"We Need to Test for Leukemia..." (Part 1 of 3 from The Red Sea Rules--The Same God Who Led You in Will Lead You Out by Robert J. Morgan).
Being a parent has its ups-n-downs. Show me a parent who says, “Wow, this is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.” and I’ll show you a parent who’s not quite all there.
Many moons ago, we had our first major blip on our family radar. I didn’t handle it well, either. As in, I scared our entire family to death.
Our youngest son, Woody, who was only five years old at the time, suddenly became very ill. He spiked a fever that did nothing but go up. Once it stayed in park at 104, we high-tailed it to the pediatrician. Too many symptoms to count, the doc decided to draw some blood.
More waiting. Thankfully our other two boys were in school that day.
Doc returned with gruesome news. “His white counts are outlandishly high. We need to test for leukemia.”
“What?” I asked, thinking I’d not heard him correctly. The room began to spin. Woody just looked up at me with his big, beautiful puppy-dog eyes.
Trying to put a big-girl face on, unbelievably we had to take Woody to the Children’s Hospital for tests as they couldn’t run them at the Pediatrician’s.
I drove to a nearby McDonald’s to call John. No longer able to hold my composure, I had a major freak out. Poor Woody began to cry upon witnessing my meltdown.
Barely understanding my voice, John rushed to meet me and we dashed downtown. After a multitude of tests, we were told to go home and wait. More waiting. And pacing.
Meanwhile our other two boys were dropped off from school. Certain we scared them to death from our tear-streaked faces, my recollection was I had total tunnel vision. I could only focus on Woody. All they knew was something was very, very wrong.
We called my brother-in-law, who’s a doctor, and relayed Woody’s numbers from his blood work. Billy said few words, but within minutes, his wife and my other sister-in-law were ringing the doorbell to hug and pray for us. We figured this was not a good sign.
Minutes turned into hours, and more than a day went by until we received the results. Let’s just say waiting is not a gift of ours. By God’s grace, Woody did not have leukemia. It was just a terrible infection. We aged about ten years over that little incident!
Also by God’s grace, He carried us and held us even when we did not cry out to him nor pray to him first, which should’ve been our immediate go-to.
Rob Morgan, talented author and preacher, has written the best little book I’d like to suggest every single one of us should tote with us at all times. Its’ perfect pocket size allows you to carry it with you easily.
Rob wrote The Red Sea Rules. It includes “Ten God-given Strategies for Difficult Times“. Over the next few weeks, we’ll hit a few of them, and here’s the even better news: You have the primo opportunity to come meet the author and hear him speak and teach on The Red Sea Rules on Monday, October 27th, at Middletown United Methodist Church in Louisville, KY!
On a flight home from overseas, Rob was reading thru’ Exodus 14. Anxious over a situation at home, he began rereading about God saving the Israelites, parting the Red Sea. He tells us, “As I worked thru’ the chapter, ten rules unfolded like rubber life rafts; ten ways of handling dilemmas and discouragements–a divine protocol for handling life when we find ourselves caught between the devil and the deep Red Sea.”
This week we’ll cover Rule #3: “Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.” and Rule #4: “Pray!” (Ahh, you must find the book or come hear Rob to find out the rules we don’t cover here on the blog….well worth your time!)
Rob says, “No sea is deeper than the ocean of His love.
There is no army stronger than His hosts,
No force greater than His throne of grace,
No enemy who can overcome His direct and indirect work in our lives.”
Don’t miss this: “The reality of the Red Sea…is this: God will always make a way for His tired, yet trusting children, even if He must split the sea to do it.”
Rule # 3 reminds us to keep our focus on the Lord while acknowledging Satan, but not focusing on Satan.
How, you may ask, do we do this?
Rob suggests, “We rebuff the enemy in the name of Jesus Christ,
we stand our ground,
we resist his wiles and
claim the victory of faith
we shake off discouragement in the name of our Lord…”
And when we do this watch what happens:
“Satan falls from heaven faster than lightening. He is drowned in the Red Sea of the blood of Jesus Christ.”
You could easily see my panic with Woody’s potential diagnosis of leukemia. I focused on all the bad things, the “what ifs”. Satan had a heyday with me. I spun out of control. Sadly, I forgot the answer to our troubles, Rule #4: “pray!”
Rob says he finds two options, many times: to panic or to pray. He said, “The Lord has spent years trying to show me that prayer is the means by which I can, if I choose,
stay even-tempered,
self-possessed,
cool-headed, and
strong-spirited,
even in a crisis.”
James 5:16 reminds us, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.” Rob says, “That’s the great secret of those who put their hands in the hand of the One who can part the seas.” We must all pray.
Come join us at our next Book Club meeting, October 27th, and bring a friend! Men are welcome. You will all be blessed by spending time with Rob Morgan. We will meet from 6:30-8:00 p.m., at Middletown United Methodist Church.
11902 Old Shelbyville Road, Louisville, KY 40243 http://www.middletownumc.org
Next week we will cover a couple more of the greatly beneficial Red Sea Rules.
‘Til next time!