Back from the Brink of Death
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The following article has been excerpted from Looking for the One by David McIver.
When our son Kyle was 13 years old, he was injured in a car accident.
The emergency room doctor told us Kyle had lost circulation to the lower portion of his left leg, so they immediately ordered an air ambulance. The good news? The surgeon was able to replace the crushed vein with a Goretex vein and restore circulation. The bad news? The surgeon told us the car’s bumper had crushed the nerves above Kyle’s knee and he might not walk normally again.
If you have spent a sleepless night in a hospital room, you can relate to what Sherrie and I went through. The next day, the doctor confirmed that he had no feeling from his knee to his foot. As I looked down at Kyle, I thought about his love of golf. He was always on the move, and now I pictured him spending the rest of his life with a limp. My heart was crushed with grief and loss, and I was too weary to pray. I felt abandoned.
I heard a familiar voice and looked up to see our dear friends Jim and Pam, who had just driven two hours to pray for Kyle. Given the circumstances and the long drive, you might think that Jim’s prayer would be loud and long. But Jim’s prayer for healing was like a gentle wind. As Jim said, “Amen,” Kyle said, “I can feel something in my leg. It’s like an electric current.” I placed my hand on Kyle’s foot and immediately felt this “electricity” pulsating every few seconds. With her finger, Sherrie drew a circle on the bottom of Kyle’s foot.
There are moments in the presence of God we never forget. Church services with thousands of worshippers or a verse coming alive to us from the pages of Scripture. But what of the moment when you go from feeling alone and abandoned to being touched by Jesus? At this moment, Kyle quietly said, “You’re drawing a circle on the bottom of my foot.” The next day Kyle was walking down the hallway, and our doctor shook his head as he said, “I don’t use the word miracle very often. But I saw the damage firsthand. I saw the crushed nerves. This is a miracle!”
That night Kyle and I were talking about Jim’s prayer and what Jesus had done for Kyle. It was like a dream! I said goodnight, and as I was leaving the room, the Holy Spirit whispered, “Go tell David who I am.”
David was the patient in the next room, and we had discovered from one of the nurses he had been in a coma for several weeks. The nurse summarized his condition: “David was injured in a four-wheeler accident, and because of the abdominal infection, his upper and lower G.I. tract had to be disconnected. He’s lost half of his body weight, and his blood is septic. Medically there is no hope.”
On any other day, I suppose I might have hesitated to walk into a hospital room to speak to someone in a coma. But this was not any other day. When I entered the room, the blizzard of tubes and monitors was overwhelming. I saw the airbags around David’s legs. Then I met David’s girlfriend, Jeanne. We had noticed her standing by his bedside, and the nurses shared that she came almost every day and would stand by David for hours. Because our rooms were close together, there were times when we could hear her voice, “David, don’t give up. Don’t give up.” I asked Jeanne if I could pray for David, and when she agreed, I closed my eyes. The moment my eyes closed, I “saw” David. He was alone in the woods, and from the expression on his face, he was lost. He felt abandoned.
As I opened my eyes, I said, “David, before I pray, I want you to know something. I see you standing in the woods, feeling lost and alone. You feel abandoned. But God has not abandoned you. He is right here and sent his son Jesus to give his life for you. He loves you, and He has a name. ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come’ (Revelation 4:8, ESV).”
When I said, “Holy, holy, holy,” David flinched. It was almost imperceptible, but I saw his arms move. Then in the corners of David’s eyes, it looked like tears were beginning to form.
“David—God wants you to know who he is. He is holy, holy, holy.” This time there was no mistake; David’s arms moved again. I repeated Revelation 4:8 over and over, and each time David’s body responded. A few minutes later, when I spoke, “He is holy, holy, holy,” the healing power of God was released. The closest thing I can compare it to is the body’s reaction to heart defib paddles. It was like a shock wave. David’s entire body pulsated and stiffened from the power of God.
“David, I believe Jesus is awakening you because he wants you to invite him in.” I briefly shared the gospel and said, “If you would like to invite Jesus to be your savior, to forgive every sin, just squeeze Jeanne’s hand.” Jeanne sobbed, “He won’t…stop…squeezing…my hand.”
“David, Jesus hears the cry of your heart. You are forgiven and set free by the one who is holy, holy, holy—the Lord God Almighty!”
Something went through my mind. “Wouldn’t it be something if David opened his eyes?” At that moment, David’s eyes opened. He looked at me, and then he looked at Jeanne. As I watched their faces, I thought about the look on the face of Jesus when he watches one of us come to life. He created us to know him. He gave us life to receive his abundant life.
Suddenly David began to claw at the restraints and airbags. He was trying to get out of bed! The night nurse swept away the curtain and asked, “What is going on in here?!” As she glared at me, she announced David’s pulse had just doubled. “You need to get out of here!” In the hallway, Jeanne shared that she had been praying day after day that somehow David would regain consciousness and have one more chance to give his life to Christ. She shared that David spent days alone in the woods and about the day of his four-wheeler accident.
When I arrived the next day, I was devastated to see David once again unresponsive in his bed. It looked like he had fallen back into a coma. I asked his nurse for an update, and her eyes lit up. “He’s not in a coma. He won’t stop trying to get out of bed. We finally had to sedate him!” A few minutes later, an older woman with jet-black hair came down the hallway holding a large book. She asked, “Are you the man from last night?” After a word of greeting, she held up an old family Bible and said, “I’ve come here to read this book to my son.” She walked into David’s room, placed the Bible on the tray over his bed, and turned to the first page. In a determined voice she began to read. “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, KJV).
I followed David’s progress on Caring Bridge. Within a few days, he was standing by his bed. A few days later, he walked down the hallway. Several weeks later, the doctors went in to reconnect his digestive system. The family shared that after the surgery, a doctor at Mayo Clinic told them no one had ever recovered from this condition. No one had recovered until David.
When I reflect on David’s healing, I think of the God who desires to reveal his glory. I remember these words from Dane Ortlund. “Christ was sent not to mend wounded people or wake sleepy people or advise confused people or inspire bored people or spur on lazy people or educate ignorant people, but to raise dead people” (from Gentle and Lowly).
Years later, I am walking down a fairway, and a young man is walking beside me. There is no trace of a limp. As I look at Kyle, I think about the day Jesus healed our son and opened David’s eyes. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!”
Stories of Seeing the Lost, Lonely, and Broken Through the Eyes of Jesus
“I would love to share my faith, but I don’t know what to say. My attempts feel awkward and forced. Sometimes, I push people away. I would never admit this, but I’ve started to avoid conversations about Jesus.”
Looking For The One is short stories about people experiencing Jesus in grocery stores, hospitals, and dugouts. Each story models walking with Jesus as He finds the lost through you.
As you witness the power of the gospel in your everyday life, you discover that the first life to be changed is yours.
Because as you look for the one, you become like the One.You become more like Jesus.
