The God We Serve

How great is the God we serve?  How is it that He could be so concerned about the one who is dying in a hospital bed that He would move mountains just to touch them, when there are countless people in their own death beds all over the world?  Would He really leave the 99 to restore the one?  Our streets are full of faces, all who have their own stories of brokenness, pain, poverty, injustice.  But our God is not overwhelmed or intimidated by such immeasurable depravity.  He is never so preoccupied by the numbers that He would fail to stop for the one.

This past week I encountered this God that would move mountains for the one.  Our team drove through the winding streets of Quito, passing by the buildings, the faces, the traffic, the scenery that I have come to love.  But none of that was on my mind.  We were headed to one of Quito's government run hospitals, used for those who are unable to pay for hospital visits, to pray for a pastor friend who was sick with cancer.  During our drive to the hospital we spent time contending for Pastor Fausto's healing, stirring up our hearts in expectation.  I could feel the doubt drain out of the car as we made declarations as daughters of the Most High King.  We will not put up with injustice!  We claim our inheritance that was fully paid for at the cross!  In that moment, all I really knew was hope.  However, I was unaware of what the situation fully entailed.

We stepped into the crowded hospital.  So many people waiting - waiting in their seats, waiting in stand-still lines, waiting behind desks, waiting behind doors.  It didn't take us long to find who we were looking for, Pastor Fausto's beautiful wife, Lilianna.  Right away I recognized her face.  I had met this couple before when I had come in the spring.  They run a feeding program for kids in the South of Quito, where the poorest of the city live.  For many of these kids, it is their only meal a day.  And they are many.  Over 100 of the same children come... every day.  The Fausto family has been serving these children every day for the past 7 years, no vacation, no sabbatical from years of hard work.  On days when they haven't had enough food, their own family has given up their own meals instead.  When I came in the spring, I was so impacted by their lives.  They are the epitome of servanthood.  There is no glory in what they do, it is simply loving children with what they have.  This became for me an incredible example of living a laid down lifestyle, an example that I have gone back to many times over this past year.  

And here she stood, this woman who has given everything for the sake of love, now in one of the most difficult kinds of crisis that any person can possibly face.  I could see the exhaustion in her face, yet the evident strength, as she told us that her husband was in his last stages, according to the doctors.  Mountain number one.

As we followed her through the crowded hallways, Mela explained to me that it is nearly impossible to get visitors into the hospital rooms.  Because it is a government run hospital, it is highly regulated.  If you are lucky, you can get one visitor in, but you have to go through paperwork and get special permission.  And there were five of us, three being Americans.  On top of that, this hospital had been known to be specifically closed to people who wanted to pray.  Mountain number two.

But no matter how many mountains or how big the mountain is, our God is able.  As we hurried to keep up with Lili, we were each praying for favor, an open door, anything so that we could get into pray.  Lili found a guard and told him what she wanted to do.  He told her that he would have to talk to the head of that floor.  We followed him up to our floor.  Within moments he came back to us - "You have 5 minutes."  We couldn't believe it!  This was unheard of!  But there we were, inside the hospital room, with Dear Pastor Fausto there in his bed, smiling at each of us with that unexplainable joy that marks those who carry the everlasting hope.

As soon as we had each given him a kiss on the cheek and a gentle embrace, we began to contend for his life.  The moment we began, Holy Spirit was present.  We released life, we bound the spirit of death, we declared the power of our King, we spoke words of the Father's heart over his life.  It was incredibly beautiful to watch God's spirit minister to this couple who had given their entire lives to Him.  In the midst of such incredible injustice and suffering, the both of them sat there lifting up worship to their Savior, thanking Him for His faithfulness in their lives.  I held on to Pastor Fausto's hand and as I did, my heart was moved at how steadfast these hands had been to love the poor and the orphans.  Even though this revelation was so simple, it ignited something inside of me.  I could feel God's love and pleasure for this man's life.  It overwhelmed my entire being.  Nothing could stop the emotion that rushed the gates of my heart.  My heart broke and I wept, not in despair, but in such a love and hope that I cannot explain.

After 15-20 minutes our guard finally cut off our time.  We had just witnessed an impossible 5 minutes turn into an encounter with the power and love of our God.  He had moved mountains to touch the one man who lay dying in his hospital bed.  This is the God we serve.  He is so much better than we could ever imagine.  His love overcomes every obstacle.  His power overcomes all of our inabilities.  He is a Father.  And we are His kids.  He will do everything to remind us of that truth.

We have not heard anything yet of how Pastor Fausto is doing.  But we are fully believing for a miracle, a complete healing.  Please pray with me for justice to be released and life to be restored!