Waiting on a Miracle

When we're in need it's hard to wait. Depending on the severity of the need the wait gets progressively harder. When we know a loved one whose life is in danger...when we are out of money and bills are due....when the ones we love the most break relationship with us. We want solutions in our most desperate hours and we want them now! For several years I worked as an ICU and CCU nurse. As a fresh graduate working in critical situations I tried to use humor to remain calm in the face of 'code' situations. My co-worker and I Jeff used to look at one another with a silly grin (to calm our nerves) when a patient's heart stopped or other code blue emergency... then we would always say something like 'we've got 4 minutes' (till brain death) and then move deliberately and carefully to deliver excellent care. It's so easy to become emotionally unstable when we finally realize we are not in control of life. In our desperate desire to change our destiny we can become angry and bitter when we don't get what we want....when we want it. It's hard to wait for our miracle.

  Knowing God and loving him doesn't ensure that we will get what we want, when we want it.  In the gospel of John we read of one of Jesus friends becoming ill and dying.  Lazarus had become seriously ill and his sisters Mary and Martha had called for Jesus to come and heal him. Jesus certainly had the power to heal Lazarus.... and he had every intention to do so.... just not in the way and time that his sisters desired or imagined. Jesus did the inexplicable and waited 2 days before moving in the direction of Lazarus. Those two days were critical.... Lazarus died during that time!  When Jesus finally arrived to the home of Mary and Martha, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days! Mary and Martha were in the process of grieving and mourning the loss of their beloved brother when Jesus finally comes on the scene... they proclaim their faith in the power of Jesus to have healed the living Lazarus....but alas Lazarus is dead.

  We all have limits to our faith and trust in God. We don't know what those limits are until we arrive at our own personal 'Code Blue' situations in life. When our child is critically ill. Our spouse dies. Our marriage falters. Our job ends. Death comes in many ways and it often comes suddenly without warning.  Jesus speaks to the grieving family and makes a proclamation about who he is and what he wants to do for Lazarus, "I am the resurrection and the life." Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish." (John 11:25-26) In spite of physical death and all the impossibilities that lied in front of him, Jesus spoke a few words and created a new reality for Lazarus and his family. Entombed in a  cave and wrapped in burial clothes, Jesus spoke, "Lazarus, come out!"  Lazarus came back from the dead. A miracle occurred and an important lesson was learned by all those who loved Lazarus. God cared. God came on his terms. God intervened in the way that brought him greatest glory. God simply put is GOD....and by implication, we are not.

  From 1990 to 1995, my mother battled Chronic Myelogenic Leukemia. I was waiting on a miracle of healing all during this time frame. In the fall of 1994 I was contacted in Pakistan (working to establish an eye hospital there) and told my mother had 30 days to live. I packed up our belongings quickly and informed my teammates I had to rush home. Our family of 5 were hoping to see my mom one more time before she went to heaven. We arrived home and indeed my mother was very ill. During one night while at home my mother went into a semi coma and had a very high fever. Her breathing was failing and I told my father she would likely not live through the night. I called other family members and told them death could be imminent. However, in spite of this my mother rallied and lived much longer than Doctors had predicted. Finally on Christmas day, 1995 ( I was back in Pakistan) her condition worsened again. My mother was born on Christmas day and had told the family she wanted to live until her birthday. On that day though unable to speak she apparently could hear. My sister told her it was her birthday and then she relaxed and went to be with the Lord.  I wanted my mom to live a long, long time.  She didn't.  I waited on a miracle and didn't receive exactly what I wanted. But I did receive so much during that time. While caring for my mother in our home, I heard God tell me things that can only be described as a call. I remember him telling me in December, 1994 to prepare to become a Pastor. I am now the Pastor of All Nations Community Church in Mobile, Alabama. While we're waiting on a miracle, God often does something very miraculous on the inside of us. He shapes our hearts and softens them with compassion and caring for others beyond our natural abilities. Perhaps the greatest miracles of all are what God does on the inside of us. In some ways, the greatest miracles are what God does in and through us to others.

  A few weeks ago I found out I have a cancerous tumor behind my right eye. It's a bit unnerving to know you have something inside of you trying to kill you. Once you realize it's there you want it out! However, once I realized that I had cancer I felt God saying to me, "Be patient, don't worry and don't try to take control. Trust me." I was originally scheduled to have surgery on December 2nd but now it has been delayed one week.  I have every reason to believe that any delay is God designed and planned and there is no reason to fear or be dismayed.  When Jesus found out his friend had died it was recorded in history as the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept."(John 11:35) Jesus truly loved Lazarus. I believe and know that Jesus loves me..... and he loves you too. While you're waiting on your miracle (as I am) it's vital to remember that.

He's coming. He's coming at the right time. He's coming with the right answer for you and for me.
Trust him.
Jim