He knows...

I have been in Ohio visiting my dear friend, Jane. She is just a few years younger than I am, and I have known her a long time. She was raised in my church, and I have been a friend of her family all these years. Several years ago, I decided to take Will to Washington D.C. for fall break. Jane lived in the DC area and opened her home up to us for a visit. Little did we know that those visits would become an annual affair over the next few years. So we became fast friends.

Jane and her family moved to Ohio last year. Just two weeks ago she found out she has lung cancer, very advanced. So Phil and I took a day to drive up to see her and to let her know that we love her and are praying for her.

She looks so good and healthy and strong (except for the acne-like rash caused by the medicine she is taking). She has a wonderful family…beautiful girls and a great husband. And in all that she’s going through, she ministered to us. She spoke with us at length about the troubles that are facing our two children. We know that she cares so much about them and that she is praying for all of us. We came away blessed to have been with her. And resolved to continue to be there for her and her family.

She told us that she had recently had a dream in which she was going about some ordinary tasks when she opened a door and a tornado sucked her up. And that is what her life feels like right now. She told us that in herself she would just remain in a state of panic and fear, and she would just stay in bed and pull the covers up over her head. But God has been there with enough grace and mercy for each day, and each task. And God has proved Himself enough.

We were pretty frank in our discussion of life and death and the realities of living in faith. We shared some thoughts on different scriptures and how they are playing out in our lives.

Recently I heard Andy Stanley preach about Jesus being our high priest. He read these verses from Hebrews 4:14-15:

14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[a] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

Andy said that Jesus doesn’t just sympathize with our weaknesses; He empathizes, which means He has been there and knows just what that feels like.

In Jane’s case that means He knows what it is like to feel that your days are numbered and your time is short. He knows what it is like to face death. He knows how it feels to not want to go down the road that God has laid before you. “If it be possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done.”

He knows what it feels like to face leaving behind friends and family and having concerns about what will happen to them. He said to Peter, “But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” He asked John to look after his mother.

He knows…

Yes,He knows…

But we move to verse 16:

16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

And we see this verse playing out in Jane's life too. She has received mercy and she has found grace to help in her time of need.
God is working in all that is happening in Jane's life. And we know that as we desperately plead for her healing, and know that God is able to bring her back to perfect health; we know that whatever happens, He is receiving glory and honor and touching many lives through her.

Praise God for what He is doing and will continue to do.