Survivors

Christ is our sufficiency - He has rescued us from the power of sin and death, and we can turn to Him in the challenges of our lives, recognizing that He is with us and He offers us His strength.  Paul
wrote in 2nd Corinthians 12:
9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul was a survivor - he had faced numerous struggles in his life, and even here, he recounted how God had reminded him of his grace in the midst of dealing with Paul's "thorn in the flesh."  Whether our challenges are physical or emotional, when we feel that the weight of the world is upon us, we can continue to trust in God's mighty hand.  We can look to Him and call on Him, praying for ourselves and for one another, that He express His grace to and through us.

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The Bible is full of stories of people who survived difficult challenges in their lives.  In fact, the apostle Paul detailed what he had faced in his life and ministry in 2nd Corinthians 11:
24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness--
28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.

Paul was a survivor, and just verses later, he spoke of His "thorn in the flesh" and the sufficiency of Christ.

It's helpful to connect with survivor stories, including those who have been affected by COVID-19 and survived.  It was great to hear that Charles Billingsley was back in a Thomas Road Baptist Church service streamed online this weekend.  He had quite a bout with the Coronavirus and you will hear him relate his experiences next Monday on The Meeting House.

Charles is a survivor.  So is Nic Brown from Ohio.  A CBN story relates that Brown...

...went to the doctor last month for flu-like symptoms. When his condition started to get worse, he was admitted to the intensive care unit at Cleveland Clinic, WJBF-TV reports.

The 38-year-old was eventually put on a ventilator and life support.

"There was a time during this process where the hospital reached out to my wife and had to have the discussion about end of life options," Brown said.

He tested positive for the Coronavirus and put on "full life support."  But then things began to get better.  The medical staff began to write goals for each day on the window to the hospital room. Brown says, according to a quote in the CBN article from the Times-Reporter: "I don't know that I've ever seen such selfless people in my life," adding, "I really saw the love of God through these people. I truly believe faith made the difference and the power of prayer and the people behind me just pouring over me the prayers that they were giving me."

He was in the hospital for two weeks in March, and before he left, he dictated a message for a nurse to write on that window.  It included these words:

"Today I leave this ICU a changed person, hopefully for the better, not only because of your medical healing and God's direction and guidance but with the fact of knowing that there are such wonderful people dedicated to the care and concern of others. God bless each of you."

The Times-Reporter quotes Brown as saying: “Prayer was the difference. I truly believe I am a walking miracle. Even talking to the doctors after this whole ordeal, they still don’t know what turned me around..."

The Christian Post had a piece a couple of weeks ago that included the faith stories of five different Coronavirus survivors, including pastor Kenny Baldwin from Virginia, who I spotlighted several weeks ago.  There was also Geneva Wood, who is 90 years old and was at the Life Care Center in Washington, the nursing home that was the site of some of the first deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. last month.  The article states:

Local news station KIRO reported that Wood was on the brink of death and doctors advised her family to say their goodbyes.

Wood was mostly kept in isolation while fighting the virus but maintained that God was there with her.

"I could feel God's presence. His hands were on my body and I could feel His presence, and I'd wake up and I could feel these hands and I'd go back to sleep. Through the night, 'cause I'd wake up, I couldn't see His face, but I could feel His hands and I knew He was with me and I made it through the night," Wood recalled.

Wood also mentioned the impact of a doctor who quoted Scriptures to her.

Barbara Killiebrew is from South Georgia; she is 60 years old and was close to death as well from COVID-19.  The article relates:

“First and foremost, I thank God for Jesus, for Him saving my life and giving me another chance, because two or three times where I have given up,” Killiebrew told WALB.

“God said no," she continued.

She is quoted as saying, “I realize there are so many people around the nation fighting for their life but God and His good almighty helped me. He kept this young lady here to come home and tell about corona, COVID-19..."

We recognize that faith comes from the Word of God; and hearing, reading, or seeing stories about how the Word has worked can certainly encourage us.  There are several components that are interjected into these survival stories.

Prayer obviously is a huge factor.  As Nic Brown mentioned, prayer was the "difference" for him.  Plus, he gave credit to the health care workers - he saw them at work all around him and they were so supportive of him.  Geneva Wood also called attention to the doctor who quoted Scripture to her daily.

These instances that I cited all had elements of the presence of God - manifested directly, as Ms. Wood related, or through the health professionals, as Nic talked about.  Or, even through the consistent encouragement to not give up, as Barbara Killiebrew inferred.   As Paul related his struggles, he wrapped up that portion of Scripture by saying how he boasted in the Lord.  We survive because of God's plan and presence - He is the One who sustains us, and we can be strengthened as we reflect on how He has shown up in the lives of people.  We recognize that not all make it, and rely on the knowledge of God's ultimate will, but for those who do, we can rejoice and draw strength and comfort for our own struggles.