than one occasion. Your friendship and your willingness to stand in the gap in prayer for Alison, Stephanie and me is something we will never forget. Every day that we are blessed by the Lord to look at our sweet daughter will bring us such precious memories and joy.
What we have not shared to-date is how the Lord chose to reveal Himself to us in such miraculous, merciful and loving ways. Why He chose to bless us with such awe-inspiring moments is something for which we will be eternally grateful. We have seen the Bible become real in ways we cannot fully comprehend. Our Lord is alive and moving when you least expect (Lamentations 3:25-26 NIV: “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”)! The Lord’s passion burns deep for us, but it does not stop at the cross. Our salvation is meant to be only the beginning of a long and loving walk with our Creator. Our Lord is always just a prayer away; pray incessantly, you would not believe the power it will unleash (Mark 11:24 NIV: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”). Our Lord is a merciful and mighty God!
Stephanie and I have been trying to start a family for six years. We tried normal means for a while, but then sought out a specialist to find out why we could not conceive. It was discovered that Stephanie had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. We chose to pursue adoption over the other medical avenues available to us. During our adoption journey, I had a vivid dream of Stephanie being pregnant with a little girl. The odd thing about this, I do not dream often; and when I do, my dreams rarely make sense. When I awoke, I struggled with whether to share my dream with Stephanie because I did not want to cause her to have false hope or cause her additional sadness. Yet, I felt a peace in sharing the dream with Stephanie. Approximately nine months later, we found out that Stephanie was pregnant with our first child. It was at 20 weeks into her pregnancy that we found out it was our Alison. We believe the Lord shared an early promise with us (Proverbs 19:21 NIV: “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”). Praise be to our Lord!
During Alison’s darkest storm, while in her mother’s womb, we believe the Lord tended to her (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”). We believe the Lord ordained the birth of our child on August 7 (6 ½ weeks early) to rescue her from the fate of death. It was He who tapped Stephanie on the shoulder that fateful day when Alison was slowly succumbing to anemia. Even then, the Great Physician was tending His precious child in Christ Jesus. Why? We will never know. Yet, the Apostle Paul spoke about the mercy of our sovereign God and His direction of circumstances in our lives for His glory in Romans 9:16-17 NIV: “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the Scripture says . . .: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’” His ways are truly not our ways.
During the first night of our daughter’s life, when her doctors were tending to her in an attempt to keep her alive, the chief neonatologist at Woman’s Hospital spent the evening by her bedside—as did many other healthcare professionals. He later shared with Stephanie and me that something inside him knew that she was going to make it. Without the tap of the Lord, would he have spent as much time (approximately five hours straight) by her bedside? We will never know. Yet, after Stephanie and I were finally allowed in the NICU to see our daughter (9½ hours after she had been born), Stephanie and I returned to Stephanie’s hospital room (as babies were crying throughout the floor) to seek the Lord’s favor for our daughter. During that first prayer, Stephanie and I (though burdened with much sadness) asked the Lord to do what was best by Alison and His kingdom—even if it meant we would not be able to hold her until Heaven (Psalms 31:14 NIV: “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’”). This was an extremely emotional prayer.
From the moment we said that prayer, the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7 NIV: “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”) descended on us in a way we will never be able to capably describe. We believe the Lord was with us that very hour (Philippians 4:4-6 NIV: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”) telling us that our little Alison was going to be made whole. We would not know what the word whole truly meant until later in our journey.
Later in the first week in the NICU, when Alison was truly weak, one of her attending neonatologists came to us and shared a dream she had the night before. She explained that she had dreamed a vivid dream of how to medically treat our daughter. She made clear that this had never happened before. She began to care for Alison in the very method she had visualized in her dream. It did not work as she had foreseen it, but it showed Alison’s doctors exactly how they needed to proceed. But her dream would come true two weeks later. It foreshadowed a day to come and helped the doctors steer our weakened daughter.
