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Peace in the Midst of the Storm
For six weeks prior to my husband’s stroke on February 23, 2008, I had been fervently praying for him and my family. My heart was heavy as I cried out to God to conform them to the image of Christ. As a wife and mother I was concerned not only for their physical welfare, but also for their spiritual welfare.
Soon after I started praying, a series of events happened to make it look like God wasn’t hearing me at all. In fact, things got worse not better, and then it climaxed with Steve’s stroke.
I asked God, “What are you doing?!” And in a small whisper to my heart I heard Him say, “I’m answering your prayers.”
Well it sure didn’t look like it, but I knew my heavenly Father had my best interests at heart, and I could trust Him.
Thirty-six hours after the stroke, I finally crawled into bed and had the most restful 7 hrs. of sleep. About 2:30 AM I awoke and my bedroom was filled with light from a full moon shining brightly through the window. The presence of God seemed to accompany the light, and two verses of scripture came to mind:
“He shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17), and “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
In that moment, God filled my heart with peace and the knowledge that He was in complete control of all these circumstances. He was working them out for my good, and He was answering my prayers. I just laid on the bed and praised God in the midst of the storm.
Since that time, anxiety and fear have been strangers to me. God’s peace has been ever-present in spite of the circumstances. Not knowing how long it would take for my husband to recover, or how I would be able to take care of him, or how my life would change, or where the money would come from for all these unexpected expenses were questions that were trying to take away my peace. But I’m holding unto Jesus who is the Prince of Peace and anchor of my soul. He will keep me safe when the winds of adversity blow. In John 14:27 he promises, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Do you want know this kind of peace in the midst of your storm? The secret is this:
When you know the One who has control over the storm, you can have His peace to carry you through the turbulence. I’m not talking about religion, but a relationship with a God who loves you.
Pray this prayer with me:
Dear Jesus-Prince of Peace, I need you, and I ask you to come in and take control of my life and fill me with peace. Help me to know you. I want a relationship with you. Please reveal yourself to me. Amen
Please let me know if you prayed this prayer so I can be praying for you too.
Love, Kathy
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I suffered a major stroke almost 4 years ago. My faith has sustained me in some very desperate times. Your inspirational scripture brought me peace, and I have been reminded that all things will be taken care of by God. Faith not fear! Please pray for me as I go through some struggles. Thank you.
August 17th, 2009 at 6:01 pmI am praying for you, Beverl, and thank you for asking me. God made you, God loves you, and God has a plan for your life! Jeremiah 29:11 says that the plans God has for you are plans to prosper you, not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future. There is still a bright future in store for you.
Dear Heavenly Father,
August 17th, 2009 at 7:50 pmI ask you to bless Beverl with your strength during times of weakness, your grace to sustain in the midst of trials, and your peace that passes all understanding to drive out all fear. May you reveal yourself to Beverl in a very real and personal way, and provide for every physical, emotional, spiritual and financial need. May you bring the right people and resources into Beverl’s life to provide the help that is needed. Father, nothing is too difficult for you, so we put our trust in you to answer our prayers. In the name of Jesus we ask these things. Amen.
kathy, again my name is hazen meek, at approximately 9years after my last stroke,I awoke in the morning hours to go to the restroom which I did on my way backI passed out also one day I was talking on the phone and I passed out in my wifes arms, we contacted my doctor and my wife took me to see him and explained what had happened he refered me to another doctor who had some test run and found a polip in my nazal cavity so I went to the hospital and they removed it but it turned out to be a wart on the wall of my nasal cavity, so I went home and the following day I went back because of bleeding to which they put gause in the nazal cavity then the following day I went back to see the doctor that I hasd been refered to shwe came out of her office to see me and she stopped me right there she oticed my color did not look all that good so she took my blood pressure to which she replied oh my lord it is too low so she took it again to which her reply was the same except it was too high she immediately had her receptionist call 911 and in a few mins.I was in the ambulance on my way to the hospital,I awoke in the bed with numerous cardiac doctors around my be and was told they had bad and good new, the bad news was I had suffered a minor heart attack but the good news was they had done an angiagram and it showed that I had a sdtrong heart muscle but they wanted to inject some dye into my blood stream to see if it might sdhow the location of my heart attack so I said ok letsd do it, after the test I was told that they had located 3 90% closures and a 4th something that they were not sure of untuill thery opened my heart so off to open heart surgery I went up on waking up from the surgery a larger group of cardiac doctors were there and they told me they had found and additional 90%closure which they fixed and the prognosis was good as far as the closures so then I asked how long did I have to live and the doctor said atleast another 30 years as long as I took care of my self so now I am 65 and figure if I watch what I eat and exersize on a regular basis some where in my mid to late 90′s but I had witnessed my fathers death from a major heart attack and I never knew you could have a minor heart attack although I hasd not had the major pain that I had seen my fasther suffer, now the reason I am telling you this is so you and your husband can be aware of the possibilities of a heart attack might follow suit from what I understand they might not follow but they can just like your husband kathy If I had had any idea that my eating could have been the root of all my trouble I would have been more careful, but we always think we are better than we think we are but if you should have any thing that might resemble what I went through you should be aware becauase my wife and I made sure I ate correctly is probably the reason I am still here, also please forgive my spelling but I only have the abuility to hunt and peck although,I use to be able to type with both hands but no longer yet the reason I say yet is I am getting ready to try to retrain the use of my left hand again I believe that if it takes some time if I have the time it is worth it, after my 10 years of living with my strokes,I realize we donot necessarly getc back things we have the tendancy to retrain our selves but I believe that God never brings you to some thing unless He is willing to see you through it, respectfully,Hazen Meek
January 18th, 2010 at 3:08 pmThank you, Hazen, for your concern and words of encouragement. I am so happy to hear that after your strokes you chose to fight to get better instead of giving up. You are doing remarkably well with your limitations, and I wish you the very best. Blessings to you.
January 18th, 2010 at 6:10 pmKathy
Hi,
I am a mother of three kids a 10month old, 3 year old and a 8 yr old. My husband suffered a stroke a week ago he is still in the icu. He is concious of his sorroundings but unable to move at all and cannot swollow. My husband is 28 years old and is being very strong. I am praying every day with my kids to have gods healing power over their daddy. Reading over your blog is helping me understand how god works but its sometimes so difficult to understand his plans. I need all the prayers I can get for the health of my husband.
December 30th, 2010 at 3:59 pmDear Janet….my heart goes out to you!! I am praying for all of you. All things are possible to him who believes! Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.
December 30th, 2010 at 4:31 pm