Break Out – Day 20

Does it feel as if challenges in your life threaten to overwhelm you? I conclude this series with a short version of a testimony of Dr Isak Burger, president of the AFM Church in South Africa. This testimony can also be found in my book, God was dáár. May it remind you that God is always there!

Disappointed, Isak sat on the chair in the hospital’s waiting room. The stress of the weeks before this moment threatened to overwhelm him – and to add to his misery, he was moments too late to see his eldest daughter before she was pushed into the theatre for a traumatic operation.

It had been a winter season for the Burger family. Due to unexpected delays after a property was sold, they experienced financial pressure. Isak’s son almost lost his leg in a serious motorcycle accident, his youngest daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease and hospitalised, and after six years of marriage, his eldest daughter finally conceived. However, due to serious complications, she had to have the unborn baby removed at 20 weeks of pregnancy. It would have been Isak and his wife’s first grandchild, and the operation was traumatic for the whole family.

Because Isak’s wife and his son-in-law were away on business, Isak rushed from the airport after attending a function, in order to get to the hospital in time to support his daughter before the operation. However, he was too late. All he could do was to ask the theatre sister to tell his daughter: “Your father is here.” He knew his presence would calm her.

With the storms raging in the lives of his family, Isak sat on the chair in the waiting room, struggling with his emotions. The loss of his first grandchild, together with all the other challenges, seemed overwhelming. In that moment, he suddenly experienced a clear whisper from the Holy Spirit: “Isak, your Father is also here.”

Isak’s heart leapt with the knowledge that God, our Creator and Father, was there in the waiting room with him, to comfort him amidst his storms. And over the months to follow, God calmed their storms.

As believers, we are not immune from challenging situations that may cross our paths. However, we can know that God is in the storm, ready to comfort us. In Psalm 34:18-20 we read: “The LORD is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” In Hebrews 13:5 God says: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And in Psalm 23:4 it is written: “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.”

What challenges are you facing today? Remember, God is beside you. He will never leave nor forsake you and you can know that he will carry you through. God bless.