Several days after the dream (a Thursday), Alison had a terrible day. She struggled mightily—desperately trying to breathe. The oscillating ventilator was damaging her chest cavity because the settings were so high. Her body was having a difficult time trying to correctly oxygenate itself. Her pulmonary hypertension was threatening her life. Even with all the struggles we were seeing our daughter undertake, the peace of the Lord mercifully calmed our hearts. We recognized how serious the situation was; you could clearly see the concern on the doctors’ faces. Yet, our daughter grew stronger as the week unfolded—but she was still very sick.
On Saturday (nine days later), Stephanie and I were sitting with Alison and beseeching the Lord to heal our daughter. I became a little stir crazy and decided to go outside for a breath of fresh air. As I walked down the hall from Alison’s room, I noticed a man dressed as a cowboy at the NICU desk asking for Alison Rogers. At the time, there were four Ro(d)gers in the NICU, so I did not pay great attention. But then the receptionist asked who the mother was, and he asked for Langston and Stephanie Rogers. Obviously, I began to look more closely at the man to size him up.
I did not know him. He was a tall and thin man who was wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Yet, I felt a peace about him and walked up to him and introduced myself and shared that I was Alison’s dad. He asked if he could speak with me and I readily agreed. We were asked to leave the hallway by the receptionist since we were blocking the traffic coming in and out of the NICU.
He began to share his story. Someone from Baton Rouge had forwarded him an email with Alison’s web address on the Tuesday before Alison’s terrible day. As he opened Alison’s website, he said a passion came over him to pray for our daughter. He began to pray for her daily. But on the very day our Alison struggled to continue her fight (unknown to this gentleman), he went to work at a chemical plant in Beaumont, Texas, and was burdened to pray for our daughter. He shared that he spent the entire day on his knees crying out for God’s mercy for our daughter. He shared how uncomfortable he was as a Texas man crying and praying for our daughter surrounded by other men. I was stunned as he shared this with me. I shared with him that the Thursday he was praying for our daughter with such fervor was the very day our daughter was struggling for life. The Lord knew that Alison needed a prayer warrior—and he stood before me (Hebrews 13:25 NIV: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”).
He continued to share how his wife had died of cancer a year before and how he had been bitter toward God. He shared that Alison had renewed his prayer life in a way it had never been before—deeply passionate. He was telling me how much Alison had ministered to him when all I could think of was how he was ministering to me (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we be able to comfort them who are in any trouble, by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted of God.”). Once again, we believe the Lord was in our midst!
He told me how he had wanted to come see Alison the previous Saturday, but that the Lord would not give him peace. So he waited and continued to pray for our daughter. The following Friday he asked the Lord if he could come to Baton Rouge to see us. He said he felt the Lord did not tell him “No,” so he came. He left Beaumont early Saturday morning (approximately 2:00 AM) to drive to Baton Rouge. Along the way, he continued to pray that if he was outside the Lord’s will, that the Lord would not allow him to meet Stephanie and me.
I shared how fateful it was that the Lord stirred my spirit to leave Alison’s side the very moment he was walking in. It was obvious the Lord was ordaining our meeting. I asked him if he would like to meet the little girl he had been so faithfully praying for. He shared scripture with me that showed he did not need to meet her to continue to pray for her. I said if the Lord had put such a passion in his heart to pray for our little girl, if he had driven so far to see our Alison, and if the Lord had ordained our meeting, he needed to see who he had been praying for. He shared how much he would enjoy meeting Alison.
We walked back to Alison’s room, and I stepped in and told Stephanie that this man was from Beaumont, Texas, and had come to pray for Alison. I know mothers are protective, but she graciously got up (only two people are allowed in the NICU at one time) and exited the room without any questions. When he saw Alison, he began to cry. He then got down on his knees and held up both of his hands toward Heaven and began a beautiful prayer on his and Alison’s behalf. I kneeled with him and just listened in utter amazement. The nurses in the unit were taken aback to see us on our knees. When he had finished, we stood up and exited her room.
