Though the Bible doesn’t tell us specifically who will or won’t be saved, we serve a God who is both sovereign and trustworthy. If your knees are sore from praying and waiting for a lost one to be found, remember: He makes all things beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). He waits with us on the road for the prodigal (Luke 15: 20).

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, For They Shall Be Comforted

In July, after a lovely vacation in the very tip of northern Michigan, our friends Bill and Norma got into their car to begin their long journey home. After about half an hour, Bill complained that his left arm was bothering him; he was feeling some chest pain. They found a local ER and were told he was having a heart attack. He was immediately transported to a hospital two hours further away. When Norma entered the hospital after following the ambulance, she heard “code blue” over the loudspeaker and knew it was her husband. His heart had arrested over ten times as a result of a 100 percent blockage of the left anterior descending artery to the heart—what’s called “the widowmaker.”

Using an incredible hospital staff who wouldn’t give up on Bill, God miraculously intervened and gradually restored his heart to normal functioning. But he was still very ill, and though his heart seemed to be working well, his lungs began to deteriorate.

Over the next weeks, in a hospital far from home, he was able to spend time with his wife, his two sons, and other family and friends. In meaningful conversations, he made it clear that he wanted to live but he did not want his life to be prolonged artificially. As his lungs continued to weaken, the doctor had a very honest conversation with him before intubating him once again to help him breathe.

“You have about a 50/50 chance of surviving this, my friend.”

As his wife of 47 years listened with tears streaming down her cheeks, she heard her husband reply between gasps, “Let’s give it the ‘ol college try.”
And then, “Either way, I win.”

In the months leading up to this event, our son, Levi, graduated college, moved into his own place, and found a decent job. He is disciplined, a hard worker, a fun kid, and enjoys life. But as Christian parents, there is nothing that keeps us up at night—and down on our knees—like watching a child launch into the world without knowing Jesus.

I wrestled with worry for him, with fear of the future for my unsaved son. I grieved over the mistakes I had made while he was growing up.

Then we noticed he seemed to be doing some soul-searching. A reluctant reader as a kid, he began to read voraciously: books on philosophy, health and wellness, books by Jordan Peterson, and the Stoics.  Sunday afternoons we walked our country roads and talked while his laundry tumbled dry at our house.