Have you ever had a house plant which appeared to be dead but, as you continued to water and care for it, new shoots grew up from the root? We had a rose-bush which had failed to show signs of life well into the spring, but when we decided to remove it, we discoverd healthy green sprouts well below the surface of the ground. This plant later produced beautiful roses.
It is like this with people. Just as a plant may appear to have been killed by a very cold winter, people are sometimes so hurt and disillusioned by the storms of life they appear to have lost their faith in God. Whether we are one of those people ourselves or whether we are concerned about the spiritual welfare of another, we must not give up just because we fail to see any signs of life.
Sometimes people have to come to a very low and depressed state before they cry out to God "Please help me; I can't do it alone." Then, and only then, can the One who stands patiently waiting move upon hearts and lives to restore them.
Someone once said that only when our backs are up against a wall do we discover the wall is God. Man's extremity is God's opportunity!
A couple with whom we are acquainted have such a story to tell.
The husband was alcoholic and had become so depressed he had attempted suicide. The case appeared hopeless, and everyone advised his wife to leave him because he had become so difficult to live with. In spite of what others said, his wife kept reminding these people that he was her husband and she would continue to pray for him.
After years of emotional turmoil for them both, the husband made a second suicide attempt in his home. His wife was at work when she suddenly became extremely concerned about him, and drove quickly to the house. She found him lying on his bed, almost dead. It was at this time that he was finally willing to give in to the gentle knocking of Jesus on his heart.
From that moment on, he became a new person. Jesus said, "Behold I make all things new" (Rev.21:5). Although in this verse Jesus was referring to the renewal of the world after sin has been destroyed, the truth of the quotation is that He does make ALL things new, whether it is individuals or the earth itself. He stands waiting and ready to restore that which we, as individuals or nations, have destroyed.
The couple to whom I refer are now a very happy couple. Not only have they been 'born again' into the spiritual household of God, but they have both received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. They use their new prayer language to worship and pray daily to give them strength to keep from falling back into the old life style.
God performs miracles today, but the greatest miracle of all is a spiritual baby. The most hardened criminal or greatest of all sinners can be miraculously changed into a child of God in one moment of time.
When Saul who later became the Apostle Paul stood by watching Stephen being stoned to death because of his stand for Jesus, he heard Stephen say, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7:60). Stephen's concern for those who killed him was rewarded when Saul, responsible for the death of many Christians, was confronted by Jesus and became a new person (Acts 9:9-21). He became the Apostle Paul, the first missionary to the Gentile world, whose letters to the churches which he founded we may read in our New Testament today.
Let us not give up praying for and believing in those who appear spiritually dead. Perhaps there is a tiny green shoot of life just under the surface which, with love and prayer, can be brought to life.
© 1999, Doreen Palmer