As we traveled back down the hallway, he asked if he could pray with me. I told him that I would thankfully take all the prayers people would offer on my behalf. We went to a hall outside the NICU and he prayed a beautiful prayer for Stephanie and me. But then he stunned me; he said that he felt led to share something with me. He looked in my eyes and said, “Be of good cheer; the Lord is faithful. He has heard your prayer and is going to make your daughter whole.” The amazing thing about that statement was the word whole. I had only shared with Stephanie that the Lord had placed the word whole on my heart the very night she was born. Praise be to the Lord!
He asked if he could see Stephanie’s dad because they had worked at the same plant in Baton Rouge approximately six years prior. They did not know each other; but they knew of each other. I told him that Stephanie’s dad was not at the hospital; so we parted company. A few seconds after he left, Stephanie came running up to me to say that her dad was on his way and wanted to meet the gentlemen. So Stephanie, her mother and I spread out to find him so that they could talk. We could not find him. Woman’s Hospital is hard to get lost in. My brother later said that the Lord broke our contact because he had accomplished the blessing the Lord intended. We would have to agree.
The following Wednesday was another bad day for Alison. It was the only day throughout this storm that I grew weakened and feared for my daughter’s life. Stephanie was truly scared, and so was I. Alison’s lungs were once again struggling with fluid and being able to properly oxygenate her body. She was so swollen and looked so weak. One of Alison’s primary nurses said that if Alison could only have a lung transplant, she could probably go home. I sat down and started typing a fearful update for Alison’s website to ask for focused prayer for her little lungs. Clearly in my head I heard the Lord say, “No, trust me”—so I closed the laptop. Immediately, the peace that passes all understanding came over me again and strengthened me.
Stephanie and I decided to spend the night by our daughter’s bedside to be near her. I decided to leave the hospital to go home and get our toiletries, night clothes, and to let our puppy (Bayley) out. As I headed home, I began to enter an elevator to go down to the first floor. I was surprised by a janitor who was in the elevator cleaning. I said I was sorry to get in his way and that that I would use a different elevator. He said I would not bother him and to please come in. He then asked me how I was doing. I answered that I was doing okay, but my daughter was in the NICU and was struggling. He abruptly turned to me and looked straight into my eyes and said, “Be faithful. Your Father in Heaven has heard your prayer and is going to make your daughter whole.” Having said this, he turned around and began to clean the elevator again. I was once again stunned at what I had heard. As we reached the first floor, I exited the elevator. As I left the janitor added, “We serve a great and merciful Lord!” In the almost ten weeks Alison has been in the hospital, this is the only time I have seen a janitor in the elevator cleaning.
As I walked toward my car, I clearly understood that the Lord had once again touched me (Hebrews 13:5 NIV: “I will never fail you or forsake you.”). I quietly talked to Him and said, “Lord, I understand. You are going to heal our daughter. I do not understand why, but thank you.” As I drove home, I could do nothing but cry and wonder in amazement. I continued to ponder all that had happened. I made it home, let our puppy out, got our night clothes and toiletries, and returned to the hospital. When I reached the hospital, I shared with Stephanie all that had happened. She was moved to tears and we spent the night by our daughter’s side. Alison began to stabilize as the night wore on; yet, it was still a worried night.
Early Thursday morning (approximately 5:00 AM), I arose to go home and take a shower, shave and begin a new day. When I got home, I held my puppy and then went to get in the shower. As I was showering, the thoughts in my mind began to clear. Clearly in my mind I heard, “The prayer that the Lord is going to answer is not a prayer that has been asked, but a prayer that is going to be asked.” This greatly confused me because I did not know what this meant. As soon as that thought had clearly registered in my mind, a second clear thought came over me. “Pray for the miraculous healing of your daughter’s lungs for three days: Friday, Saturday and Sunday.” Now, this was extremely specific, but confusing to me. I have always had a strong child-like faith in the Lord; yet, I had never had anything happen to me like what has happened with our Alison.
