Over and over these past few months the Lord has been teaching me just how precious life is. In India it was the car accident that left a squad mate paralyzed from the waist down. In Nepal we experienced the destruction of an earthquake and watched houses crumble in front of our eyes while people were in them.
I keep getting reminders of how life can be changed or taken in an instant. James 4:14 reads, “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” It is a constant reminder to not take this precious life for granted.
We arrived in Sungai Petani, Malaysia Saturday evening. I really wasn’t sure what the Lord had in store for us here but it didn’t take Him long to reveal His purpose. We immediately started ministry the night we arrived.
We were taken to a fellow believers house for a night of prayer. The prayer service started at nine and we finished around eleven that night. We prayed for restored health for the families home we were in. We have gone to a different home every night since then.
We have prayed for new believers, we have prayed for healing of a four year old who has blood cancer. We prayed for a 30 year old girl who was battling kidney failure. We have prayed for the community of underground christians as a whole.
Monday afternoon we met the young woman who was fighting kidney failure. We were led into a bedroom where she sat bed side in a chair. Her legs were wrapped in bandages. She wouldn’t look up, she just sat quietly. She was tiny, almost just skin and bones.
We were informed that she had been battling kidney failure and denied dialysis because she was trusting the Lord to heal her. We prayed over her; all of us praying for different things. I am not sure how long we were praying but at the end she looked up at us and smiled and thanked us.
Her face was frail with very little life left in it. You could see the distinct outline of her check bones and the outline of her jaws. There was no muscle tone left to her.
We left the home with heavy hearts. Heavy hearts knowing the pain she was in. We had heavy hearts knowing that she was relying on the Lord to heal her, and knowing that the family had to watch her suffer everyday.
After a night of prayer Wednesday night, Pastor Thomas asked if we could go pray for the young woman again. He said “she was ready to release herself.” I gathered the team and informed them what was happening. We felt the heaviness in the car on the ride to her house and we started to pray.
Emily, Jenn, Karissa, Melissa, and I were lead into the bedroom again. The young lady was lying on the bed and we automatically started praying. Jenn started singing a sweet song and I laid my hands on the girl and prayed that the Lord would call her home and release her of any pain.
The Lord took her home that night. After we prayed the medical team walked in and confirmed her death. The Lord healed her. She is in no more pain.
There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always
Those are some of the lyrics to a song by Jeremy Camp. Our friend got to see Jesus face to face that night. She has no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears. I don’t question that a day of her life went by where she didn’t hold on to the promises of our God.
Seeing death makes you realize the significance of life. You realize that life really is a vapor. Ephesians 5: 15-17 says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Use this life that the Lord has gifted you with. Use this life to walk in His will and fulfill His purpose for you. Be wise, and make the best use of your life and the time that He has given YOU.
