Wherever you are, it’s not a detour from your regular life. For the time being, it is your life. So find a way to bless those around you with affirming words from the Bible.
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You may have heard that I was recently in the hospital.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and just a couple of months ago I was hospitalized for a respiratory infection. My stay lasted for quite a while and from the onset, I just didn’t want to lie there in bed and idle away the time. The hospital for me, wasn’t a detour; it wasn’t an interruption in God’s otherwise normal plan for me. I realize that my hospital stay was God’s plan. It was his purpose that I was there. And as such, I knew I had to be alert as to what God wanted me to do there [besides get my lungs better].
And so, if I were going to face a lengthy stay in Hospital Room 3142, I decided to use it as an opportunity to spread the good news of God’s Word. And so, Room 3142 became a mission field as nurses and doctors came in and out; as technicians arrived with their X-ray machines, or blood draw kits, EKG machines, respiratory machines. My room became a mission field to them and to the nursing assistants who came with bed bath supplies. Even to the janitors who swept my room. And here’s how I gave the Word to these people. Let me just share an example.
One night-duty nurse named James was particularly helpful around 2 a.m. when I needed pain medication. As he finished, I looked up at him, and smiled through the dark and said, “James, there’s a Bible verse about you.” James gave me an interested look. “Proverbs 14:31 says that ‘whoever is kind to the needy honors God.’ James, that’s you! I’m needy, and you are honoring God by helping me.” Over time, he asked about my faith, and I was able to share more. On another occasion, a student nurse shared that she was worried about her career path. I encouraged her with Proverbs 3:6, “In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” She told me later that our conversation gave her such hope.
There were other times when Proverbs came in handy. “A friend loves at all times,” I told one aide who changed my bed daily. She had no idea the Bible could be so practical. “That verse,” I said, “is from Proverbs 17.” During my twenty-one days in the hospital, I mean, I met nurses who were mothers. And I would say, “Oh, may I please pray for your children?” [I mean, what mother is going to refuse prayer for her child, right?]. “When you have a minute,” I told them, “Write down the names of your kids.” And as I look back, I can say that virtually every hospital worker viewed Room 3142 as a place of hope, and joy, and peace – it was evident to all who walked in and out of the door. And during those three weeks, they knew they’d find affirmation of their skills, and they’d find Christ-centered encouragement by my bedside.
So, let me ask you, are you in a place right now where you don’t want to be? An unhealthy place of employment, or an assisted living center? Goodness, you could be in a detention center or in a drug rehab unit. Or, hey, maybe even your local hospital! Wherever you are, it’s not a detour from your regular life. For the time being, it is your life. So find a way to bless those around you with affirming words from the Bible. Psalm 89 says, “With my mouth will I make known your faithfulness.” Want to learn more ways to do that? Well, I’d like to send you John Piper’s book “Lessons from a Hospital Bed.” It’s filled with great insights to help you use your hospital stay to God’s glory. So get a copy of Piper’s hospital lessons today. It’s yours for the asking at joniradio.org. Again, that’s joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends