Standing Firm

Standing Firm

Israel is no stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm. Isaiah 7:9

Today’s verse says that unless we have a firm faith, we won’t stand firm. As a Christian doctor, I know that physical and spiritual strength must work together for us to be at our best. That’s why I was so worried about Craig.

At the nursing home where Craig was sent following his stroke, most of the patients were in their seventies or eighties. Craig was only fifty, but he looked much older. He was disabled and confused. He also had dysarthria, which means he had speech impairments and trouble understanding language.

It was hard to know how to begin treating a patient like Craig. In order to recover, he needed a lot of help. And I wasn’t sure how well he would do. He seemed defeated in body, mind, and spirit.

Craig’s stroke was the result of some bad habits: smoking, drinking, and years of poor nutrition. We could correct many of those habits while he was in our long-term care facility, but his mind would take much longer to unlock.

I wrote orders for Craig to receive physical, occupational, and speech therapy. I prescribed antidepressants and recommended that Craig attend counseling. The staff and I also prayed for God to rebuild his spirit. I was hopeful that if Craig could once again talk and eat on his own, we might stand a good chance of helping him overcome his depression, as well.

Because it was a Christian nursing home, pastors often visited and prayed with the patients. The nursing staff knew that Craig had not been a churchgoer in the past, but they gently and quietly urged him to open up and consider God as a resource for life renewal.

It didn’t happen immediately, but as the weeks turned into months and the nurses continued to pray for Craig, eventually he began to pray for himself as well. By the time he was ready to go home, he was fifty pounds lighter, no longer smoked, and instead of drinking spirits, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He now stood firmly on his feet and in his faith.

TODAY’S RX

If your body isn’t healing as fast as you’d like, consider whether your spirit may also need healing.

However shaky the world becomes, God, help me to always stand firm in my faith. Do not let me gravitate toward or fall victim to Satan’s ways; instead, keep my eyes focused on heaven and the glory that awaits me there.