Day 15 – Know me by name
Isaiah 43: 1 “Now this is what the LORD says, He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are mine.”
Marie shares the following powerful testimony, “I was standing next to my stepmother’s deathbed who has been battling cancer for five years. It was very difficult for my father and for us to see her in pain.
In our early childhood, she was a real stepmom to me and my sister. She really made us feel unwelcome in her home and because of her, we didn’t visit my father regularly. We eventually grew up and made peace as we also got married and had families of our own. We knew she was giving up and we expected the worst daily. The day came were my Dad called requesting us to say our goodbyes because she was dying.
My sister and I stood next to her bed and when she saw us, she asked “Please pray for me”. It caught me a little off guard, I searched for the right words to comply with the patient’s request and prayed: “Lord, do not let her suffer like this, please. Have mercy on her and come and get her as soon as possible.” As I prayed so pleadingly, she suddenly stopped me and said “Jesus is standing outside on the bedroom porch, and He says I must tell you this: “not at your time but on My time … and she continued and said, “He knows you by name. He knows who you are, and He knows everything about you.”
At 01:30 am the next morning I see her mouth move as if she is talking but she is no longer consciously in our world as she went through the shadow of death described in Psalm 23. Suddenly her breathing stopped and then her life here on earth was over as a dead silence descended in the room. As this is happening inside the room, outside the animal’s sounds overwhelm us. The frogs, crickets, dogs, and every bug are howling outside. Just as suddenly, a dead silence descends over the farm again. She’s gone. But her message from Jesus lives on within me to this day: “On My time and not yours’.”
Prayer: Father, it is assuring to know that everything abides in Your time, even death. And in the face of death, You are there. Thank You, Lord, that You know each one of us by name and hear our heart prayers though we fail to string the words together. Thank You for Your endless Love even in death. Amen.
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