By Tim Bryant, Board Chair, The Inn of Last Resort
Years ago, I visited a friend in the hospital. He was a successful entrepreneur with a beautiful wife and three lovely children. He was in the hospital due to a pulmonary embolism—a blood clot in the lungs—and, according to his doctor, was just “four hours from dying” when he checked into the ER.
This was a healthy guy. At 50, he was trim, the proper weight for his height and an all-around ruggedly handsome fellow who seemed at the top of his game. This “wake-up call” came at a turning point in his life (read: worst possible timing). He was in the middle of shutting down one business and opening a new venture.
While visiting my friend and his parents in that hospital room, I felt a “nudge” to give him a verse from Psalm 23, and I encouraged him to listen, rest and hear what the Lord was trying to say.
When this kind of thing happens in a busy life, I’m reminded of what King David said in Psalm 23: “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” There is something in those words—he makes me lie down—that really strikes me. As one Bible teacher jokingly put it, “sometimes He has to break your legs.” It’s a picture of a loving but firm shepherd disciplining his sheep, carefully and lovingly showing who’s in charge while seeing the bigger picture.
We live our lives in a fast-paced world where I think it must be difficult, at times, for the Lord to get our attention. But, when he makes me lie down, He has my full attention, and I’m all ears!
But there’s more! The next day, my friend’s mom went to a store where she saw a little, hand-painted sign, prominently displayed, with that exact verse from Psalm 23:2-3. She bought it, of course, and took it back to the hospital. My friend was so excited about the confirmation that he sent me a picture of him holding the sign in his hospital room.
On the following day, when he was home from the hospital, tired and sore but on the road to recovery, he turned on his iPad to read his “daily verse.” You can probably guess what that day’s reading was—Psalm 23:2-3!
Three days in a row. My friend said, “The Father, Son and Holy Spirit really wanted me to get that!”
Lord, may we have ears to hear you when you call.
If your soul is weary or you sense God inviting you to slow down and listen, consider visiting us at the Inn of Last Resort—a place of rest, reflection and quiet restoration.
