By Erin Elizabeth Austin
“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ~ G.K. Chesterton
I’m good at dying. As morbid as that sounds, I have been told by doctors on six different occasions that I was about to die or I should already be dead. It sounds horrible to say, but after so many times of hearing a doctor say this, death has become routine. It’s expected; the only question is when it will happen.
Maybe that’s why this latest bout of sickness was so incredibly difficult for me. You see, this past October, I spent a week being tested and prodded like a lab rat by my doctor. What she discovered was mind-boggling. After four years of intense treatments, my body decided to do something profound. The organs decided to work! Before I started treatments, my liver was barely functioning at only 10%. My kidneys were only slightly better, working at 20%. My stomach and intestines were massively inflamed. My lungs had scarring that kept them from fighting off the simplest of colds, and I was told years before that my uterus would never carry a child. But God decided none of that mattered, and this past October I was told that my organs work! Not only is every organ functioning at 100%, but I was told my body can now carry a child to term if I ever decide I want to get pregnant.
I can’t describe what hearing that did to me. There are no words adequate enough to share that mountaintop experience. My life suddenly went from knowing death was imminent to being told I might live until I’m an old woman, which is something I’ve NEVER experienced in my adult life. So when I got sick the day after Thanksgiving, my spirit plummeted. Suddenly, I was no longer good at dealing with sickness. I was supposed to be getting better. Severe pain and fatigue were supposed to be in my past. The joy I used to claim was gone. There was no song in my heart, and laughter was nowhere to be found.
It didn’t escape my notice that we just finished a Bible study on Believing God. I made the statement months ago that sometimes we have to make a conscious decision to plant our feet and choose to trust God no matter what. And I did! My joy may have fled when I became sick, but my trust in God remained firm. Yet I still couldn’t help but wonder what a person is supposed to do after praying and making a stand to trust God when problems prevail. Just because we choose to trust God doesn’t automatically make the problems disappear. So, what does one do while waiting?
Maybe that’s why this latest bout of sickness was so incredibly difficult for me. You see, this past October, I spent a week being tested and prodded like a lab rat by my doctor. What she discovered was mind-boggling. After four years of intense treatments, my body decided to do something profound. The organs decided to work! Before I started treatments, my liver was barely functioning at only 10%. My kidneys were only slightly better, working at 20%. My stomach and intestines were massively inflamed. My lungs had scarring that kept them from fighting off the simplest of colds, and I was told years before that my uterus would never carry a child. But God decided none of that mattered, and this past October I was told that my organs work! Not only is every organ functioning at 100%, but I was told my body can now carry a child to term if I ever decide I want to get pregnant.
I can’t describe what hearing that did to me. There are no words adequate enough to share that mountaintop experience. My life suddenly went from knowing death was imminent to being told I might live until I’m an old woman, which is something I’ve NEVER experienced in my adult life. So when I got sick the day after Thanksgiving, my spirit plummeted. Suddenly, I was no longer good at dealing with sickness. I was supposed to be getting better. Severe pain and fatigue were supposed to be in my past. The joy I used to claim was gone. There was no song in my heart, and laughter was nowhere to be found.
It didn’t escape my notice that we just finished a Bible study on Believing God. I made the statement months ago that sometimes we have to make a conscious decision to plant our feet and choose to trust God no matter what. And I did! My joy may have fled when I became sick, but my trust in God remained firm. Yet I still couldn’t help but wonder what a person is supposed to do after praying and making a stand to trust God when problems prevail. Just because we choose to trust God doesn’t automatically make the problems disappear. So, what does one do while waiting?
Worship.
I heard God whisper this after I asked Him what to do for the twentieth time.
Worship Me.
If I’m honest, I didn’t like the answer. You see, I didn’t feel like worshipping God. It turns out that because my organs didn’t work for years, they held onto bacteria and viruses. When they started working, they suddenly realized that all the bad germs needed to leave and began attacking everything at once. Like a broken dam after a flood, my blood showed twelve different bacteria my body was trying to fight at once, two of which had the potential to be fatal. Awful doesn’t come close to describing how I physically felt for five months. I didn’t have the mental clarity to hold a conversation half the time, and yet God wanted me to worship Him.
After telling God I thought He was crazy, He showed me numerous times in Scripture where worship was the key to tearing down strongholds, winning fierce battles, and triumphing over giants. My favorite passage is 2 Chronicles 20 where three different armies decided to come together and fight Judah. Everyone came before God crying out for help, and His answer was, “You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you,” (vs. 17). The next day, the people gathered together and they began to worship God. Even though God said He would deliver them, it wasn’t until the people began to worship that the enemy was defeated.
I heard God whisper this after I asked Him what to do for the twentieth time.
Worship Me.
If I’m honest, I didn’t like the answer. You see, I didn’t feel like worshipping God. It turns out that because my organs didn’t work for years, they held onto bacteria and viruses. When they started working, they suddenly realized that all the bad germs needed to leave and began attacking everything at once. Like a broken dam after a flood, my blood showed twelve different bacteria my body was trying to fight at once, two of which had the potential to be fatal. Awful doesn’t come close to describing how I physically felt for five months. I didn’t have the mental clarity to hold a conversation half the time, and yet God wanted me to worship Him.
After telling God I thought He was crazy, He showed me numerous times in Scripture where worship was the key to tearing down strongholds, winning fierce battles, and triumphing over giants. My favorite passage is 2 Chronicles 20 where three different armies decided to come together and fight Judah. Everyone came before God crying out for help, and His answer was, “You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you,” (vs. 17). The next day, the people gathered together and they began to worship God. Even though God said He would deliver them, it wasn’t until the people began to worship that the enemy was defeated.
Time after time in Scripture we see this truth. Worship is a battle cry. When we turn our eyes off our problems and put them on the only One who matters, God does amazing, miraculous things. Giants fall. Dragons are slain. God’s people walk in victory!
For the past five months, I’ve saturated myself in worship music. Throughout the day, I keep worship music playing in the background, and an amazing thing has happened through this. When I first started, all I could do was sit in silence and surrender. But more and more, worship has become a source of joy and encouragement. It’s become an anthem for my soul, and I’m starting to see God do things I could never have imagined. What I've learned through this is that worship connects us to God’s dynamic power.
Do you have a giant in your life that seems impossible to overcome? Or maybe you have a dragon that needs to be defeated. If you have a relationship with God, there’s good news. God is the dragon slayer! It’s time to shout your battle cry and worship Him!
“As they started to sing praises, the Lord set ambushes against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir who had come into Judah. They were defeated.” ~ 2 Chronicles 20:22 (GW)
Do you have a giant in your life that seems impossible to overcome? Or maybe you have a dragon that needs to be defeated. If you have a relationship with God, there’s good news. God is the dragon slayer! It’s time to shout your battle cry and worship Him!
“As they started to sing praises, the Lord set ambushes against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir who had come into Judah. They were defeated.” ~ 2 Chronicles 20:22 (GW)
*Note: If you’re looking for a good place to start worshipping God, check out the music group Rend Collective. They have quickly become one of my favorite bands.
Do you have a favorite quote that regularly motivates and encourages you? If so, please share it in the comment section below. You might just see it in a blog post.
Do you have a favorite quote that regularly motivates and encourages you? If so, please share it in the comment section below. You might just see it in a blog post.
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