Six Bypasses That Were God Given

Six Bypasses That Were God Given

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember to do His commandments.” Psalms 103:13-18 (ESV)

Have any of you ever been to Ashville, North Carolina? How many of you would think to just suddenly pack up your stuff to include your medical records and go vacation in Ashville, North Carolina? Well I am not one of those who would think to bring along my medical records but I might go to Ashville, North Carolina to vacation. I do know of someone who did bring his medical records along with him during his vacation in Ashville, North Carolina and he wound up with congestive heart failure and it just happens that one of the best hospitals to deal with this was fifteen minutes away. And my former employer and family member got himself six…yes that’s right, six bypasses in one operation. And those of us who cry out, “ABBA Father” in our family know this was God’s doing.

Just the night before my sister and brother-in-law were having dinner with us and my sister-in-law’s father had been on the phone. (Just as a sidebar my former employer just happens to be my sister-in-laws father and the only guy who believed in me enough to give me a job when my time at the Colony came to an end.) Everything seemed to be okay but something went wrong during the night and Desi with her husband Ray (another sidebar Ray is my wife’s brother) drove to Ashville, North Carolina. When they arrived it seemed as if Hubert’s open heart surgery was immediate. Desi sent texts for prayer requests as soon as she hit the ground (Desi hates to text, she says they are cold and impersonal but my sidebar within this sidebar…they came in quite handy).

Desi recently gave her testimony on the experience at our sister church, Christ’s Wesleyan Church in Egg Harbor City, NJ. She used the aforementioned verses in Psalms and it has struck a chord. She asked her congregation if they had a healthy fear of the Lord. After what she went through even our house had this fear reinforced. My wife and committed to prayer more anxiously than normal. Desi also asked if we really understand that God knows we are but dust. Desi got her understanding elevated by knowing that she had to place her father in the hands of El Elyon. And then she had to put her hands around a qwerty board and text all of her prayer warriors to join her as she surrendered her dad to Jehovah-rapha.

She knew that her father was helpless before the Lord she serves but he was helpless in front of a merciful and loving God. The doctors said there were three options for her father. Not get this operation and die, die on the table during this operation or have the operation and live. I can relate with Desi at this point because my father had been given options but God had other plans. There was nothing I could do for my dad except place him in the hands of El Elyon. Our family praises that our loving and merciful God saw fit to use Hubert as an example of what His mighty hand can do when His people stop in their tracks to pray to Him and humbly yet boldly ask for Him to do a mighty work. SANTO!!

It was no coincidence that Desi’s dad was sent to Ashville. That’s right Hubert you were sent there by God (I know you read my Freedom Fighters, Brother). Mission Hospital is one of the top ten cardiac hospitals in the nation and for what seemed to be the most off the wall idea he ever had recently, God’s plan for him was not. Mission Hospital is located around Ashville, North Carolina. This story doesn’t end here. There is still the aftermath stuff from the surgery that is going on, but I ask all of the Freedom Fighter brethren to take a moment and pray for Desi, Ray, Daniel, Joan and Hubert. El Elyon is listening. AMEN!! -- Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a regular contributor to Freedom Fighter

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 10; Job 41-42; Acts 16:22-40

Dig This Quote: “One of the reasons we don’t know God deeply is that we don’t venture much on His pledge to carry things for us. Knowing God with a sense of authentic personal reality is not merely a matter of study. It is a matter of walking with Him through fire and not being burned. It is a matter of not being crushed under a load because He carries it for you at your side.” Pierced By The Word John Piper

Determined Digging: Level 1: Psalm 30:5 Level 2: Psalm 101:1-5