When I reached the hospital, I shared my thoughts with Stephanie to gain her insight. We both agreed that I should seek Godly counsel to see if I was biblically sound (Proverbs 13:20 NIV: “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”). A staff member and his wife from our church just happened to show up at the hospital. I shared with them all that I had seen and requested that he ask our pastor to call me so I could seek his counsel as to whether there was anything unbiblical about the vision. While waiting for my pastor to call, I called my mom and dad (they live four hours away) and shared with them all I had seen and heard. They became emotional and said that they would pray alongside us.
I then called a valued confidant, who is strong in his faith and his understanding of the Bible. I shared with him all that I had seen and heard. I asked him if this was something I should share on Alison’s website. He became concerned that the specifics of the prayer were a bit Old Testament and that I should be extremely cautious in sharing what I thought was a revelation from the Lord. What if I was wrong? What would it do to all who read if the prayer did not come true? He is my doubting Thomas; he is strong in the Word, but cautious. He cautioned me that the revelation may only be for Stephanie and me. I told him I would wait through the night and see if I continued to feel strongly that I should share the prayer through Alison’s website. I believed the Lord would not let me rest if we needed to pray collectively.
Later Thursday, my pastor called and I shared with him all that I had seen and heard. He counseled me that there was nothing unbiblical or Old Testament in what I felt led to pray. He said regardless of my decision whether to share the prayer, he was going to pray alongside us.
Late Thursday evening, I went up to see some friends of ours who had just welcomed their son into this world earlier in the day. Their parents were there and I began to share my story with one of our friends mother. At the end of sharing the story, she looked at me and said, “If you do not ask for a miracle, you will not be granted one.” I felt this was yet another indication of the Lord encouraging us to seek His mercy through prayer.
During the night, I struggled with whether to share the prayer openly. Stephanie and I agreed that a cautious approach would be best. Early Friday morning, we made the decision to share the call to prayer, but not how the call to prayer had come about. I felt caution was warranted for two reasons: 1) so no one would focus on me, and 2) so no one would be disappointed if I was wrong in sharing the call to prayer—I could not fathom damaging anyone’s joy in the Lord (2 Corinthians 6:3 NKJV: “We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.”).
Friday morning (during Labor Day weekend), I typed out a prayer request update that shared that we felt led to pray for Alison’s lungs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and requested that you join us. Yet, we met difficultly throughout the morning trying to get the prayer request posted. But I never heard a “No,” so I felt the father of lies must be trying to cause me doubt. Early Friday afternoon, we finally put up the call to prayer on the website. Immediately after it went live, the Lord’s peace descended on us again. It confirmed my earlier suspicion.
We headed to the hospital to visit with our daughter. As we arrived at the hospital, Stephanie’s dad asked when the call to prayer had been posted. Earlier in the day, Stephanie’s dad finally had a chance to talk with our guest from Beaumont, Texas. While talking with each other, the gentleman from Beaumont prayed specifically for the miraculous healing of Alison’s lungs. The only odd thing was that when this occurred, the update had not been posted. This was yet another confirmation that our call to prayer was from the Lord.
Friday afternoon, Stephanie’s parents, and Stephanie and I, prayed directly over Alison requesting a miraculous healing of our daughter’s lungs. Friday, our daughter continued to stabilize. Saturday morning, Stephanie’s dad and I prayed over Alison requesting a miraculous healing of her lungs. Stephanie and I then prayed over our daughter. As Saturday wore on, our Alison began to grow noticeably stronger. On Sunday morning, Stephanie and I went to church and visited with our pastor. He asked how Alison was doing. We shared with him that we were seeing encouraging signs. Her ventilator rate of breaths was beginning to be reduced, as was her oxygen support. After church, Stephanie and I returned to the hospital and once again prayed for the miraculous healing of our daughter’s lungs. What occurred the rest of Sunday was truly a miracle (Matthew 7:7-8 KJV: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knoweth, it shall be opened.”).
