In an article I wrote late last year, I told readers my son was born premature. I knew my wife and I needed God’s guidance “to make our path straight,” just as Proverbs 3 tells us.
But how do you acknowledge or submit to God in all your ways when death is knocking at your family’s door and things get even harder?
As you can see from my previous words in my previous article, sometimes there are big bumps or even potholes that seem to come out of nowhere and simply mess things up.
Well, that is exactly what happened when the doctor called my wife and me into her office, pointed to a group of X-ray slides on her wall, and told us the worst news we could ever possibly want to hear: “Your son needs more surgery.”
Acknowledging God During More Surgery
When my son was born, he weighed about two pounds. By the time we got the news that he would need surgery on his heart, he weighed less than four pounds. He had the surgery. He came through it and now we get the news he needs even more surgery.
They said he was still not big enough to go home after being in the hospital for months. And, as far as we, his scared, yet defiant parents were concerned, he was not big enough to have another surgery.
I remember we could not even stand the thought of him being sedated, cut open, bleeding from the surgery, and somehow remaining alive …again.
This was not good news. We were depressed and sad. Most of all, we were, as I said, very afraid. He had made it through the first surgery okay, but could he make it through another?
We prayed. And … we prayed again. Sometimes, we would pray with our eyes open as we simply looked at him.
I was still working at the local newspaper, but I do not think I was much good at writing any articles or anything. My mind and my heart were elsewhere. I was trying to “lean not to my own understanding” because none of it made sense anyway.
But, as I look back, I realize I was “acknowledging God.” Through prayer, thought, and conversation, I was “submitting” to God. But to be honest, I did not know if God was really making my “paths straight” — I simply could not tell.
I felt like a machine on autopilot, just going through the motions: up early, call the hospital to check on our son, go to work, go to the hospital, go home, call the hospital to check on our son, go to bed, repeat.
I remember we followed this unofficial schedule religiously. And we always expected (and hoped) the nurse would say the same thing, “He is doing well. Everything is fine. Have a good night.” And she usually did.
But there was one night, one cold, snowy Wisconsin night when things took a turn for the worse.
“…he’s not doing so well.’’
“He’s not doing so well,” the nurse said … and that was all she needed to say. We knew what came next.
My wife sat quietly and cried, long, wet tears running down her face. I, on the other hand, could not bear it anymore. We knew what those nurse’s words meant — he was dying. Finally, after months in the hospital, he would never come home. He was going to die.
Crying inwardly, I grabbed my clothes, left our apartment, went outside into a big moonlit night, and dropped to my knees in the undisturbed snow.
I lifted my hands to God and made a promise, and that’s when something unbelievable and miraculous happened.
Historic Followers of Faith Who Acknowledged God
But before I tell you what happened, let me tell you about two people of faith I now think about when I remember dropping to my knees that night in that cold snow. There is no doubt Proverbs 3:5-6 was on their minds or in their hearts.
In August 1862, following the Union Army’s defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Second Battle of Manassas, it was reported that President Abraham Lincoln said, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.”
Fast forward to me in the snow, and that was me! Not to compare myself to President Lincoln, no, not at all, but in Wisconsin, after I heard the nurse say my child was not doing well, I, too, was driven “to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” Has this ever happened to you?
In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s book, Stride Toward Freedom, he talks about how the threats on his life multiplied to as many as 40 calls a day during the Montgomery Bus Boycott back in 1955-56.
It was following one of those late-night hate calls when Dr. King had what is known today as his “coffee cup experience.” As Dr. King wrote:
“I was ready to give up. With my cup of coffee sitting untouched before me, I tried to think of a way to move out of the picture without appearing a coward. In this state of exhaustion, when my courage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem to God. With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud ‘… I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I've come to the point where I can't face it alone.’”
Again, not to compare myself to any great historical figures, and certainly not Dr. King, but that was me, too! I was “at the end of my powers” when the nurse gave us that sad news. I ask you, the reader again: has that ever happened to you?
It worked!
Now, before I go one with my story, I would now like to make two poignant points, three actually, regarding Proverbs 3:5-6.
A month after President Lincoln was driven to his knees, he issued “a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which set a date for the freedom of more than three million enslaved people in the United States and recasts the Civil War as a fight against slavery.” This, in many ways, changed the world forever.
After Dr. King’s “Coffee Cup Experience,” he said he heard a Divine voice say: “‘Stand up for justice, stand up for truth; and God will be at your side forever.’ Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything."
Dr. King went on to win the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and it started him on a path that established him as one of the greatest leaders and moral voices humanity has ever known.
Acknowledging God No Matter What
For me, point three, and although it was not so historic or grandiose after I dropped to my knees in the snow, I swore these words to God. “Father, if you let him live. I am yours. I will give my life to you.”
It may be unbelievable, but the next day, the very next day, my son, who had made it through the night, began to show signs of getting better.
In fact, he became so much better that the planned surgery was canceled — it was not needed! My son’s progress continued. He was released from the hospital to finally — yes, finally — come home.
As time passed and he grew, my son only became healthier and healthier. He grew up — boy, teenager, young man. He eventually married his childhood friend, and they now have five beautiful children.
Can you believe it — that premature baby boy, connected with his wonderful wife, and they produced five beautiful, healthy kids?
For me and my journey, Proverbs 3: 5-6 has proven true as it has for countless others, including those historic followers of faith who trusted in God like Dr. King and President Lincoln.
As we all continue our lives in the midst of all that is going on in the world today, we need to remember to trust and submit to the Lord completely, and the path that he has laid before you will be made straight to a better life for you, your family, your loved ones and the world.
For further reading:
How Do We Acknowledge God When Our Ways Are Hard?
If We Acknowledge God, Will He Direct Our Paths?
Is it True That if God Brings You to it, He Will Bring You Through It?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/gorodenkoff
Floyd Nelson Jr., who just finished a stint working as a Senior Outreach and Communications Specialist for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has worked in the field of journalism and communications for decades. His focus now lies at the intersections of communications, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. His ultimate desire is “to bring the world together.”
