Unsung spiritual heroes abound in the world:
Bible study leaders who prepare week in and week out;
parents who live the walk before their children;
prayer warriors who kneel privately to conform their hearts' desires to God's will;
missionaries in remote areas who must adjust to a new world of foods, customs and culture and who must do without what we call "basic;
spouses who keep living the faith in the quiet hope that God will take hold of their marriage;
young couples who want children but who are learning to trust God more with every setback;
youth who are determined to live out genuine faith in the hostile halls of high school.
widows and widowers who get up each day to live out a faith they built alongside someone else;
wage-earners who can't make the figures work on paper but who give anyway, realizing there's more to this life than this life;
ministers who wonder whether or not they're where God wants them but who keep ministering until He re-directs them;
These beautiful people are the salt of the earth bringing the light of hope to a world quick to drop what becomes difficult and move on to more immediate gratification. I have one more example of an unsung hero who's shining the light of God's hope as she faces the unknown with a simple, beautiful, overflowing faith. Tina Johnston now lies in a hospital room in Little Rock for the third week in a row and must stay at least another week. Her complicated medical history has led to one more complicated surgery which led to further complications. After infection set in, doctors deemed it necessary to leave her surgical wound, approximately a foot or more in length, open to heal from the inside out. Just being in the room while the nurse removed tape, bandages and gauze to clean out the "chasm" was enough to turn me into a puddle of nerves since I'm a little squeamish about large gaping wounds. I sang "Somebody's Praying" and hoped they were. The fact that Tina could lie there to go through this painful procedure four times a day without slapping anybody who comes near her bed is enough to make her my hero.
God heals us from the inside out and occasionally dabs on a little of the faith and hope we see in others. Those who have no hope have no healing. Tina mentions the future, when she'll feel like getting in shape and living a higher quality of life, and she speaks of it with assurance from a place in her life when just getting out of bed is a major accomplishment. Those caring for her in the hospital see her hope rise above her circumstances as Tina responds courageously to what they have to do to take care of her. It may be all in a day's work for them, but for Tina, her family, and anyone who sees what she's going through, it's a continuing exercise in faith, hope, joy and peace.
Father, we all have a Room 101 which contains "the worst thing in the world" for us (from 1984 by George Orwell). For some it's the big issues, the seemingly immoveable mountains but for most of us it's what we face every morning, or four times a day, that takes the shine off our hope. Heal us from the inside out, Great Physician. Heal us of unrighteous attitudes and thoughts that poison our witness and dim our lights. As You expose our souls, God of hope, fill us with all joy and peace. Leave no space unwashed. May we allow You to take Your time with us and keep us from jumping off the examining table. You are loving and gentle; Your goal isn't to make this a painful process but to do what needs to be done to heal us so we don't have to go through it again. We turn everything over to You, God of the complicated, and ask You to use us as part of Your healing process for others.
In the name of Jesus, Whose nail-scarred Hands brought us peace.
"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27
"I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles," Isaiah 42:6
"Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our LORD. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
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