Our Alison grew stronger and stronger; her ventilator rate of breaths and oxygen support continued to be reduced. When Stephanie and I had gone home Saturday night, Alison’s rate of breaths was 55 breaths per minute and her oxygen support was near 100%. By the end of Sunday, Alison’s rate of breaths was 40 breaths per minute and her oxygen support was 48%. We were able to watch the Lord heal our daughter’s lungs. The Great Physician was using His healing power to heal Alison’s lungs and all we could do was cry a prayer of thanksgiving. I called my pastor and left a message regarding how I was able to sit by my daughter’s bedside and witness a miracle (Matthew 11:28 NLT: “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”). How truly amazing our Lord was and is!
Monday, our daughter continued to grow stronger. Before the next week was out, Alison’s neonatologists were beginning to talk about removing our daughter from the ventilator. One neonatologist said that Alison’s lungs really could be healthy under the fluid buildup. All week long, all Stephanie and I could do was pray prayers of thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father. His mercy and love had carried us throughout our journey. The doctors expressed surprise that her lungs were showing such promise after spending the first two weeks of her life on the oscillating ventilator and suffering from premature lungs. The respiratory therapists had given us grave consequences and a truly long road to recovery. Yet, we kept recalling all we had seen and heard through our Lord’s tender mercy.
We still do not know exactly how and when our story will end. But we know who the Author is and we trust in His unending mercy (Isaiah 40:31 KJV: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.). We love our Lord because He first loved us. His mercy and goodness have carried us throughout this storm. Even though we have not been able to cradle Alison as often as we have so desperately desired, we believe our Heavenly Father has. We have witnessed our daughter reaching for the ceiling and looking at a particular place in the room (for an extended period of time) many times. We believe she is reaching for her Heavenly Father—who is still tending to her. We continue to lay her before His holy throne and ask that His glorious will be done. We pray for our daughter that the Lord would bless her with His warmth, His healing and His protection (Psalms 86:6 NIV: “Hear my prayer, O Lord: listen to my cry for mercy.”). Our Lord has been more than faithful! Praise be to our Lord!
We sometimes feel guilty about how merciful our Lord has been to us. We have always believed that the Lord answers all prayers; He just sometimes chooses to answer our prayers in a different manner from which we ask (because His vision is eternal). His ways are not our ways, but His love for us is eternal (Psalms 36:7 NIV: “How priceless is Your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings.”). Our prayer remains that the Lord would receive all the glory and honor He so richly deserves for all that He has done! We pray that in all we do that we would honor the Lord! We continue to believe that the Lord is going to make Alison whole. Why? Due only to His mercy and righteousness (Psalms 36:9-10 NIV: “For with You is the fountain of Life; in Your light we see light. Continue Your love to those who know You, Your righteousness to the upright in heart.”)! Praise be to our Lord and Savior! We continue to stand in His ever-present shadow!
Blessings to you,
Langston and Stephanie
Our Foundation for the Storm:
Stephanie and I believe, from our fathers’ examples, a Christian father is immensely important for a child to be able to learn to trust the Lord (Colossians 3:21 NIV: “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.”). When an earthly father (and mother) unselfishly loves and protects his children, his children are able to depend upon the Heavenly Father (Matthew 19:14 NIV: “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.’”). When a child remains innocent, that innocence builds trust. When a child’s innocence is stolen away, an inability to trust befalls that child throughout their life. When the storm arises (which it will), a child’s foundation will either withstand the storm or fall to pieces (Matthew 7:24-25 NIV: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its’ foundation on the rock.”). We have witnessed what happens when a child or adult who does not know the Savior experiences a storm. It is truly traumatic.
