Enduring Uncertainty

One of the toughest lessons a Christian can learn is how to trust and praise God in the uncertain time between a promise and its fulfillment. I believe it is a powerful act of spiritual warfare to stand in the middle of death and disease, conflict and unresolved issues, and to cause your spirit to rise and give thanks to God.

I can’t help but think of the experience of one of our most respected missionaries, Tracey. Recently she was driving from South Africa to Mozambique when the small bus just ahead of her went out of control, rolled off the road, and crashed at a speed of about 60
miles per hour. Passengers were thrown from the vehicle as it rolled. She and other motorists stopped to assist and discovered a gruesome scene as they went victim to victim.  Many people had life-threatening injuries, traumatic head injuries, and were laying unconscious.

One woman was clearly dead. She had no vital signs, her head was facing her back, and she had one eye lying on her cheek. Our missionary, a graduate from Stanford as a Physician’s Assistant, took the bystanders and placed them by each of the injured persons. She then instructed them to “Speak life in Jesus’ name. When I look over at you, I want to see your lips moving!” And move, they did! Minutes later, as she was assessing the casualties, the woman assigned to the dead passenger screamed. The “dead” woman had groaned, turned her head around, and begun to breathe again.



To their amazement the woman’s vital signs were strong, and her misplaced eye was back in its socket. That caused the others to pray all the more earnestly for their patients. Within a short period of time the unconscious victims had regained consciousness and those with serious wounds stopped bleeding. Many injuries were healed, and people were spared who surely should have died. When I heard that story, my mind kept coming back to the peo ple who stood by and prayed even when the situation seemed hopeless.



That’s the kind of attitude we must have during times of uncertainty. Our troubling circumstance may last days, months, or years, instead of just an hour or two, but our approach should be the same: We must declare the goodness and faithfulness of God even in the midst of our trial, before we have an answer.



Enjoy The War in Your Head here.