“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Proverbs 24:10

His Preparation

Walk His Way Revisited

First Posted March, 2014

She was young and newly married; her husband loved her. But she was sick, had been sick since childhood. When I met her, her life was ebbing. Day by day, she was stripped of more vitality; she slept more, ate less. Her skin was thin and gray; her hair was sparse, stringy, brittle. Her smile was brave, but pain caused her to cry out at unexpected moments. 

One morning, I got the call. The suffering young husband choked out, “She died! She’s gone!” I drove right over, walked in without knocking. Paramedics stood around the living room. She was laid out on the carpet; he was kneeling beside her, kissing her forehead, holding her hand and sobbing, begging her not to leave him. 

Before that moment, I had never sat beside a dead body, never had been struck dumb by the intensity of someone else’s grief. There was not one comfort to offer the young man, for he was not a Christ-follower. To him, God was cruel for taking her. To him, a good God did not exist, for look how much she suffered, look how his prayers were not answered. 

When I look back on that day, what I most remember is not emotion, but strength. I shared words of peace, remembrance, acceptance, calm. I sensed the Lord pouring into me what was needed in each moment. I helped him say goodbye and took him outside before the coroner zipped her into the body bag and rolled her past us on a gurney. I handled arrangements. Made phone calls. Met with the coroner, some sort of social worker, and the police officer that came. Helped the grieving young man find and sort all his wife’s medicines and most recent hospital instructions to send with the coroner. Made sure there were no guns in the house (the police officer’s suggestion). 

I know I was prepared for that day. In the prior months, I had been walking closer to the Lord than ever before, spending more time in prayer, sensing more depth in my own self as I had more awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence in me. God’s Word had become more precious and real, more relevant than in all my prior years with Him. God knew what was around the corner for me, and He had strengthened me.

We don’t know what strength will be called forth from us when we awaken each day. Meet with the Lord daily. Let Him feed your spirit with His Word. Be in close communion with Him. There are things coming in life that we can’t face without His preparation. 

“Jesus, we are more desperate for You than we know. In Your faithfulness, develop in us what we’ll need for what’s coming, so we can go forth with confidence in the work You have done to prepare us. In Jesus‘ Name, Amen.”