Death Came Knocking – Faith Was Already There!

My wife and I grow a bit flustered trying to find a decent TV show. My favorites are the mid 20th century westerns. To spare my wife that agony, we enjoy shows like Expedition Unknown and Untold Stories of the ER, among others. I thank God his technology brings us old movies to enjoy. The newer ones have too much graphic sex, violence, or ungodly agendas.

 If you are unfamiliar with Untold Stories, it is an hour of three or four different emergency room situations that must be solved, or the patient will most likely die. It is astonishing to watch these doctors and nurses use their training and knowledge to save the lives of these near death patients.

An older woman was in the hospital visiting her post surgery husband when she collapsed with cardiac arrest. Rushed to the ER the doctors did all they could to save her, to no avail. At the moment of flat-line, her husband interrupted. He had been standing back watching the event unfold. In his hospital gown and slippers he recognized the heroic effort to save her. He saw the moment the attending physician called her death. He witnessed the saddened faces of those who had worked so hard, but were unable to save her. The nurses and ER doctor requested he leave. “It is not a good time,” they said.

He knew she was dead. Asking with a calm voice, “I don’t mean to intrude. I just want to lay my hands on my wife for a moment, would that be alright?”

The ER staff stood back.

He eased over to the gurney, laid his hand on her forehead, and bowed his head for a few moments. The entire room was quiet. Her husband revealed a slight, and peaceful smile as he turned to walk away. Standing over to the side, his demeanor publicized anticipation. An expectation, as if waiting for what he had asked to be loosed in heaven, and to be ushered in by the angels of God. The peace of his face declared God’s promise to provide what he asked.

“I got the impression he was a man of faith,” the doctor said. All he did was lay his hand on her forehead and bow his head for a few moments and  . . . then something remarkable happened! “She developed her own spontaneous heart beat, and her own pulse, and then her own blood pressure and she started rallying on her own. All signs of her heart attack were gone.”

“In all honesty,” said the doctor, “I wasn’t sure if it was our medical intervention, or his laying on of hands that resurrected his wife. But, I’m sure of one thing, I was standing in that room when a miracle happened.”

Interesting isn’t it? How slow we are to give God the credit for miracles in our lives, and those of others. “I wasn’t sure . . .” said the doctor.

How could he not be sure? He witnessed the entire event! He failed! Faith did not! Prayer did not! God did not!

The faith of a mustard seed allows us to move mountains. It also heals the sick. Too often we call on God using our own strength, and not our assured faith. God is waiting for you to give your entire being to Him. Want you do that today?

(Ref: Untold Stories of The ER; Nothing Works; Season 2 Episode 12)

Andy Oldham is the founder and co-creator of Christian Grandfather Magazine. He received his B.A. in religious studies and education from Anderson University. He has served as pastor to senior adults, and fills pulpits when needed. Andy taught memoir classes at the local library and after writing his personal memoirs wrote Everlasting Cronies, a story of growing up in rural Louisiana. His inspirational column in the Northside Sun Newspaper was well received by his community. A poem, Winters Grace has been honored by the Mississippi Poetry Society. He and his wife, Barbara, have six grandchildren and enjoy retirement in Mississippi.

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Feature Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay