Last week, my dad had an incident.
The Mr. gives it a bit more emphasis as he says “Last week John died.” He then pauses for a dramatic moment before adding, ”but he came back.”
The truth was mom found dad, slumped in a chair and completely non-responsive. He was ice cold to the touch and when emergency services arrived, they could not find a pulse.
It was a replay of an incident from a few seeks prior, but this one did not resolve itself quite as quickly. What it did do, paired with results from a Holter Monitor worn the week before, was tell the doctors one thing—dad’s heart needed support.
He needed a pacemaker.
A pacemaker
Pacemakers are pretty nifty devices. They sit right below your collarbone and are hardwired into your heart. They continuously monitor the heart and sends it support signals, when needed, to make the heart beat at a safe, healthy rate.
When I got the text from mom asking us to meet her at the hospital, I was thankful for my own pacemaker.
What? I have a pacemaker? Absolutely, and I hope you too have one.
The Holy Spirit.
In the Old Testament, The Holy Spirit empowered people to do God’s Will. It gave them strength and peace.
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. 1 Samuel 16:13
Samson’s feats of strength are all credited to the Spirit of the Lord.
Gideon, Micah, Joshua, Elisha, Zechariah…the list goes on an on with one common phrase, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon.”
In the OT, the empowerment was temporary, but that changed when Jesus died for the redemption of all our sins and grafted us into the Kingdom of God.
And I (Jesus speaking) will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16
Some translations use the word “Counselor” instead of advocate. The Greek word behind each version means “one who is called alongside.” I envision a big, strong helper who literally holds me up. A helper who is there to listen and give advice that I could never come up with on my own. A cheerleader, a GPS and so much more.
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you. Rom 8:11
A helper with POWER. (More here.)
But very truly I (Jesus) tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.John 16:7
A helper who is focused on my own good.
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.John 16:13
A helper who guides me in this confusing world.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Gal 5:22-23
A helper who give me the tools to calm a confused, fearful mind.
Here is the bottom line, when our heart and mind is aligned with God’s Word, it makes us more sensitive to hearing the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. It makes it easier to tap into His power and gives us the peace and strength to walk through anything.
After dad got his medical pacemaker, we all breathed a sigh of relief.
All would be well.
Until mom called 911 for an ambulance four hours after they were discharged from the hospital.
When we accept Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we are not promised a life free of pain. Our inside changes, but the world around us does not. We still have to navigate a world filled with sin, but the difference is that we have a helper.
The post-pacemaker incident did not happen because the pacemaker failed.
How often in life do we see one problem/wound/trauma, focus on it and not realize it is masking another problem/wound/trauma? The beauty of a life with Christ is that there is support to heal from wound after wound. In the case of dad, the pacemaker kept his heart beating while another issue was revealed.
Medical professionals can debate if the second issue was the primary one all along, but the reality is the pacemaker did its job.
All during this journey, mom, dad and the family spoke life. There was peace, even laughter. Hospital staff were prayed for. Ministry occurred. Thanksgiving was offered for all things—especially warmer temperatures in the ER as we got to spend 24 hours there. Twice.
Your pacemaker
Are you allowing your pacemaker to do its job? When faced with adventures, what is your first response? If it is not love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control, you might want to talk with the Lord about building faith and getting in tune with your pacemaker.
As we learned with dad, it takes the body a bit of time to adjust to listening to your pacemaker. The best part is that this is something you don’t have to do alone.
At Prize 31, we are here for you.
