It is a good thing to be in the hands of God

            Emmitt and Gloria.  They were members of the church I served in South Carolina.  I visited them every four to six weeks.  They were what we commonly classify as “shut-ins.”  Gloria had been afflicted with a severe case of arthritis.  Emmitt was suffering from dementia.  The two of them faced challenges the likes of which I’ve never seen.  And they faced them together.

            Emmitt and Gloria were a team.  They supported and cared for each other.  Love filled their home.  Although Emmitt couldn’t say the word, “love,” he demonstrated his love for Gloria in many practical ways.  Emmitt cleared the dishes from the table and put them in the dish washer.  He emptied out the dryer and folded and put away their clothes.  He gathered up the garbage cans and put them in the big container out in the garage.

            And it was out in the garage where Emmitt stumbled and fell and broke his right hip.  Off to the hospital he went for emergency surgery.  At that moment, these two loving, caring teammates and lovebirds were separated, never to live together again.

            Emmitt’s surgery went well but he began to experience complications almost immediately.  Gloria kept a full-time vigil at Emmitt’s beside, even though stiff chairs and uncomfortable cots caused her unrelenting pain.  Twice she called me at home.  “The doctor doesn’t think Emmitt has long to live,” she would say.  “Will you come?”  I did and each time Gloria and I were amazed at how Emmitt would bounce back.  And as he did, we would wonder, “What does God have in mind in all of this?  Why is Emmitt still here?”

            We got the answer a few days later.  I had stopped by the hospital to check in on Emmitt.  Gloria and I were talking when suddenly Emmitt grabbed me by my left hand.  His grip was strong.  He pulled himself up to a sitting position, looked me straight in the eye and said in a clear, strong voice, “It is a good thing to be in the hands of God.”

            Gloria and I looked at each other in complete amazement.  I had never gotten more than a “yes” or “no” from Emmitt in the entire time I had ministered to him.  Gloria later told me that she couldn’t remember the last time she had heard a complete sentence from her husband.  That Emmitt has spoken out like that brought Gloria an indescrible joy.  The message ministered to her heart…and to mine.

            Looking back on that incident, Emmitt was simply echoing the words of God Himself through Isaiah the prophet: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

            Where do any of us want to be when our health fails us?  When stress overwhelms us?  When trouble visits us?  We want to know that God is near, that He will wrap His everlasting arms of love around us, to comfort and to help.  According to Isaiah, that’s what God does.  (God) tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.

            That good news was Gloria’s comfort.  A few days later, Emmitt passed into eternity.  His Good Shepherd led him through the valley of the shadow of death to rest in the arms of Jesus until the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.

Tears of sadness were shed.  But Gloria’s heart was filled with the peace that passes all understanding, the peace that comes when you know that it is a good thing to be in the hands of God!