Our Glorious Hope in This Dark World

"I Am the light of the world. 

Whosoever will follow Me

shall not walk in darkness, 

but shall have the light of life."

~Jesus Christ~

John 8:12

By Pamela Rae Schuffert presenting investigative journalism from a Biblical Christian perspective-

www.AmericanHolocaustComing.blogspot.com

So often in this world, events that occur in our lives remain an enigma, a mystery shrouded in the shadows of uncertainty. We do not understand why something happens, or how God could allow something to happen. Often events and circumstances in our lives make no sense to the human reasoning, even from Biblical perspectives.

During troubling  times like this in each of our lives, we must take time to seek the heart of God through Jesus Christ, and bring our questions to Him for understanding. 

The Bible declares that God is Omniscient, or all-knowing. There is nothing hidden from Him! And whenever men do not have the answers to life, God does.

This past month has become one of the most challenging times in my entire Christian walk. While driving across America to spend time with my ill brother John, I suffered the most painful injury ever experienced in my life. 

And it happened in the midst of a very Scriptural action. I was thinking about donating my new printer to the Christian ranch, CHANGING GAITS in Minnesota, to assist them in their work.

Digging through my possessions in my u-haul, I finally located the large printer. But it was in an awkward location, requiring much twisting and turning to lift and move it. And that is when the painful and debilitating brachial plexus nerve injuries occurred in my neck, shoulder and left arm, even going down into my chest.

The pain was excruciating, to the point that I could not even lay down to sleep at night without intense pain preventing all rest. Numbness and tingling and weakness accompanied the pain. Even the act of sitting up to drive my vehicle was agonizing. I had to prop my left arm up on a pillow, and apply pain-soothing lotions to my entire left shoulder and arm. 

Both ibuprofen, aspirin and prayer flowed freely, in order to enable me to endure the journey.The pain was so bad I could only drive about 200 miles a day, making my thousand mile journey from Minnesota to North Carolina a 5 day trip. Sleep at night was impossible. No matter what position I tried to lay down in, the pain was persistent and exhausting.

 As I traveled, I remembered meditating about the irony that, even as I had been fulfilling God's word to support His children in ministry by searching for a gift to donate to them, I severely injured myself in the process. Almost feeling like I somehow had been rewarded evil for good. 

Trusting in God at all times.

But deep within, I felt that God had a purpose in allowing this to happen. I just didn't know what it was as I drove. But I have learned throughout 42 years of serving God, that I must trust and praise Him regardless of my circumstances. He is our light in the darkness of this world's trials and circumstances beyond our control.

That hidden purpose became abundantly clear the night I came to see my brother John in the nursing home. 

A concerned care provider taking care of John came to me and said, "You need to see John's leg: this is just not right...something needs to be done for him." I walked with her to John's bed. She pulled the blanket up, and another care giver held up his leg for me to see. I was horrified to see his foot covered with three bedsores, no bandages or protection on them whatsoever. They were all infected, to the extent that his leg was infected all the way up to the knee.

Deep anger came over me as I realized that this was a clear case of gross neglect and malpractice on the part of this nursing home. Immediately, I went to the nurse's station and demanded to know what they had done for John's infected leg. The nurse in charge acted afraid to even talk to me, finally saying, "nothing...."

 I demanded that an ambulance be called immediately, to take him to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. They came for John, and I followed to join him in the emergency room. Life-saving procedures began immediately as intravenous drip antibiotics were introduced into his system.

John was admitted into the hospital that night, and emergency surgery was performed after an MRI and x-rays were taken of the infected areas. Thankfully, the surgery was total success. Necrotic and infected tissues were removed, even a small foreign metal object also. The antibiotics continued to be administered after his surgery. Finally, John was recovered enough to leave the hospital and go to a new nursing home.

Dr. Stover, his surgeon at Park Ridge hospital, admitted to me following surgery, that IF I had arrived to see John only a few days later, JOHN WOULD HAVE DIED FROM TERMINAL INFECTION. It would have been too late to save his life.

