Monday 30 June 2014

Double portion of goodness awaits

Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ...! I know its been a long time since my last update, and my wife was insisting I write something. As there were just routine things going on, I didn't have much to share. But she insisted and actually shared verses and thoughts, which helped me with this post. So here goes...

I got back home exactly a month back now, after 53 days in Hospital. I wrote earlier right - about the long wait I had in Hospital for my neutrophils to recover, that contributed to the delay and long stay. Well, DELAY would be in our terms, but I'm sure that in the Lord's eyes, its all timed to perfection. I know HE will satisfy me with long life and show me His salvation (Psalms 91:16).

Even though I got back home, due to the low neutrophil counts, I have been staying indoors as much as possible. The first 2 weeks or so, I had to stab myself with the GCSF injections (yes, the same ones to boost the white cell counts). Only when the neutrophils was above 1 for few days, I was allowed to stop those injections. Post this, the neutrophil counts fell down again, because GCSF causes an inflated value. The very next day the count was 0.4 and I was praying to God that they don't insist me staying back in Hospital (as it was below the 0.5 threshold). By God's grace, got back home that day, and ever since, there has been a slow but gradual and constant increase in the neutrophil counts.

Also, the platelet (for clotting) counts have been low post the transplant, and I was needing blood transfusions (for platelets) every alternate day. For this, I had to go to the Hospital for blood tests, and depending on the counts, they would give me platelets. Its only since a week now, that its showing signs of improvement, and they've asked me to come every 3 days now. The neutrophils are the first to stabilize, and then the platelets and RBCs follow. By God's grace, my RBCs have been holding up well, and I've not had to have a lot of red blood transfusions.

I thank God for the last month, each day is a blessing from above, and I thank him immensely for His grace and mercy. Going to the hospital often has taken up a lot of the last month, but obviously there is a lot of time at hand. Unlike after chemotherapy sessions, I must accept that my body is feeling fatigued. And I have been resting a lot, sleeping more than usual and lazing around...! I really want to do more, as I don't like myself lazing around. Anyways, while I can't do much physical activities, I can surely use this time to share some thoughts...

The power of prayer: Needless to say we have been praying a lot. Its the way the world ticks, when we are in trouble, we begin to pray a lot. But when we get what we want, we forget the giver. I would like to stress the fact that prayer has multiple dimensions - its not meant only to ask for what we want. Its a medium to thank and give praise to the Almighty for all His grace and mercy and blessings. It is our chance to confess our sins and acknowledge the truth that Jesus has paid the price for our sins and also for our healing. Most of all, we should pray for the needs of others.

James 5:16 says - Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. When we pray for others, our healing will be manifested too. Prayers move the hand of God. We should especially pray for people who don’t have anyone to pray for them. When we pray for others, our needs will be met too. Now, don't start praying for others just so your own needs are met. :) It has to come from the heart, because the one you are praying to knows everyone and everything.

Forgiveness: Remember Job, and his suffering. The trials he went through. His three friends discouraged him and ridiculed him. He was so mad at them, but that did not bring him healing. The bible tells that God turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. When he prayed for his wicked friends and humbled himself for them, God healed Job and gave him twice as much as he had before. So as we pray, we must forgive too.

In the parable found in Matthew 18:23-35 - we read about the Master who forgave his servants' debts, but this servant did not forgive the much smaller debt of his own servant. Think of God as the master, we have huge debts of sin mounted up, that he has taken away from us and is able to forgive it all. But then we need to forgive the much lesser things we have against our friends and family. Forgive from your heart, and you will not only free them but free yourself. Its not an easy task, to do good to those who hurt/despise you. But if you submit this need to God and pray about it, He will bless you in this regard too.

Don't condemn yourself: Don't think for once, you are being punished by God. The devil inflicts pain to shake you, your finances, your family, your faith. So don't give in to it. Condemnation leads to fear, which leads to stress and will only pull you down further. God only has plans to prosper you, and not to harm you. We give in to wicked thoughts put in by the devil and condemn ourselves and slip down a slope of despair. So don’t let the devil make you feel that you are guilty. Jesus has paid the price for our sins and for our healing. All we need to do is accept Jesus as our saviour, ask him for forgiveness and turn from evil ways. 

Let us together rebuke the devil in Jesus name and he will flee from you - for there is ONLY one name on heaven or earth, to which every knee bows down - The name of JESUS!

And Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So with great confidence I can say that like Job I have a double portion of goodness and blessings in store. God has a definite plan for my life, and I surrender my life to His works - in whatever way He seems best. I will LIVE and declare His works... I am NOT a victim, but a VICTOR in Christ Jesus. Halleluiah, Amen...

No comments:

Post a Comment