I Still Believeনমুনা

DAY 5

Title: Grace is a Verb“I never saw a body protect another human being like they did him… Nobody was trying to cover up anything. They just simply said, ‘This guy’s hurt. We need to protect him until he gets well.’ Isn’t that beautiful?” - Bill Gaither

Devotional Content:Jacob was in self-destruct mode and his life was spinning out of control at a hundred miles an hour. He was the CEO of a big company that he built from the ground up. He was respected by everybody that knew him. He married Amber right after they both graduated from college. She knew he was driven but also loved him very much and they were committed to each other and to having a Christian marriage.  

Over the next five years their family grew by three. It was a struggle financially and emotionally.  The company was in its infant days and was experiencing one struggle after another. Jacob worked long hours but made enough for Amber to be a stay-at-home mom. He kept saying things would improve financially and over time they did, but it took a toll on him.

Amber came to see me for counseling. She wanted Jacob to come with her but he was too busy that day. They were approaching 18 years of marriage and the kids were all now in their teens.  Amber was worried about Jacob. She said that he was different. He was distant and seemed to just be going through the motions of life and marriage each day. The catalyst to counseling came after three of Jacob’s friends talked to her about their concerns for him. Alan had known Jacob since grade school and told her that he thought Jacob was on the verge of a breakdown.  When trying to talk to Jacob, Alan also felt shut out. 

Amber and I met for a few weeks. Each time Jacob was just too busy to come. The week following our last appointment, all of Amber’s worst fears came true. In no particular order, she discovered that the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, that Jacob had been abusing opioids for almost a year, and that he was spending lots of money on his porn addiction.  The collapse of the company was more than he could handle and he told nobody that the ship was sinking. 

Jacob confessed to everything Amber suspected, then stumbled and collapsed in front of her. The paramedics rushed him to the hospital and into ICU. The diagnosis was cardiac arrest. His three friends arrived at the hospital within the hour. Amber called and asked if I could come. Later that day I sat in a private room at the hospital with Amber and these men. Alan was first to speak. “This man in ICU is not Jacob. My friend Jacob is a great man. Somehow the Jacob in there killed the Jacob I know. We have to help Jacob be Jacob again.”  

It’s interesting when men get together and cry. No one wants to admit they are crying but everyone in that room had tears in their eyes. I walked out of the hospital that day knowing the road ahead for Jacob and Amber was not going to be easy but I saw something powerful in that room. Yes, they could lose everything; and then there was the addiction to pills and porn, but they had each other. Amber was committed to stay by his side and fight with him for their marriage. Then there were friends that were willing to go the distance with them. The friends didn’t say, “Jacob when you shape up we will talk,” or “How could you do all that?” or, “Why did you hide everything from us?” They said none of these. What they did do was accept Jacob right there. No conditions. No strings attached. They did what God does for each of us. Isn’t that what Jesus tells us to do? Isn’t that what grace is all about? What we have been given, we are to freely give. 

Today’s Challenge: Are you carrying burdens today that you need to share? Pray and ask God to give you the strength to let others in so they can share the burden with you.