Suffering for His Glory

I walked into a patient's room tonight and could not figure out where the horrible smell was coming from. I had not received report from the nurse yet, but I saw the patient was receiving dialysis. I figured he was just admitted for kidney failure. Wow, was I in for a shock...

I lifted the sheets off of his legs to find a bloody, oozy mess. Gangrene. For anyone that has ever had to smell gangrene, you know the smell I am referring to. It is one smell you will never forget. I have never tried so hard to hold back vomit in my life. What a poor old man. Unable to walk, obviously in pain, yet still resisting the option of amputation. Later during the evening I helped the nurse change his dressing.

We went to pull the dressing off without knowing how much of his flesh was gone. As we pulled away the bandages, we realized the gauze was packed deep into his big toe(the toe itself was missing) and into the back side of his calf. There were flesh and tissue just hanging from his leg and his other toes were not going to last much longer. What do you do if his toe falls off while you are packing his wound? Just toss it in the biohazardous waste? Why would someone want to live like this? The constant stinch radiating from his leg has to be enough to make him sick.

I left the room in total disgust, but more so replaying the question in my head, "Why does my mighty and faithful God allow people to experience such anguish?" (Oh, if you could have seen the hurt in this man's eyes).

I had this dicussion with one of my patients last week. She was admitted for an infection in her hip (which had been replaced multiple times). To make sure the infection healed, they removed her hip completely. She layed in her bed all day long...in severe pain, uncomfortable, and in a similar situation as the man above. Yet she made the choice day in and day out to pray and praise her God. She made the decision to trust that somehow the Lord was using her in this situation to further His kingdom. She was learning to find joy in the midst of her trials and bring glory to His Name no matter what circumstances she was to endure. Most people would tend to think she was in a "dark" place, but actually she was a light to those living in the dark around her.
That is our sole purpose on this earth, to bring glory and honor to the Father. As tough as it may be, sometimes we are chosen to suffer for His kingdom. And those whom are chosen will be rewarded by sharing in his glory.

Romans 4:20
Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.

Romans 8:17-18
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[b]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.