Dear Prayer Warriors, July 24, 2011
We give our praises to God and thank Him for being present in every way. We have such a tremendous God and are unworthy of His attention to even the smallest details in our lives. Yet, he loves us that much! Your constant prayers to the Lord, whether in praise or in supplication on our behalf, are truly being heard. It is very clear that you are each being used in our lives as we are daily experiencing how “the effective prayer of a righteous person can accomplish much (James 5:16).”
We received notice this past week that Colby has been approved by his insurance for the referral, surgery on August 16th, and hospital stay in San Francisco! Praise the Lord! We were preparing for an ugly battle with an HMO that was very close to dictating Colby’s care. However, as the day unfolded on Tuesday, God seemed to be showing off as if to say, “Relax, I’ve got this one too!” Even as we raised more questions over dinner, we received a phone call from the person we thought we would have to call the next day and got our answers that evening! We anticipated that this insurance issue was going to take weeks to resolve, perhaps well into August. There was even a potential that our plans for travel and surgery would have to be rescheduled. We are so thankful for the quick resolution and are hopeful that there will be no other insurance-related surprises. We are still preparing ourselves for other curve balls that may arise. Thank you for partnering with us. May we all learn together what it is like to “rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12).”
It seems like every day we receive encouragement from someone just at the right time. It is encouraging just to know that there are so many walking this path faithfully with us. We know Christ has drawn us closer to Him through this trial and has increased our joy in Him. Emily was even reminded by a dear friend not to miss God’s great purpose for her in this trial as well. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). In the mystery of God’s grace, we know that this tumor is for Colby’s sanctification, and it is for Emily’s sanctification. We pray it may also be for your sanctification (drawing you closer to Christ), or perhaps for your salvation (restoring a right relationship with God). Some of the most encouraging words we receive are stories of how God is drawing many closer to Him through this and bringing Himself glory by causing hearts to praise him. These stories bring tears of joy to our eyes and cause our hearts to rejoice even more! This is exactly what we are praying for! The promise of Romans 8:1 is Colby’s constant comfort, and we hope it will be yours as well: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer Requests:
1. Insurance dealings – We believe the majority of it is behind us. However, there are still a number of expensive preoperative tests that will likely be needed once we arrive in San Francisco, in addition to the potential for rehabilitation services needed postoperatively. All of these will need to go through the same difficult preauthorization process.
2. Healing – We continue to believe God can heal Colby, whether through physicians or in His own ways. We ask you to pray for that as well. However, we are trusting the Lord’s perfect will and asking him first to bring himself the most glory through this trial.
3. Wisdom with home repairs – There are a number of things we would like to do to our house to make it more livable for the long-term. We have a few estimates and, as always, they are more expensive than we anticipated. Pray for wisdom about which projects to start now and which ones to delay for a later time.
4. Fruitful time to read, study scripture, and write for both Emily and Colby. The lessons we are learning in these days are priceless. We want to meditate on them and record them so we may look back on them someday and give God the praise He deserves.
5. We are still looking for ways that Colby may be faithful to this calling and not waste his tumor. We have had some very creative suggestions that we are very excited about. A few of these opportunities are on the horizon. Pray for preparedness for the unique needs represented at each of these events and for the Lord to speak clearly. Colby remains open to sharing his testimony and the gospel at any event or in any format. We want to be faithful and useful to the Lord TODAY, for “you do not know what tomorrow will bring…” (James 4:14).
All glory to Christ,
Colby, Emily, and Jireh
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