Father, we're on our knees

Dear Campus,

Our dear brother, David Liao, is undergoing an important operation tomorrow. As i think about him fighting his cancer so hard for the past 6 months and still holding on so closely to God, believing in His promises, i think about King Hezekiah.

In those days in the Old Testament, when someone was struck with an illness, it was considered a message or a punishment from God. So it came as an especially painful blow to King Hezekiah when the prophet of the Lord told him that he was going to die. "Remember, O Lord," he prayed, "how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." And he wept bitterly.

Perhaps if Hezekiah had reacted differently to his illness, God would have allowed him to die. If he had become angry and railed at God or had quietly resigned himself to his fate, perhaps the first message of the prophet would have come true, and his illness would have proved fatal. But Hezekiah was not only a righteous king; he was a tenacious one. Even in the face of death, he was willing to bring his plight to God in prayer, pleading his case, but still with the humble recognition that it was God's will, not his own, that would prevail. And God not only healed him eventually, but added 15 years to his life! Amen!

God heard his prayers, and saw his tears. And though God's will does not change, the change that took place in Hezekiah through his prayer and his tears made it possible for God to express his true will, which is always for our healing and for our good.

I really believe God does want us to be physically healthy and live vigorously while we are here on earth. The divine ideal is to have a sound mind in a sound body. And yet, if we had to choose between our physical health and our spiritual health, it would be foolish to throw away what is eternal in exchange for temporary comfort in this world. This, I believe, is why God allows illness at all: because sometimes it is the only way we will learn to fully trust in God, gaining the lessons of patience and compassion for one another. Sickness and death are difficult teachers, but their lessons run deep.

There is only one true Physician, and that is our Lord.

While Jesus lived on earth, even the physical healing that he did was intended primarily to draw people upwards to spiritual health and to salvation. He did not simply heal people's bodies; through his healing he strengthened their faith, gave them deeper hope, and drew them toward himself towards the presence of God on earth.

I know we all love David so, so much. Let's be praying and fasting tomorrow with a humble and truly faithful heart, united in spirit and in God's love for him and his family.

Isaiah 38:10-20 (New International Version)

A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

10 I said, "In the prime of my life
must I go through the gates of death
and be robbed of the rest of my years?"

11 I said, "I will not again see the LORD,
the LORD, in the land of the living;
no longer will I look on mankind,
or be with those who now dwell in this world.

12 Like a shepherd's tent my house
has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
and he has cut me off from the loom;
day and night you made an end of me.

13 I waited patiently till dawn,
but like a lion he broke all my bones;
day and night you made an end of me.

14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
I am troubled; O Lord, come to my aid!"

15 But what can I say?
He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.
I will walk humbly all my years
because of this anguish of my soul.

16 Lord, by such things men live;
and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
and let me live.

17 Surely it was for my benefit
that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins
behind your back.

18 For the grave [c] cannot praise you,
death cannot sing your praise;
those who go down to the pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.

19 The living, the living—they praise you,
as I am doing today;
fathers tell their children
about your faithfulness.

20 The LORD will save me,
and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
in the temple of the LORD.



Love,
Mari