During our worship service a couple of weeks ago when our friend Guy was with us; I did something I had never done before. I told everyone I planned on dedicating this morning’s message to him and his wife Carroll because they are two of the people who are in my constant thoughts and prayers. Although I intended this message to be encouraging for everyone, I hoped it would be used by God as a means of bestowing a special blessing upon them. I asked you folks to pray on my behalf and ask God to help me craft it. For those of you who are unfamiliar with some of the prolonged burdens this Christian couple has been enduring, Guy has graciously provided the following chronology.

“Carroll” my wife and mother of our son Travis was “once was extremely physically active. Skiing, bike riding, aerobics, and other leisure activities were very much a part of her life.  Now, my dear wife has been brought to a place where all of this has been taken away.” “About 20 years ago Carroll began having jaw and neck pain along with severe migraines. As time went on this pain began to spread to other parts of her body, legs, back, arms, shoulders, hands, etc.  She went to many doctors and specialists, but no one was able to figure out what was going on. All her tests would come back negative. At one point her primary care physician refused to treat her unless she agreed to see a psychiatrist; he was convinced that Carroll’s pain was psychosomatic. Carroll started having doubts as to whether he might be right. In her heart she believed there was something physically wrong that the doctors were missing, yet the seed was planted that she might have a mental problem. This seed weighed heavy on Carroll.”

“Carroll’s symptoms continued to worsen, though she continued to work as a nurse at Rutland Regional Medical Center. At times she would have to strap ice packs to her hip and back to make it through a shift. She would go into the nurse’s bathroom and sob in pain between caring for her patients. New symptoms started to appear.  Carroll’s mind was being affected by whatever it was causing her pain. Her memory was becoming dull. It was taking her hours to finish her daily patient charting, and she could not keep her thoughts straight. Finally as the pain and neurological symptoms worsened Carroll was no longer able to work.  She initially took a leave of absence, but after the leave her condition proceeded to worsen and she had to leave the only profession she had ever known. She had been working in hospitals since she was a 15 year old candy striper, then after putting herself through nursing school, became a nurse. Carroll’s nurturing heart is what caused me to fall in love with her. She earnestly enjoyed helping people get better. But now she was the one needing the care. (Interestingly enough, the Hospital Disability Insurance refused Carroll’s claim saying she should be able to continue working since no formal diagnosis could be made in her case).”

“After leaving the Hospital Carroll’s symptoms continued to worsen and the unknown disease was now attacking her brain. Carroll began to experience psychotic symptoms, screaming and cursing at the slightest provocation. At times when I would come home from work I would find Carroll curled up on the floor crying, or pacing frantically around the kitchen table stamping her feet and moaning out loud. She was unable to reason, and also unable to make intelligent decisions.”

“Finally, we went to a holistic physician that had Carroll tested for Lyme disease. The test results were positive.  When Carroll received the diagnosis she broke down in tears of joy. Finally, she had the reason for her pain and mental state. Finally, she could get treatment that will cure this bug.  Well the joy turned to discouragement as several years of treatment by Lyme disease specialists have proved for naught, or almost for naught. Carroll has made improvements with the neurological involvement; she no longer has bouts of “Lyme Rage.” However, Carroll’s physical condition continues to deteriorate. Her body is being slowly broken down by constant pain, depression, anxiety, and other symptoms too numerous to list.”

“Ask Carroll how she is able to persevere and she will tell you, “It is because Jesus is by my side. If I were not a child of God I could not endure this, I would have killed myself a long time ago.” Guy concludes: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose, (Romans 8:28). Praise God from whom all Blessings Flow!”

When you add those problems to the typical divinely ordained challenges such as those at work, or with relationship problems and other annoying stuff, you could say this couple have been, and are continuing to experience, a little bit of hell on earth. I don’t think any of you folks would disagree, would you? In one way or another, each of you also continues to experience difficult trials. And, unless I’m greatly mistaken, those of you who are trying your very best to follow the Risen Savior believe all the painful experiences that we are exposed to are somehow working together for our ultimate good and God’s glory. I would also be surprised to learn that  we didn’t cry out to God in anguish pleading with Him for immediate relief from whatever it may be that’s been tormenting us during those prolonged difficult times when you and I continue to endure a great deal of physical and or emotional distress. Compounding our frustrating dilemma is often the fact that as hard as we try, we can’t get our conscience to convict us of what we may have done which has displeased Him so much, and which He finds to be exceptionally offensive, that all our prayer requests, and those of the folks who truly care about us, seem as though they’re falling on deaf ears.

I believe the more we focus on our plight, the more we tend to magnify our suffering and heartache. If we continue, we run the risk of convincing ourselves we’re helpless and our situation is hopeless. And, just as Carroll does, unless we believe we are one of God’s adopted children, and that Jesus is at our side in the midst of our suffering, we couldn’t continue to endure. In fact, we may reach the point where we may not even want to try. We will be tempted to conclude that God doesn’t really love us, or that we would be better off dead, although none of these thoughts could be further from the truth. We often become bewildered when our prayers aren’t answered, especially in light of the following promises.

Psalm 50:15 (ESV) … “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

I find it hard to believe that Guy and Carroll haven’t been calling upon the Lord pleading for deliverance every day for the past twenty years. And, since becoming aware of their plight, so too have many others such as those of us who truly care about them have been doing on their behalf. We do the same for ourselves and also for folks we care about deeply, don’t we?

Psalm 55:22 (AMP)
²² Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).

Who of us haven’t done this–many times? The fact that we are still here today is irrefutable evidence that, not only has He in the past, but that He continues to sustain us moment by moment in the present. But don’t we desire more than that? Of course, we do! Nevertheless, we’re still awaiting His answer to the prayers we believe are the most importan.

