Mark and Adrienne Lanier have not only become a special part of the Imagine Church family, they have come to have deep meaning in my life and in Tyra’s as they are neighbors, friends, and fellow members of our Landing Life Group. So, when we learned of the burns Adrienne’s cousin, Yvonne, suffered in a freak kitchen grease fire, there was no question that we would join Adrienne and Mark in praying each day for Yvonne. She has had to endure painful procedures of skin grafts and the scraping of her wounds. Because of the current restrictions, no one from her family could be there with her in the hospital.
On Monday, I received the following text message from Adrienne, and you could almost feel the emotion leap off the screen: “Praise Him!! The surgeon says no additional surgery for Yvonne as of now. There are signs of cell growth! Praise Jesus!”
I believe I understand the source of Adrienne’s joy and exultation. She was euphoric because Yvonne’s healing had begun, yes; but Adrienne also sensed that God had begun to move and work in the midst of her prayers for her cousin. Adrienne has long had a strong faith; but I could sense on Monday that her faith was growing even greater because she had new evidence of God at work.
Here’s my advice to us all: Whatever your prayers, would you add this to your prayer? “God, I need to see you in this. I’m not asking you to change everything, but I need to see you in this! Because if I can see you in this, then there’s hope! If I can see you in this, then I know there’s an end! If I can see you in this, then I know there will be grace to sustain me. If I can see you in this, I won’t give up hope.”
When you pray, “God, heal him, or heal her,” would you also add, “God, I need to see you in this.” Because at the end of the day, I want to emerge with more faith, not less faith. Somehow, God, teach me a lesson about life, in the midst of all this. I sensed this was Adrienne’s experience as she received the news on Monday about her cousin Yvonne’s progress.
Your suffering and pain are really not the exceptions; they are a part of the story. Jesus made it all too clear: It’s an important part of the story. But just as God leveraged the crucifixion of his Son as a reference point for faith and for our salvation, in the same way, God will leverage our deepest pain, our darkest hour, and our deepest valley in the same way. That’s why I need to see you in this, God.
