|
Words of Encouragement |
|
|
Praise
Works! by Merlin Carothers _____________________________________ Hey God!
Frank Foglio, author of Hey God! and an international Director of the Full Gospel Business Men, told me one of the most remarkable accounts of freedom through praise I have ever heard. He wanted me to share it with you.
Frank's daughter was injured in an automobile accident. Her brain was severely damaged, and although many thousands of prayers were made for her recovery, her condition grew steadily worse. Finally, she had to be placed in the "hopeless" ward of an institution for the mentally ill. It was the very end of the line.
Patients in the ward were so far removed from reality that their families seldom came to visit them. One patient had been strapped down for twelve years because of violence. Other inmates sat passive, staring at nothing, their vacant eyes reflecting brains emptied of all knowing. Still others lay rigid in beds, without sight or motion. Vegetables. Frank's daughter had clawed her way out of straitjackets and tried to hang herself with a bed sheet.
It had been seven years since the accident, and the absolute hopelessness of the situation began to take its toll of a very tough Italian. Frank's faith in God started to waver.
On one very difficult journey to the institution, Frank was arguing with God.
"How could You be a God of love? I wouldn't permit such a thing to happen to my daughter if I had the power to prevent it. You could heal her. But You won't. Don't You love people as much as even I do? You must not." Frank felt his anger rising against God.
"Praise Me," a voice said to him. "What for?" Frank replied. "Praise Me that your daughter is where she is." "Never!" he spit out. "I would rather die than do that." God had no right to ask him to praise Him when God wasn't doing His own job of showing His love for people.
Frank remembered hearing a tape about giving thanks in everything. He had been deeply moved by the message, but at that moment he was in no mood to put it into practice.
"Thank Me that your daughter is exactly where she is," the Voice said again.
"God, I couldn't praise You if I tried. And I'm not going to try, because I don't believe I should."
As Frank continued toward the mental home, the Holy Spirit worked in his heart, and he felt his attitude begin to soften. he said, "Well, God, I would praise You if I could - but I just can't."
A little further along, he confessed, "I would praise You, but You would have to help me."
After arriving at the institution, Frank went through the necessary procedures to get clearance to get into the most restricted part of one of the buildings. It always took a long while to get into his daughter's ward. Sometimes, he wondered why he continued to come. His daughter didn't recognise him. She didn't know him from a stone on the ground.
Finally, Frank was in the last waiting room, the one that separated him from the ward. One steel door remained to be opened. Standing before it, Frank Foglio heard the calm and firm voice of God one more time:
"Thank Me that your daughter is exactly where she is."
The disobedience, the unwillingness, the hardness of heart had melted away. The stony heart of anger and bitterness and unfaith had somehow been replaced by a responsive heart of flesh. Frank, his throat choked with emotion, whispered his surrender:
"Okay God, I thank You that my daughter is where she is. I know that You love her more than I do."
At that moment a vaguely familiar voice cried out, "I want my daddy, I want my daddy."
The attendant opened the door, and Frank raced to his daughter's compartment. Clothed in her right mind, she threw out her arms and embraced her father. Nurses, attendants, and guards gathered around to weep their joy.
Frank says, "Tell everyone our daughter is home now with us. We know that God always wants us to praise Him, regardless of how things look."
My Comments
It took Frank only a few minutes to tell his story, and it took only a few minutes for you to read it. But try to picture the seven long years of anxiety, frustration, tears, and fearful prayers. God saw their need, from the very beginning, and longed to supply it, but He had to wait patiently - to let them learn what they needed to know.
One day Frank walked with his daughter to the platform of our new church in Escondido, California. Her shining face and happy laughter were a testament of joy to the congregation. The Holy Spirit of God caused praise to rise within me:
"Oh, thank You, God, for teaching me the freedom You have provided through praise. Help me to share this glorious good news with the whole world."
You may be laboring over your own problem and be nearly ready to give up. How long have you been struggling to find an answer? How great has your pain been? God has a perfect solution to your problem. He will bring heaven on earth to you at the right time, and in the right way. Praise Him, trust Him, believe in Him. Freedom is yours!
Happy is the man whom
God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. He
shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea, in seven there shall no evil touch
thee. (Job 5:17-19)
* * *
Praise Works! by Merlin Carothers Ó Copyright 1973 by Logos International, Plainfield, NJ 07060 Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-88270-060X Used with permission. For more information about the Ministry and books of Merlin Carothers, please visit Foundation of Praise
Praise News ~ Merlin and Mary Carothers’ Monthly Newsletter |
|
Page
created 8 December 2003 / Page revised 15 November 2007
Acknowledgement Thank
you to Merlin for permission! Lynne
Coulson 2003-2007
|
