I was baptized as an infant.  However, when I embraced my salvation as a 17-year-old girl, excited by a future dedicated to God, I felt a leading to being baptized again, as a believer.  Of course, being baptized is not something that is easy for someone who prefers to stay out of the limelight, and I quickly convinced myself that because I had been baptized as a baby, I was covered.  I am not expressing any theological opinion here on covenant verses believer’s baptism.  I am simply sharing that, in my case, I continued to feel a nagging that God wished me to be baptized as a believer.

God has struggled with me mightily over the years in many areas of my life.  However, one of the greatest struggles has been with my obedience, or my lack thereof.  While I adore my Heavenly Father, and would never directly say “no” to Him, I have become the queen of rationalizing and explaining to God why my plan is better than His.  This was certainly true in regard to my being baptized, as well as many other circumstances over the past two decades.

One significant event came after my terminal diagnosis.  It was then that Deric and I both felt led to start Inheritance of Hope.  However, it seemed as though we were barely keeping our heads above water.  How could we possibly begin a ministry to serve others?

I rationalized and explained to God that I simply did not have the strength.  I had forgotten Philippians 4:13, a verse I am quick to quote to my children but was unwilling to follow myself.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  I had forgotten that He would supply the strength, energy, and resources for work that He was calling me to do.  However, He does not tell us it will be easy.

After two long years during which my resistance to God’s leading held strong, we finally answered the call and began Inheritance of Hope.  Do you know what I learned almost immediately?  God was not leading us to start this ministry because He needed our help.  He does not need our help!  He was leading us to start this ministry because He wanted to bless US.  And He has.  Our blessings have far exceeded anyone else this ministry has served.  I delayed, or even missed out completely on a huge chunk of my blessing.  Why?  Because I was disobedient!

I have recently found myself motivated to become more obedient.  More than anything, even divine healing, I want to hear God say, “well done, good and faithful servant!”  This will require my obedience, something I have not always shown in the past.  Also, I believe there are blessings on the other side of our obedience.  God so wants to bless us, but so often our disobedience makes the blessing impossible.  I have seen this as a parent when I had special plans for our children, which were spoiled when their disobedience forced us to cancel the blessing.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

James 5:16

I recently received discouraging scan results.  The cancerous tumors that had been growing in my chest had converged together, creating a softball-sized mass.  More discouraging still was the news that the tumor was surrounding important vessels to both the heart and the lungs, as well as the esophagus.  Despite the existence of many smaller tumors, the doctors felt this tumor had to be addressed urgently, and I therefore began my first experience with radiation.  I had ten “fractions,” or doses, of radiation treatment over ten consecutive days.  I had been warned that the radiation was a high dose and may cause a sore throat and a cough, but by the end of the ten days I found I felt just a little tired.  No problem!  Unfortunately, I was not at all prepared for the symptoms that hit me like a Mack Truck a few days after finishing the treatment.  The pain in my chest felt as though I had had surgery, only without the scar.  I was unable to eat much due to the pain from swallowing, and breathing was also difficult.  I struggled with the pain and various other symptoms for only a week or so, but it felt like so much longer.

When I am in great pain, I struggle the most, but not for the reasons one might think.  I can handle the pain, not because I am strong, for I certainly am not, but because I serve a loving, gracious, and powerful God who shares His strength and His comfort with me.  He gets me through the pain.  But the effects of this pain on me and my family are astounding.  As I prepare for the possibility that God may call me home early, I want nothing more than for my children to remember me loving them always and unconditionally.  Never have I felt truly angry with them.  In fact, they have been my hope and my joy and my strength as I have fought this cancer.  But when I am in pain my patience is drastically reduced, and I am quick to snap at my children and my husband.  I hate that.  I hate that so much.  I also find that when I am in pain I experience a darkness that I do not experience when I am well.  I feel vulnerable to attack by forces that wish to separate me from my God.  I know spiritual warfare is a topic that makes many people uncomfortable, but I have experienced darkness during my struggles that cannot be explained any other way.  I have also experienced a lifting of that darkness through prayer - my own prayers and the prayers of my faithful prayer warriors.  The heavens have been stormed on my behalf more than once, and these prayers have lifted me from darkness to the peace that passes understanding.  I share this with you because I want you also to experience that peace instead of that darkness.  I want to encourage you to pray through your pain and to encourage others to pray for you as well.  There is even a prayer forum here at Inheritance of Hope where you can request prayer or pray for others.  There is great power in prayer!  God wants us to use that power, and we will be so greatly blessed when we do.

When I was going through a very difficult time in my life, this scripture meant very much to me - and still means a lot to me today. I was receiving powerful drugs that caused me to lose all my hair and made me very sick. The drugs were being used in the hope to rid me of breast cancer. I lead worship periodically at my church and one particular Sunday, in the midst of this illness, my pastor looked at me and said, “Lisa, is there anything you would like to share with the congregation today?” This was unusual for him to do but I did happen to have something churning in my heart. I had heard a sermon from 50 years ago replayed that previous week and the topic was on being a rope holder.

I looked at the congregation and said, “You have a job to be my rope holders. For you see, I often am so weak and seem to have no strength, no faith in the midst of this trial. I need you to ‘hold’ me in faith until I am at the feet of Jesus, and He speaks to me. Don’t drop me, even if I’m only a few feet from Him. Hold on until I’m at His feet.”

The congregation had already been “holding the rope” the previous 6 weeks since the diagnosis but it seemed an urgent message to me because I now understood the importance in a new way. I knew I had extreme needs and I was so often very weak. It was an exhortation to them to never give up. The people faithfully continued in their rope holding ministry to me and my family by providing meals, helping out in our business, sending encouraging notes and cards, making phone calls, helping to watch my 2 year old daughter, playing card games with me, giving me meaningful Scripture verses, and praying and seeking the Lord on my behalf... and the list goes on. One friend faithfully and often laid hands on me and prayed the prayer of faith. Another fasted every time I went for chemo. The doctors wanted to change the day I received chemo but I refused because I knew my rope holder had every 3rd Tuesday marked on her calendar as a day of fasting on my behalf. I know it was a tremendous sacrifice for her. In fact I’m sure that every act of giving to me was a sacrifice of love by the giver. It’s not an easy task to hold the rope!

Since that day 8 years ago, I have meditated on and wrestled with this thought of being a “rope holder”. I believe it is one of my primary callings in life - next to worshiping the Lord and being a wife and mother.

To be a rope holder is to do whatever you can in the natural and in the spiritual to get someone who is ‘paralyzed’ to the feet of Jesus. Sometimes it may seem crazy what you do. The friends in the Gospel of Mark had to physically tear apart the roof and physically hold and balance their friend as he was lowered through the roof. Just picture this scene... the noise of something scraping and then the crash of the roof and then a person coming down on a mat - tipping this way and that! Jesus must have smiled! In fact, we know He loved the boldness of the friends. The Bible says Jesus’ saw the faith of the friends and then spoke to the paralytic. It had to take faith to make such a BOLD entrance!

We need to contemplate ways in which we can be radical rope holders. Maybe the ‘paralytic’ God has put in your life is someone depressed, addicted, diseased or impoverished...maybe God is putting orphans on your heart, those who are hungry or unable to speak for themselves, or children abused by others. However God is prompting you, I encourage you to be radical in pursuing this calling and doing whatever you can to get them to the feet of Jesus. Don’t let go of the rope! Whatever is necessary in the natural or in the spiritual, do it. Don’t give up! Jesus’ feet could be just inches away.