SICKNESS
Psalms 41:1 Blessed [is] he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
41:2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive;
[and] he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
41:3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
The Lord will not fail him in the hour of suffering and need. "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19.
And in the hour of final need the merciful shall find refuge in the mercy of the compassionate Saviour and shall be received into everlasting habitations. {MB 24.1}
I treated many with high fevers during house calls and in my little make shift clinic. Then suddenly Jenny collapsed. A day later I followed the same course. We were so weak it was hard to keep our balance getting to the restroom. We stayed down continuously except to go email. The simple walk took more and more effort. Breathing was painful. Swallowing was near impossible. In spite of the fever, I believed the promise that God says He will give wisdom in James 1:5. Those who read the Bible, counsel with God, and rely on Christ will act wisely at all times and in all circumstances. (Maranatha p. 83) That includes the time where I have a high fever and am trying to decide to go home or not. ALL decisions were to be handled wisely. God kept this promise to me and I have no regrets for He counseled me and I obeyed.
God
sent kind ladies to the room and helped to bring the fever down using
cool cloths and they each took papers and began to fan us and then they began to pray. The room was full of prayers. Up to
this point, God had healed all our ailments instantly. Since all things work
together for good to them that are called (Romans 8:28), I decided to look for
the blessings. I saw those we had helped in clinic now comeing to minister to
us. There was a bonding between us as they saw how human and fragile we
are.
Devica
began rubbing the feet of Jenny when she collapsed. She and the other
young girls such as "Angel" had such a compassion and
gentleness.
The flowers that they had brought to put in our hair at meeting were put into our hair while we were stretched out on the bed. The fragrance reminded me of heaven. It brought comfort and with it came a desire to live.
Chituma
and Vijayakumari also prayed and helped do cooling measures and fanning for Jenny.
It seemed strange in the heat to have Jenny chilling. IT seemed at times she was
not conscious of her surroundings. I was so concerned for her life was at such a
low ebb.
Since God says that all things work together for good, I pondered over what good we were getting from being sick. God did not respond immediately to the prayers for health. I waited for the LORD to help us. Days past, and we grew weaker daily.
Something seemed wrong with the water. I longed for a FINLEY sealed filtered water bottle that I was sure was pure. My tonsils were oozing blood and the back of my throat was swollen nearly shut. I opened an IV bottle and drank that in the night when I could not find any pure water. It was a struggle to breathe.
I asked the LORD that if He was not going to heal us, should we call the airlines and return home. I asked for a sign. He gave me that sign. Immediately I left my sick bed and went to email out to ask for help in flight arrangements. I could not fathom being able to do a ticket change from the little village. Back at home, my husband was also very sick. Things did not sound good. Again, I prayed and asked for another sign and it was given. Then the third time I prayed and another sign was given to go home. As we had strength, we packed things for departure praying God would help us.
There was another city we had planned to hold meetings in. I wanted and had planned to do the full program there. We were so weak that we were spending 95 percent of 24 hours horizontal.
Finally, on Monday morning, after 5 days of illness, we began making progress
when a precious family with a telephone found us the right phone numbers. There
was a reassuring voice at Malaysian Airlines that said there was no
problem to change tickets with only a 50 dollar penalty fee. We could be on the next flight out if we would only get to
Hyderabad.
He would rewrite all tickets including connecting flights. Immediately a very
clean and comfortable air-conditioned Toyota jeep was ordered and came to take
us. We were told it should take about 5 hours. There was a strike going on and
diesel was difficult to get except in some side shops in cans. That, plus road
conditions made the 150 some miles take 9 hours. It was very late when our accommodation
search ended. We were so weak and so tired, we were only slightly troubled by
the dirty drinking glasses, sheets, and hair on the pillowcase in the room. We
were so thankful for a spot to prepare for flight.
Deut. 33:25 ...as thy days, [so shall] thy strength [be]. 33:27 The eternal God [is thy] refuge, and underneath [are] the everlasting arms
Looking in my prayer journal as we traveled, I realized that God must have arranged the answer to my prayer probably just before I put it in my prayer journal.
Is. 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
I asked for a strong man with ability in English to assist me to the airport. The son of the family who gave us free internet access came home from Hyderabad to visit his parents just in time to help us get to the airport. There were many times I needed to communicate to the driver. As we neared Hyderabad there was lightening and thunder and rain began to fall on equipment that had been tied to the roof. He was able to communicate our requests for stopping and putting all luggage inside. He also helped locate lodging. We were shocked to discover all rooms full in the five star hotels. We were content in the hotel he found. He was concerned for our safety and that we might need things so he stayed in a room nearby.
His mother prepared food for our journey that we could eat. Lovingly, people in the village had gathered about the car urging food into our hands. There were many who gathered about the departing car weeping and fearing they would never see us again.
In the cooled vehicle, Jenny slept well most of the way. Our nausea and head aches diminished in the coolness. The driver obeyed our request for no music and the much needed quiet was good for our nerves. We wondered how we were going to get our carry on luggage onto the plane. The bags were light on the way to India but extremely heavy going home. That was only because we were so weak. God moved on the hearts of other travelers to lift our bags into the storage bins. One stairway looked impossible until a young man bounded up and gently helped get the bags down for us. God had many who were looking out for us. We praise HIM. He kept reminding me of the verse in Isaiah 41:13
Fear not I will hold your hand and help you.
Isaiah 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
The kind young man who helped us, found us food and water and also located the building for ticketing in the morning. He stayed with us helping in so many thoughtful ways. I know the God of heaven will reward him by answering his prayers for what he needs. He was God's answer to our prayers in our emergency. Often I wished for my own sons but God surrounded me with new sons who protected me and helped me in so many ways.
How surprised and gladdened will be the lowly among the nations, ... to hear from the lips of the Saviour, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me"! How glad will be the heart of Infinite Love as His followers look up with surprise and joy at His words of approval! Mathew 25:40 {DA 638.3}