Kingdom Glory

The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.

The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.

Psalm 145:13b-14 (NIV)

My father was diagnosed with cancer July 26th, 2000. It was incomprehensible to us that something could be so terribly wrong within this strong man. Our lives were turned upside down in the matter of moments and we would never be the same. Beginning that very day, and every day for the next 5 years, our family prayed for healing. Dad’s grandchildren prayed daily that God would take “Pa’s ouchy away.” We followed every medical opportunity for treatment and there are many praiseworthy stories of how God led us to doctors and clinics that we wouldn’t have known without His guiding. Dad enjoyed a quality of life for most of that time that baffled the doctors – apart from the cancer he was a healthy man. But after 4 years and 11 months, we all knew that unless God intervened, Dad was soon to die.

My dad had an incredible amount of faith in God to heal him. We decided to have a family service where we would all come together and petition God to heal my dad. As I am the one in vocational ministry, my family let it fall to me to prepare for the service. My faith in God’s power to heal soon gave way to fear. The more I studied and struggled to prepare, the more I worried. The prayer offered in faith would make the sick person well (James 5:15). How did I get more faith? What would I say in the service? What if God didn’t choose to heal Dad? Would our tiny children’s faith be able to survive that? Would mine? Satan has a field day with our thoughts when we let him. Praise God that the Truth sets us free!

I was reading through the books of Isaiah and Psalms. The Truth in Isaiah 40 really spoke to me. “A voice of one calling; “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (verses 3-5) God wanted me to keep it simple. Remember, it’s all in the hands of the LORD. Verses 6-8 say, “’Cry out.’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.’” Every breath we take is God’s. He chooses when we die.

I had been worrying “what if I say the wrong words?” Verses 9 and 10 say, “You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’ See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power…” Dad’s healing wasn’t dependent on me saying the right words. It was a matter of inviting the God of the ages to show up so that his glory would be revealed.

What about our children’s faith? Dad’s 5 grandchildren were 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3 years of age. They loved their Pa. Verse 11, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” God loves those children more than we ever could. They were lambs in his arms – close to his heart. He would gently lead us.

And He did. On July 3rd, 2005, we met together in my parents’ home - Mom and Dad, my mom’s parents, and my one brother and I with our families. Four generations gathered together to seek the LORD. There were no magic words. We simply offered ourselves before the LORD and invited Him to show up. His Spirit descended in our midst in the most powerful way. We confessed sin. We testified to prayers answered in our lives. We sang His praises. We worshipped God together and then we asked Dad to simply state his request before God’s throne. I will never forget what Dad asked. We had gathered together to ask for healing. That was the reason that we had planned. But as God’s Spirit descended, Dad had felt it more important to ask for the salvation of wayward family members than to ask for his own healing. The tears streamed down my cheeks as Dad asked God for them each by name. The eternal life of these loved ones was more precious to Dad than his own life. What an example to me. We also asked God to heal my Dad that night but it paled in comparison to the cry of my Dad’s heart.

As I walked home after the service, I walked home under the beauty of a rainbow. God’s voice came so clearly to me, “See? I keep My promises!” We did what He said. We kept it simple. We invited Him to be present with us and He showed up!

The following morning, the very next Psalm in my sequence of reading was Psalm 145. It was as if David had journalled the events of the last night. “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness…The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down…The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call in him in truth.” (verses 3-7, 13b-14, 18).

So what was the outcome of the healing service? On August 12th, 2005, less than six weeks later, my Dad died. With his family all gathered around him, God’s breath went out of his body and his soul went to be with the LORD. Did God answer our prayers? He did. He is so faithful. Surely our preference would have been for Dad to live a long life among us but his body has no more pain. He is dancing the streets of heaven. He is healed. Our children’s faith is intact and growing. God continues to hold them close to His heart. And I continue to wait expectantly for the salvation of those that my dad held dearer than his own life.

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

Psalm 145:3 (NIV)