What does pure, unadulterated faith look like, the faith of a child that Jesus commended? I saw it in the face of my eighteen year old son and heard it in his voice, as we contemplated the possibility of brain surgery after eight years of tweaking and changing medications failed to stop his seizures.
I can see it plainly in my mind today. I walked into Jacob’s room to say goodnight and to have prayers together, which was our habit. As I sat down on the edge of his bed and took his hand, he looked into my face and said, “I know God could heal me right now. He could say the word and I would never have another seizure, but even if He doesn’t, I will still trust Him.”
We had prayed many times together during the years since his epilepsy diagnosis for God to stop the seizures. We’d read the story of the father who brought his son for healing but the disciples couldn’t help. We’d heeded the words of Jesus later when He was alone with the twelve.
Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”
Mark 9:29 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mrk.9.29.NLT
Jesus had only to speak. He commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy and instantly he was healed. When Jacob made his profession to me, he knew the power of the One and only Son of God as he knows Him today. As we talked, he reminded me of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Three young boys, christened Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah by Jewish parents, grew up in exile in Babylon. Taken from their families, they were trained for the king’s court along with Daniel and countless others. These young men excelled in wisdom because God was with them, but they were not exempt from temptation or sorrow. The Biblical record of their rise to power under Nebuchadnezzar is brief, but the third chapter of Daniel records how they were supernaturally protected from harm when they defied the king’s order to worship a gold statue he had built.
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us.
He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Daniel 3:17-18 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/dan.3.17-18.NLT
Their profession is the same one I heard voiced by my teenaged son prior to his testing and surgery in 2017. I am confident that God can heal me, but even if He chooses not to, I will trust Him. I have seen him do exactly that in the five years since.
I reminisce because Jacob has an upcoming surgery to replace the battery in his NeuroPace device. This device acts as a pacemaker for his brain. It is programmed to recognize and respond to seizure activity. His current battery is nearly spent and an outpatient procedure is required to open a quarter-sized skin flap on his scalp to access the device.
Jacob’s trust in God and his motivation for enduring the necessary procedure this time is even stronger because his wife, who is expecting their first child, a girl, will be waiting for him in recovery.
Five years ago, he dreamed of earning a drivers license and finding his one true love. He has experienced God’s faithfulness in these things and many more just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego- not without temptation and trial- but with utter abandon and trust in God who formed him.
He will come out of this procedure with a few less hairs on his head, but His faith will only grow stronger. After his four initial surgeries, when asked by the chaplain how he felt, he said he slept better than he ever had during surgery and that it reminded him of his baptism. She questioned his remark and he explained that as he was going under anesthesia, he knew with certainty that God would bring him out. Buried with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. Now that’s what I call faith!
Heavenly Father,
I come to You as a child, dependent and trusting in Your power and desire for my good.
I have seen and experienced Your faithfulness in my life and in the lives of family and friends, acquaintances and strangers alike.
Your Word reinforces my faith with stories like those mentioned in the Hebrews chapter eleven hall of faith and in the life of Your living Word recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Your Word goes out as the rain and snow, watering the earth and producing a crop that will flourish for all eternity.
May Jacob’s life and story and my own continue to make You known.
In Jesus’s name I ask.
Amen.
“I’m changed by Your mercy
Covered by Your peace
I’m living out the victory
Doesn’t mean I won’t feel the heat
You’ve walked me through fires
Pulled me from flames
If You’re in this with me
I won’t be afraid
When the smoke billows higher, oh and higher
And it feels like I can barely breathe
I’ll walk through these fires
‘Cause You’re walking with me”
~Jordan St Cyr FIRES
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