[Noozhawk’s note: Second in a series. Click here for the first column.]
You may find this a bit difficult to accept but, as I was recovering from the coronavirus, the five days I spent in the COVID-19 Unit at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital were some of the most blissful days I can recall in my life. The way God put me at ease early on was through visits from my two physicians watching over my case.
First, Dr. Musab Saeed, an infectious disease specialist, explained just what therapeutics I would be receiving from the nurses. He shared they would be following a proven protocol that would keep me from getting worse and that my body would gradually heal itself.
That’s what has happened over the past few weeks.
Also, Dr. Daniel Litten, the internal medicine specialist assigned to my case, visited me every afternoon during my five-day stay. He continually encouraged me as I gradually progressed with those daily treatments.
Perhaps I initiated the discussions about my faith in God healing me, but I appreciated how both physicians seemed to be in sync with my beliefs.
This discussion is written only a few weeks after my release. I’m not certain when, if ever, someone fully recovers from this disgusting disease, but I can say that I’m able to fully function in my office work and even enjoyed walking 18 holes of golf the other day!
I feel truly blessed through this unique experience, and thank God for getting me through this latest storm in my life.
I hope that anyone who reads this and experiences hospitalization will call upon God to save them as He so wonderfully saw fit in my life.
We don’t have to go through such trials all alone. He’s there watching over us through all the circumstances of our lives.
I’d like to take a crack at what I feel is a terrible injustice many have been experiencing during an unfathomable seven months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of you reading this may deny that fear has gripped you so tightly that you have not been able to carry on any semblance of a normal life all this time. I have friends I have not seen face-to-face in months, even though we frequently socialized before the coronavirus.
In my opinion, too many have shut off all contact with others in fear for their own well-being or the well-being of one or more loved ones. We are social beings and we need to have social interaction with others.
It’s not mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually healthy to shut out the world as many have done.
As a young boy, my Sunday school teacher asked her class to memorize Psalm 23.
Let me take you through the first four verses of this psalm of David: “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Those words have comforted me over the past 66 years even though I did not ask Christ to be my Savior and Lord until I turned 40. Did you hear the words of the psalmist? “I will fear no evil …”
I know we all have different circumstances and I would never want anyone to take any undue risk that might cause them or their loved ones any harm, but I personally believe many in this greatly altered world are allowing this uninvited virus to unnecessarily affect their lives.
In 2 Timothy 1:7, we’re reminded by the Apostle Paul that “God has not given us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline.” Consider these words as we persevere during these troubling times.
Passages to Ponder
— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. He can be contacted at jim@fourthquarterstrategies.com for more information. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.