“SIXTEEN YEARS!”

Luke 2:25-35                   (ESV)

“[25] Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the HOLY SPIRIT was upon him. [26] And it had been revealed to him by the HOLY SPIRIT that he would not see death before he had seen the LORD’s CHRIST. [27] And he came in the SPIRIT into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child JESUS, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, [28] he took HIM up in his arms and blessed GOD and said,

    [29] “LORD, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

        according to your word; 

    [30] for my eyes have seen YOUR salvation 

    [31]     that YOU have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 

    [32] a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

        and for glory to YOUR people Israel.”

    [33] And HIS father and HIS mother marveled at what was said about HIM. [34] And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary HIS mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed [35] (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.””

How long are the blood vessels in a human brain?  Why did PRECISELY the exact vessel that broke in my Brain Hemorrhage of 2007 control the “word recall” for me, and it rupturing caused me to lose my ability to formulate sentences???  There are approximately 100,000 miles of blood vessels in an adult human body, so the probability other areas of damage occurring is very remote, to put it mildly!  Admittedly, before the Brain Hemorrhage, I thought I was “in charge”, always “in control”!  But July 09, 2007 I was SHOWN exactly how little I was in control and WHO REALLY was in CONTROL!

Recently I was perusing a social media site and saw a video which stated “The purpose of prayer is to remind me that I am NOT in control, and it keeps me CLOSE to the ONE WHO is!”  GOD doesn’t make mistakes, HE isn’t interested in speculations, nor does HE guess what MIGHT happen!  ALMIGHTY GOD has a PLAN, just like HE did when HIS CHILDREN of Israel was led from Egypt over 3,500 years ago.  The Children of Israel were in captivity for over 400 years, YET they “encamped” on the western side of the Red Sea WAITING for GOD to deliver them from the Egyptians who were unknowingly pursuing them!

ALMIGHTY GOD has a PLAN, and we mortals are UNABLE to figure HIM out, to KNOW what is coming next!  The Children of Israel WAITING at the Red Sea?  Abraham and Sarah WAITING on Isaac?  David WAITING on King Saul to be removed?  Simeon WAITING for “the LORD’S CHRIST”!  Many other instances of man WAITING on GOD are recorded in Scripture, but GOD has YET to completely fulfill HIS PLAN!  We need to be WAITING for HIS PLAN to be fulfilled!

Shouldn’t a person inquiring about THE PLAN OF GOD be interested in STUDYING HIS WORD and finding out how HE has worked MIRACLES in the past?  Don’t we understand that a HOLY GOD can get through to us, even if it means placing us into a coma for seventeen days!  If we fail to LISTEN to GOD ALMIGHTY and HE has CHOSEN us to perform a task, HE WILL orchestrate events that WILL bring about HIS PLAN!  WAITING for HIS PLAN to be unfolded for us might take longer than we think it should?  But Moses kept his father-in-laws sheep for a number of years before he was spoken to in the “burning bush”!

WAITING on GOD can bring about tremendous apprehension and anxiety.  When we REALIZE that are NOT in CONTROL, the apprehension and anxiety tends to evaporate.  I was so far from being in control of my speech and other bodily functions that I was placed into a drug-induced coma for seventeen days.  I literally had NO CONTROL over anything, including my breathing!  

When I was “brought out” of the coma on July 29, 2007, I was WITHOUT A DOUBT “changed” by my predicament.  The medicine used to place me in the coma still had to work its way out of my system, but I KNEW that I had NO CONTROL of being DELIVERED from where I was only a few days earlier!  

I’ve shared many times what my doctor wrote in my medical records in September 2007, “However, he  has had a remarkable recovery that could only be defined as a miracle from GOD”!  No one else gets credit or GLORY, for GOD ALONE brought me through this “valley of the shadow of death”!  The story might get old or monotonous to some, but I HAVE TO GIVE PRAISE TO THE LORD for my DELIVERANCE!  Brain Hemorrhages we’re 80% fatal in 2007, so for me to be on the “other side” with very few deficits is TRULY “a miracle from GOD”.  

WAITING on the recovery from ALMIGHTY GOD was/is a lengthy process.  DELIVERANCE from the deficits is an ongoing issue.  I am no longer in a drug-induced coma, and I have l learned to TRUST HIM for HE has displayed HIS SOVEREIGNTY to me in ways that few people can understand!  

SIXTEEN YEARS have taught me that HIS PLAN is what I long for in my life.  FATHER IN HEAVEN, help me to be a patient as Simeon!!!