And suddenly, it all made perfect sense to me. The strange accident I suffered, that was so painful that my prayer journey was forced to be cut short, was no accident in the sight of Almighty God.

Before my injury in Minnesota, I had planned to take several weeks longer on my journey to North Carolina and to visit John. Plans had been made to visit my former Bible college for prayer, and to pray in the Washington DC area, and more.

But all of that came to a sudden halt following my lifting injury, making a prolonged trip impossible due to pain. I had to cut everything short and make every effort to arrive in North Carolina as quickly as possible.

None of this made any sense at that time. I felt deeply disappointed that this prayer journey was cut short unexpectedly. 

But as I stood talking to John's doctor in the hospital that day following his successful surgery, everything became perfectly clear at last. God had indeed allowed this accident to happen, for the very purpose of saving John's life!

As I began to realize, I praised God for allowing this to happen, and how He used this for His glory to rescue his child John. I also understood that it would only be a matter of time before I would be healed completely. I remembered one verse in the Bible that illustrated this:

-Hosea 6:1-

"Come , and let us return unto the LORD: for He hath torn , and He will heal us; He hath smitten , and He will bind us up ."

Studying God's word and spending much time in prayer over all of this shed light on this situation, and opened my understanding to the often hidden purposes of Almighty God.

It is no wonder that the Psalmist David wrote that God's word is a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet 

and a light unto my path." 

-Psalm 119:105-

Furthermore, spending time in prayer and allowing the Holy Spirit to impart wisdom and understanding will also open our eyes. The Bible states that the Holy Spirit of God will lead us into all truth.

"But when He, 

the Spirit of truth, comes, 

He will guide you into all the truth. 

He will not speak on his own; 

He will speak only what He hears, 

and He will tell you what is yet to come."

-John 16:13-

I am able to sit and write this article today, because my body is finally completely pain free at last. What a relief! When suffering from constant pain, emotionally and physically exhausted, and furthermore burdened by a brother who remains in pain and in a nursing home, it is admittedly hard to find the strength to write an inspirational article for my readers.

But something wonderful has happened since this accident, and I finally feel recovered completely now and back to normal. How great is our Living God of mercy and miracles!

And of course, I KNOW that so much of this healing has been because of the prayers of my readers all across the nation and the world. I want to take the time to thank each one of you for your prayers and love that truly have made a difference for John and I. And also for your support that has been critical at this time of transition for me.

Because of your support, my brother is also doing so much better than previously. I have been able to purchase important vitamin and protein supplements to help rebuild his health, thanks to your support. Institutional food will never supply many of the critically needed vitamins and supplements necessary for full recovery. Daily, I notice improvements in his health, slowly but surely.

And tomorrow, Thursday, I will finally be able to pick up my vehicle from the repair shop. They had to take an extra day due to difficulties with severely rusted bolts having to be removed. It is only because of the mercy of God manifested through my readers' kindness that I will have sufficient funds to pay for the repairs and transmission work.

Praise God for His infinite wisdom and mercies! And I thank God for you ALL as well.

Without your prayers and support, none of this would have been possible.

God dwells in the praises of His people.

Are you going through difficult times also? Have troubling events occurred recently in your life that simply make no sense, and that you simply cannot understand at this time? 

Keep trusting in the Lord, and give Him all your hurt and pain and questions through prayer and spending time in His Presence. Take time to read His word, and to meditate of timeless truths revealed therein. 

He will meet you there, and fill you with His compassion and love, His mercies and His strength to face and overcome your crisis.

This is exactly what He has done for me at this very challenging time in my life. And what He has just done for me, He will abundantly do for you as well. His mercies never fail.

When the dark storm clouds hovering over your life threaten to obscure the sunlight, 

look beyond to the glorious rainbow,

 signifying the eternal PROMISES OF ALMIGHTY GOD!

May all of you be encouraged in the Lord today,

and always.

~Pamela Rae Schuffert~