At the beginning of the month, I lost one of my students that
was in our ministry training.
But let me go back about six months…
Last summer, a young lady discovered the ministry and decided
to call our prayer line. She was assigned to one of our prayer team members and
through ministry, she rededicated her life to Christ. A few weeks later, my
assistant and I went to her home to baptize her. Through the unction of the
Holy Spirit, she was given further instructions to strengthen her prayer life
and relationship with the Lord.
The young lady started participating in our online bible
studies, came to our High Holy Days conference, and enrolled in our Disciples
of ACTS ministry training.
When I began our fourth installment of our Disciples of ACTS
in August (2022), I sensed deeply that this class would be different. First, it
was my first class that was all female. Secondly, this group had a zeal like no
other I had taught in the past. I knew God was doing something different.
The ladies quickly banded together; partnered off to assist
each other with notes, prayer, and encouragement.
In early December, the young lady we baptized received grave
news regarding her health. She first informed one of the ladies she partnered
with in class, who in turn, reached out to the entire group petitioning prayer
for her recovery.
The student was in the hospital at the time, and the ladies
pitched in and sent flowers, cards, encouraging texts, along with daily phone
calls to check in.
After ten days in the hospital, my student was sent home on
hospice.
From that point, myself and my assistant took over and we visited
her at home. Some days we prayed, listened to worship music, and just talked. Other
days, I spoon-fed her soup to make sure she had nutrients, and offered to comb
her hair. I made it a purpose to keep peace around her. She was also the mother
of a toddler.
I prayed, called my staff members to pray, contacted prophets
to pray, and I was listening for an answer from the Lord; but He was quiet. None
of us received a word of what His will was, and I had never experienced this
before.
When I visited my student once she was home on hospice, I said
to her; “I’m not sure what the Lord’s will is for this situation: whether He
will heal you or decide to take you home. But either way I promise to be here and
we’ll take it one day at a time.”
And so, that’s what we did.
After the first week, she seemed to get better; she grew
stronger. She came off her oxygen and was determined to get out of bed. We had
weekly goals that we prayed about, and she was meeting them; all the way down
to her diet. One day I came by and she was ordering a turkey burger, and I was
elated. However, after three weeks since being sent home, I spoke to her one
morning, and by that afternoon, she was gone.
Four days after she passed, I was sitting in my tub, trying
to process everything that happened. I’m one who deals with death different
than most; I always have. I’ve never been one to get overly emotional. I
understand death: I understand that this life is not our destination. But since
we were all unclear of what the Lord’s plan was for her, I hoped for a healing. I had
asked the Lord to let me fight for her. But instead, He took her. So there I
was sitting in my tub, with my face in my hands, and I asked the Lord, “Did I
do enough? Was it something I missed in prayer, Lord? Did I not fight hard
enough for her?”
The Lord responded, “You did well.”
When I broke the news to my class, most of the ladies took
it pretty hard; after all, they too were hoping for a testimony.
However, the Lord revealed a truth: this WAS a testimony,
and an incredible one.
The Lord spoke to me again on another day and quoted; “Unless a
grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it
dies, it produces much grain (John 12:24).”
I understood this scripture was pertaining to Christ’s death
when He spoke of it, but I didn’t understand how this related to my student.
“I will explain…” the Lord continued.
“I took her for two reasons…” The Lord explained the first,
but I’m not at liberty to make it public.
“The second reason is her death became a seed, and it was
planted in each of those students who prayed and cared for her in your class. This
is what it means when I said, 'when you do this unto the least of these’. This is how
My true church is to operate. I AM not interested in popularity, public events,
and platforms. I AM only interested in the matters of My Father’s heart.”
“The souls” I responded.
“Yes, the soul” Jesus said.
I explained this to my class.
This I what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus. It’s not about church buildings, denominations, ordinations, subscribers, nor views. It’s about being an effective witness of Jesus Christ. Sometimes that means reaching one person at a time, and sometimes that will mean in secret.
In all things, we must remember that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We can find God in everything; because He owns everything. There is a lesson in all things; in every circumstance. We only need to submit to the will of the Holy Spirit, and he will teach us.
The Lord saw it fit to use my student's death to produce fruit in many. There are times when God's purpose is to receive honor in our life, but there are times when His honor requires our death. But in all things, the Apostle Paul reminded us that to be absent in body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Spiritual Food For Thought
Mena Lee Jones
Faithful Walk Healing Ministries
