2022_12_21 Insight Post- Rusty Coram
This week’s reading- Philippians 1 & 4
Several years ago, an engaged couple was invited to attend New Hope by a friend they knew through a 12-Step group. They were just “kicking the tires” so to speak, when their world got rocked. Dave’s fiancé was diagnosed with a very aggressive lung cancer. Over the next few weeks, I got to know the couple, as they faced the fact that Sally might be dying. One evening she was sent to the ER and I went to meet them. As we talked, it was clear that she wanted to accept Jesus as her savior, so we prayed together right there in the ER. When I went outside and found Dave, I told him what happened, and he said he wanted to accept Jesus too. So, at a picnic table next to Mount Vernon Hospital we prayed, and Dave accepted Christ. Not long after that Sally passed. It had all happened so suddenly and was absolutely heart breaking.
Dave called me one day when I was driving and what he said has stayed with me ever since. I asked how he was doing and he said, “Rus I can’t explain it but I have a strong sense of peace.” Immediately a verse from Philippians came to mind, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT)
Dave hadn’t studied the book of Philippians yet, but he was experiencing the reality of God’s promise as a new child of his Heavenly Father. God is ready and able to give us everything we need to face life head on. Dave loved Sally and was crushed that she was gone, but he also recognized God’s powerful presence in the midst of his grief. In a broken world we will suffer, but we never have to do it alone. God offers us supernatural peace that comes not from our circumstances, but from His presence with us.
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor