In June 2015 my sister Janet spent several weeks in the hospital.  My brother Jimmie and his wife Teresa along with Jen and myself would take turns staying at night so our parents could go home and rest.  This week my mother Geraldine is in the hospital.  My brother and I are taking turns staying at night so dad and Janet can go home and rest.  In June 2015 I preached a sermon entitled, “Things I Learned from the Other Side of the Room.”  I want to blog on part 2 of “Things I Learned from the Other Side of the Room.”

Usually when I visit people in the hospital, I will enter the room, minister to the family, have prayer and leave.  When it is your family, your perspective is different From the Other Side of the Room.

First thing I learned from the other side of the room is that there are People who Jesus uses to make a difference.  My mom had a wonderful nurse.  Her nurse drives a long distance to work each day and has been planning to retire for the last 5 years, but her calling keeps her coming.  When my mom was in terrible pain her nurse showed such compassion.  Others who came in for vitals, blood, etc. were also very kind and considerate.  I asked mom’s nurse if she was a follower of Jesus and without hesitation she said “yes” with a smile.  I am thankful for those who Jesus calls to minister in the medical field.  You have a great mission field and a great opportunity to show the love and compassion of Jesus.  When your feet get tired and the day gets long, don’t forget that you are making a difference.

Second thing I learned from the other side of the room is that Pain is part of life.  When Adam chose to disobey God, sin entered into our world and with it came pain.  My mom experienced terrible pain throughout the night.  When she would acknowledge the pain, then her nurse could give her something to help with the pain.  We all will experience pain of some kind during our life, if not daily.  It will be either physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, relational or etc.  Just like mom, if we will acknowledge our pain to the Lord, He can help bring healing.  Too often we try to tough it out, ignore it, or hide it.  We put on our mask and never admit our pain of loneliness, failure, and disappointment.  Remember I Peter 5:7, “casting all your cares on Him (Jesus), because He (Jesus) cares about you”.  Pain is there to tell us something isn’t right.  The Holy Spirit can use pain to help bring us to a place of repentance when the pain is a result of our sin.  Don’t ignore the pain, let the Holy Spirit diagnose the problem and bring healing and forgiveness.

Third thing I learned from the other side of the room is that Pride has to be swallowed when you are in the hospital.  Hospital gowns and bedpans eliminate pride.  In the hospital you learn to take things in stride and you learn to laugh at yourself.  Life is that way also, I have met people who think way too much of themselves, including myself sometimes.  Scripture gives us warning about thinking too highly of ourselves.  Scripture also says that pride comes before a fall.  Don’t let the sneaky sin of pride slither into your heart.  The Lord has a way about reminding us not to think too highly of ourselves.  When I was pastoring in Winston-Salem, I got a call one evening from one of our members, Jack Lane.  Jack was in the hospital and asked me if I could bring up a CD with one of my sermons on it.  Pride began to sneak into my heart, Jack wants to hear my sermon instead of listening to great men like Charles Stanley on TV.  I told Jack I would bring one up later that evening.  He said “good” because he had been having a hard time getting to sleep and my sermons always helped him sleep.  God has such a good sense of humor!

The fourth thing I learned from the other side of the room is the Probability that I will one day be laying in the hospital in pain.  Statistics say that 10 out of 10 people will die.  Scripture says that life is a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow.  As you read this blog you have moved 3 minutes closer to eternity.  The most important question you need to answer is, when death comes, where will your destination be? Heaven or Hell?  Scripture tells us 10 out of 10 people disobey God and are condemned by sin.  We all are under the penalty of sin and deserve eternal separation from God.  Scripture also tells us the great news called the Gospel, “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”.  Jesus loves you and came to earth to give His life for you on the cross, after dying on the cross for your sins, He was buried and rose again the third day.   If by faith you will repent and turn to Jesus for salvation, He will forgive your sins and transform your life.  Here on this website there is more information about becoming a follower of Jesus.

The last lesson I learned from the other side of the room is the Problem of sleeping in those chairs in the hospital. Whoever made those chairs never had to sleep in them, and for certain they were not 6′ 4″.

Life is a journey, learn on the way! Till next time stay in the Scripture!

Pastor Jon