Articles
When The Going Gets Tough
People in this area probably don’t know David Hartsell. David has preached most of his life in Alabama. He is married to Belinda and is in his mid-50s. Several years ago David developed a brain tumor that was surgically removed. But he was told that it would grow back and would need further treatment. It did, and David underwent additional surgery several months ago.
For reasons not understood by the doctors, David did not respond well post-operatively. He was in a coma and on a respirator for a period of time, but he eventually stabilized. His condition since has been one of reduced mental and physical ability. He is having to learn all over again how to do the simplest skills, and this is coming slowly and has a limited prognosis.
David had been serving as an evangelist and an elder with the Northwood congregation in North Tuscaloosa, so his work is greatly missed by the church. But here’s the really hard part: Belinda is having to work to support them and provide for David’s rehab, and he doesn’t know who she is. All he knows is that she is a daily fixture in his life, but he does not know her as his wife.
Wow. I can’t imagine how hard that would be for Belinda. But sometimes life takes a turn down a steep, rocky path. The going is slow; danger is all around; there is no end in sight. And about all we can do is take the next step.
David has so much potential for the Lord’s people, but it lies dormant. Why, some may wonder, doesn’t God intervene and answer the countless prayers for David’s recovery? We can only speculate that God has other aspects of good that can be served by things being as they are. It is easy to second-guess God and say, “Things would be better if only You would ... .” We must tread lightly here.
Surely Job thought nothing productive resulted from his suffering, and he longed for restoration to a semblance of “normalcy”: “Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness; just as I was in the days of my prime, when the friendly counsel of God was over my tent; when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were around me; when my steps were bathed with cream, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!” (29:1-6).
What Job couldn’t see, of course, was the centuries of comfort and strength that would come to others by his example. God always has righteous purposes, aspects of good that can be served even by our suffering. We can certainly wish and pray for improvement, but we must also look for the potential good in our present situation. If we lose faith in God’s care and ability to use us in our debilitation, then we trudge toward despair and the loss of motivation to love and serve Him in the midst of our trials.
Even though you don’t know David and Belinda and their family, they would appreciate your prayers. The load is tremendously heavy, and the Northwood congregation has lost a leader. And keep in mind those you do know, some closer at hand, who struggle with the daily routines that you and I take for granted.
