Do I Believe? Part Five: Ron

Hello To All:

The following events, are recounted here, with the permission of my friend Ron.

It was mid-summer, of this year. My great adventure, was in high gear; and I was traveling to a city near my home. One of the reasons, for my trip, was to visit my friend Ron. Ron was in a nursing home. Earlier, in the year, he had become paralyzed. He could not move his arms or his legs; and no one could figure out what had caused his paralysis. The nursing home was designed for rehabilitation; and Ron, daily, was being worked with. He was improving. By the time of this visit, he was able to sit-up, in a wheel chair; and he had limited use of his hands and arms.

The day was filled with expectation. I had already been blessed, to have visited with Ron, on several previous occasions. During one of those visits, after we had prayed together and asked our Lord Jesus Christ to heal Ron; the Lord our God, made it clear to Ron, that a day would come when God would heal him. It was also made clear, that he would be able to walk out of the nursing home, without any assistance, from anyone else.

I usually timed my visits, to catch Ron, a little before the evening meal. He, typically, would be sitting in his wheelchair, in preparation for being taken to the dining room. On this particular day, I arrived a bit early; and Ron was lying down, on his bed. He rang for a nurses aid. The aid came and worked to get Ron up and in his chair. I say worked, because that is exactly what she had to do. Because of Ron's condition, she had to pull him up and out of his bed; and then, she had to maneuver him into his wheelchair. Ron did what he could to help; but, at this point in time, there was not much that he could do.

The aid left; and Ron and I began our visit. We always talked about matters of faith and our Lord Jesus Christ. There was a small sofa in Ron's room. I was sitting on the sofa; and his chair was parked in front of me. It was time for us to pray together; and as we prayed, our Lord Jesus Christ, made me deeply aware, that the day was to be different from all other days. On this day, God was going to raise up Ron and heal him so that he could walk! We prayed again; and then, in obedience to Jesus, I spoke to Ron, in a way that was very similar to how Jesus had compelled me to speak to the lame man in Haiti.

At this point, in the unfolding events, I had one of Ron's hands in my own. I was rising up, from the sofa, with the expectation that Ron would rise up with me - empowered by God to stand and walk. But, instead of rising up, he grabbed my hand with both of his hands and began to pull. I locked my arm and body, in a rigid position, so as to keep me from being pulled into his lap. Twice, Ron tried to pull himself up; but, he was not able to. In the natural realms, he did not have the physical strength, necessary, to pull himself up and out of the chair.

I sat back down. We looked at each other; and I could see the frustration in Ron's face. He has a deep and abiding trust in Jesus Christ; and he, like me, was a bit confused by what not only did happen, but, more importantly, by what did not happen. Ron was still in his chair.

The air was still filled with expectation; and we were still confused. We prayed again; and then we sat, silent and waiting. In a moment it happened. It was as if God pulled back a great veil and Ron was able to see. At that moment, Ron put his hands on the arms of his wheelchair, he stood up, and he walked. I continued to sit on the sofa, rejoicing in the moment; and thanking Jesus for what He had just done, for my friend Ron. As Ron continued to walk around his room, we rejoiced together; and continued to thank God for what He had just done.

We visited for a while longer; and then the time came for dinner. Usually, an aide would come and take Ron, to the dining room in his wheelchair. Ron was ready to walk there, without assistance; and he was fully capable of doing just that; but, he was reminded about the restrictions that he had; so he took his walker (prior to his healing, with assistance, he had limited mobility with a walker) and headed for the dining room. A nurses aid saw him and came along side him. The last image, I have of Ron, on that day, is of him walking briskly down the hall, with his walker sort of held out in front of him; and the aid trying to keep up with him. It was a glorious site and one that I shall never forget.

Since that day, I have often wondered why God chose to allow the events to unfold as they did? Why was it necessary for Ron to struggle to lift himself up, in response to the command of Jesus, and not be able to do what he had been commanded to do: to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ had healed him? It was just in the last couple of days, as our Lord was preparing me to write this posting, that He gave me the understanding that I had been searching.

Listen, carefully, my beloved, to the understanding, given me by Jesus. It is very clear, throughout the King's Book, that in all things, God is to receive all of the glory. If God would have immediately raised up Ron, the sceptics could have readily said that this was just a normal progression in his rehabilitation; and that would have been a tough argument to counter. But, it was clearly demonstrated, to Ron and to me, that his physical ability and his physical strength could not raise him up. It was only after all of the efforts, in the physical realms, had failed, that our Lord Jesus Christ did His great work of raising up Ron, in a way that would cause Him to receive all of the glory, that rightly belongs to Him and to Him alone. Can we say Amen and Amen and Amen!

There is a lot here, to think on and to pray on, especially with regards to believing. Thus, this would be a good place to stop for now. But, one final note. In response to God's promise to him, my friend Ron, on many occasions, has walked out of the nursing home, without any one's assistance: to the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus