Never Underestimate God

"'...You will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the LORD..." Jeremiah 12-14

About 2-1/2 years ago, I got shingles on my face, just above my right eye. I was sent to the local hospital ER by my doctor, in hopes that it was something minor, perhaps just a rash on my face. By the time I got there, my right eye had fully swollen shut. It was quite uncomfortable, and after waiting hours in the ER waiting room, they finally admitted me for round-the-clock IV antibiotic and antiviral treatments. 

I was there in the hospital for 3 days getting constant IV therapy, and by the third day, my right eye had been closed for 4 days, and my left eye was also almost closed completely shut from the infection around my eyes. However, before they discharged me home with oral antibiotics with a sort of "wait and see" approach, the doctor came in to my room. What he said next was extremely upsetting and unexpected. The doctor told me the shingles had caused the spread of cellulitis to both eyelids, and that I could easily lose my eye sight altogether in both eyes. I just needed to wait it out. He said it was going to be a long road to healing, and he really hoped I did not lose my sight completely from it, but time would tell...

Shortly after, I was alone in my hospital room that day, and crest-fallen. "How could this be?" I thought. My mind was racing with the "What-ifs." Shortly after the doctor left, I began to cry and cry hard with complete abandon. Then I heard myself praying out loud saying, ‽God! You are the Great Healer! Please do something...NOW! You can do this! I implore you, save my sight in the name of Jesus Christ, I am asking you!"

A short while after my desperate prayer, my friend, Adele, came to visit unexpectedly. She saw I was distraught and said, "We're going to pray right now." She said a fervent prayer on my behalf, I calmed down, and we started to talk. About ½ hour later, as we talked, my right eye slowly opened, then my left! At that point, it was the first time in 4 days that I could open that eye and see out of it, and I knew God had heard my cry for help. 

When the nurse came in, I asked her to tell the doctor what happened, and asked that he return to my room. And he did. I told him what happened, and I suspect he was a man of faith. He was jubilant with us! After I went home that day, my eyes continued to heal, and I did not lose my sight. In fact, the next month, my 5th book was published with an ironic twist on what had just happened. My book had been in the works for 10 years, and it was called: 'From Broken to Blest: Embracing the Healing that Awaits You.

Have you ever cried out to God to help you? Aloud or in the silence of your heart, He hears our prayerful whispers and our impassioned pleas for His help. Even though I most often pray throughout the day, I obviously underestimated what God would do for me for the asking. 

Sometimes it's a little too easy to think that God, The Great Healer and Comforter, and Savior, our help in times of trouble, is too busy to hear our anguished pleas. Perhaps we need to turn to him at all times, especially when we are in the thick of things, and invite Him in. We need to pray with confidence trusting that 'He's got this!'  

My conclusion? Pray and ask for whatever you need, no matter how big or small your request, and stand on the following scripture:  

"'Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the LORD."Jeremiah 12-14

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