We believe this is the most important calling to a man. He is to remain loyal to his family and protect his wife and children (Ephesians 5:25 NIV: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”). When a man quits being selfless for selfish gain, his wife and children suffer at his hands. Stephanie and I have remained strong throughout this storm because of the example our parents set before us. What the world and secular society is selling through self-fulfillment is a lie and a path to eternal destruction (Matthew 7:13-16 NIV: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to Life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.”). The grass always appears greener on the other side of the fence, but it is never as glorious as it once appeared when you arrive there. The father of lies rejoices in your shattered life; your Heavenly Father stands there with His arms outstretched calling you home to safety with love in His eyes (I John 4:10 NIV: “This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”). If you do not know the peace that passes all understanding, please call upon your Savior (John 3:16 NIV: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”). Your walk with Him is truly a path of peace, hope and love. That does not mean the storms will not come—for they will (Romans 5:3-5 NIV: “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”). But the Heavenly Father will be there as your strength and shield (Hebrews 4:16 NIV: “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.”).
Society says a foundational belief in the Lord is old-fashioned, restrictive and judgmental (2 Peter 2:1 NIV: “There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.”). There are a lot of people who profess to be Christians who do such a disservice to our Father in Heaven to those who do not believe (Hebrews 6:4-6 NIV: “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.”). There are a lot of hypocrites in the world, but is that a reason to avoid the Lord? No! Self-pride is a terrible mountain to overcome (Proverbs 16:18 NIV: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”). To admit you need the Lord is viewed as mindless and weak by today’s secular society. We know it is a difficult road to walk, but so extremely worthwhile. As I shared with you earlier, the poem “Footprints” is an extremely appropriate truth of our Lord. When the storm comes, you will not be alone (I John 4:15-16 NIV: “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”). If you draw near Him and trust Him, He will mercifully carry you (Ephesians 3:16 TLB: “Out of His glorious, unlimited resources, He will give the mighty inner strengthening of His Holy Spirit.”).
The peace that will come into your life and the recognition that the world is selling you lies (that will ultimately cause your destruction) is worth so much. The wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23 KJV: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”). The wages of sin are loneliness. The wages of sin will ultimately disappoint you and put you at odds with your Lord. We are not to live for today; we are to live for our eternal future (Romans 8:17 NIV: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.”). The path of a Christian is a continuous learning process. When you think your learning path is over, you have been overcome with pride. If you look at other people’s misery with judgment—instead of concern—you disappoint the Father (Romans 14:13 NIV: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.”). The Father yearns for all to come home—even the most wayward son or daughter. His love is eternal. His passion for His creation rages intensely (Deuteronomy 4:24 NIV: “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”). He wants you and me to come home and rest in His loving arms (Psalms 62:15-16 NIV: “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation: He is my mighty rock, my refuge.”).
Our parents have been a slight glimpse of Heaven. They taught us by example what the Lord meant to them. They gave up worldly pursuits to protect and provide for their children (I Timothy 6:6-7 NIV: “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”). They put their children first, even when they were denied some of their own worldly desires and wants. Did they deserve them? Yes. Was it wrong for them to desire worldly success? No. Yet, they decided some temporal things were not worth their eternal cost (Matthew 6:19-21 NIV: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”). Their children and their foundation were worth more than worldly pursuits. How blessed Stephanie, our siblings, and I were to be born into the families we were. We did not deserve our families; the Lord chose to bless us with them. Why does He allow other children to be born into broken homes? We will never know or be able to understand (Psalms 119:30 NIV: “This is my comfort in affliction, promises from God’s Word that give me Life.”). Our ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV: “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declared the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’”).
We must realize that this is a fallen world that is quickly drifting from Him (Daniel 9:5 NIV: “We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from Your commands and laws.”). We need our Savior regardless of where we begin, and the Lord is faithful to seek us out (Romans 5:7-8 NIV: Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”). His love for us cost Him all on the cross. His love for us and His hatred of sin required a divine sacrifice (Romans 3:23-25 NIV: “For all have sinned and fall(en) short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood.”). What greater show of love can you have than to lay down your life for someone you love (Isaiah 53:5 NIV: “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”)? Our soldiers and emergency responders do it on a daily basis. But for the Lord, who created the Heavens and the earth—and all that is within—to leave His sovereign throne to die on a cross for our sins, is nothing short of a miracle (John 10:11 NIV: “I am the good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”). What a testament of His unyielding love for us (1 John 3:1 KJV: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the (children) of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.”).
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