1 Samuel 2:30 (AMP) … “those who honor Me I will honor,”

It’s as though God is saying: honor Me by sincerely striving to love Me with all of your mind and heart and soul and strength, and love your neighbor just as you love yourself. Do this and I [your Father] will [must] honor you! I love it whenever one of My straying children humbly acknowledges the fact that he or she has been sinning against Me and sincerely feels awful about it and then pleads with Me to forgive and help them to overcome the temptation in the future, because they know they can’t do it without Me. I’m delighted that those children have learned what truly pleases Me and how I must respond.

Psalm 51:17 (AMP)
¹⁷ My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.

Isaiah 57:15 (AMP)
¹⁵ For thus says the high and lofty One—He Who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, but with him also who is of a thoroughly penitent and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the thoroughly penitent [bruised with sorrow for sin].

Isaiah 66:1-2 (AMP)
¹ THUS SAYS the Lord: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house would you build for Me? And what kind can be My resting-place?
² For all these things My hand has made, and so all these things have come into being [by and for Me], says the Lord. But this is the man to whom I will look and have regard: he who is humble and of a broken or wounded spirit, and who trembles at My word and reveres My commands.

It behooves each of us to meditate frequently upon these verses and sincerely strive to take them very seriously. We can avoid a lot of unnecessary heartache whenever we do. For instance, it was only after experiencing much hardship that the Lord finally got through to King David as he acknowledged to God.

Psalm 119:71 (NIV)
⁷¹ It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.

Psalm 119:75 (NIV)
⁷⁵ I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

Look at what Peter told those early Christians and us through them about this issue.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (AMP) “Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, ⁷ Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”

Isn’t the fact that we constantly turn to him in continual fervent prayer indicative of someone who is humbling themselves under the mighty hand of their Creator, and acknowledging that neither he or she or anyone else in the whole world can provide what they so earnestly desire? Can you think of a single Bible believing Christian who has been enduring prolonged physical and or emotional pain who isn’t tenaciously clinging to the following promises?

Isaiah 40:28-31 (AMP) “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding.  ²⁹ He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound].  ³⁰ Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; ³¹ But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.”

I can’t imagine that Guy and Carroll haven’t been looking forward to that day, can you? And they aren’t the only ones, are they? Just look at the facial expression of your brothers and sisters in Christ who are sitting in the other pews listening to this message, and you will know the answer.

Psalm 37:4 (ESV)
⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I’ll give you three guesses and the first two won’t count. Can you think of what may have been just one of the desires of Guy and Carroll’s heart over the past twenty years, or remember what one of the desires of your own heart has been during those seemingly never ending divinely ordained challenges you have endured?

Psalm 50:15 (ESV) … “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Now we’re back to square one. Who can fault anyone from wanting immediate relief from pain? I’m sure Guy and Carroll and the rest of you who have been crying out to Him for a long time pleading for something you want very, very much, but are still waiting for Him to give you the major desires of your heart? Do you have any idea why He hasn’t? Although there are various reasons for Hid delays, there is one which we often forget. For instance, has it ever occurred to you that perhaps He can’t at the present moment, or can’t ever on this side of eternity? I have, because I have found it to be absolute biblical truth. In case any of you have just made a mental note to move me to the top of your prayer-list, and are thinking about calling a special congregational meeting to decide whether or not to “put me out to pasture,” allow me to explain.

Ephesians 1:3-14 (ESV)
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
¹¹ In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
¹² so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Revelation 3:5 (ESV)
⁵ The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Ephesians 1:3 (ESV)
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Ephesians 2:4-10 (ESV)
⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—
⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Romans 8:28-29 (ESV)
²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Matthew 3:17 (ESV)
¹⁷ and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 17:5 (ESV)
⁵ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Please listen carefully while I repeat the verses which I have just emphasized in the Power Point presentation by underlining them.

we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matthew 17:5 (ESV)
⁵ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Take comfort in knowing with the utmost assurance that the time will finally come when each of His adopted children such as you will hear Him say something similar:  “This is My beloved child with whom I am very pleased.”

Whenever we ask Him to deliver us from our seemingly never ending divinely ordained physical and or emotional pain, we must remember our immutable Creator (Psalm 33:11; 102:27; Malachi 13:6; Hebrews 1:2, 13:8; James 1:7) never changes. He can’t grant our request a moment before He has accomplished everything He planned to develop within us through an often very painful process. Until then, it’s always helpful for us to turn our eyes upon His only begotten Son and remember: “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering,” Hebrews 2:10 (NIV).

Although we are new creatures in Christ, we are still not fully developed. As much as we may want Him to, infinite wisdom (Job 12:13; Psalm 104:24; Proverbs 3:19; Daniel 2:20; Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 25) and perfect love (Jeremiah 31:3; John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4-5; 1 John 3:1) cannot alter or abort what He has planned concerning each of His children back in eternity past. He cannot complete the work He is doing in us prematurely. Contrary to evolutionist beliefs, we are not evolving. On the contrary, we are deeply involved in the life altering possess of being conformed by our Creator into the image and likeness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And that takes time! In addition, thanks to His Word, we’re aware of that magnificent encouraging and comforting awesome fact. Please try to remember and also remind each often that Christians are living in what most of you folks have heard me refer to many times in the past as being “The Eight Day Of Creation.”

Lord willing, next week I’ll be able to share how we can apply these eternal truths in our own lives and be blessed whenever we do. Until then, please continue praying for me as I do for each of you.

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I’ve been hoping and praying God would use this particular message to bless Guy and Carroll and each of you who just heard it preached and many others who may read it later.