By Whatever Means

 June 8, 2021

Last night I received word from a friend who informed me that her husband had contracted COVID, was hospitalized in ICU, and that he had to be revived after his heart stopped. His blood pressure is all over the charts. She asked me to pray for him. I shall not mention either of their names, as they live in a restricted country where if word of their work leaked out, it could cause problems for them and their ministry. 

Here’s the backstory: When I met them years ago while on a mission trip, we immediately connected even though we could only communicate through an interpreter. By his own admission, he had been a thug until visited in prison by Christians who shared the Gospel with him. He repented, came to Christ, and later married the woman who visited him and led him to faith in Christ. We worked with them for nearly two weeks, and have stayed in contact ever since, watching him grow in his faith till he launched out on his own as a missionary to his people. He has sent me videos of his preaching to crowds of people, but asked that I not share them on social media due to the problems it would bring.

Just over a month ago, our Christian brothers and sisters in Cuba laid to rest Jose Santiago, another very effective evangelist. I’ve watched over the years as the work he started grew, impacting hundreds in a very difficult spiritual climate. It seems to me the Enemy is using this disease in an attempt to destroy God’s most prolific evangelists—first Jose, and now my unnamed friend. Jose is no longer with us, but my friend is.

Today’s Scripture reading happened to be from Luke 8 which consists of four consecutive accounts of Jesus healing people. What strikes me is that there is no single formula, no particular pattern to these healings. Jesus spoke and touched the leper; he declared almost off-handedly to the centurion that on the basis of his faith the man’s servant was healed; touched Peter’s mother without saying a word, and finally, cast out demons with a word, and healed without a specific method being mentioned.

So Lord, by whatever means you choose, through the work of your Holy Spirit and by the merits of Christ’s sacrifice for us, please heal my friend. There are still many who need to hear about you through him.