July 16, 2009
Danielle Joyner Kelley
“…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31.
When Jon Lee suffered a tragic fall in an accident last year, he had no idea how much his life was about to change. The 33-year-old college graduate beginning his career, suffered injuries from the accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Desperately in need of therapy and rehabilitation, the horrible timing of his accident came to light. When he fell, he was only a few days away from receiving insurance benefits scheduled to begin within 30 days of beginning employment. Eventually, he was able to receive rehabilitation and therapy, but was forced to discontinue it when Medicaid dropped his coverage early this year.
In one fall, he was forced to become a new person. Such an injury is one of the hardest tests of a person’s soul. Many will question why they are even alive only to suffer more. Many more will question how God could stand by and let something so horrific take place. Then some look to Jesus, pick up their own Cross, and follow Him in faith.
Jon Lee picked up the Cross. Even though he is paralyzed and currently unable to walk, in truth he is walking, only this time he is walking in faith. Although his Cross is heavy, he refuses to drop it and give up. Instead, he is examining the wrongs the world is placing upon it. He examines those wrongs not only for his own situation, but with an eye to the weight they place on others backs as well. Left with no health insurance or medical coverage, he began to wonder how many others were experiencing the same.
His walk is a demonstration of what it takes to have real faith. Real faith requires motion. “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" James 2:14. With real faith, you are not standing still just “believing” in something. Instead, you demonstrate your belief through your willingness to walk into the “unseen” without letting the world frighten you into sitting back down. In this walk, you put the world and all its so-called reality behind you, and you move forward focused only on your hope in God. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1.
When Peter got down out of the boat and walked on top of the water towards Jesus, he was walking in faith. When he noticed the wind and became afraid, he let go of that faith, and fell into the water. Only when he was walking in faith, was he truly walking. Without faith, he began to fall.
Jon’s walk in faith shows courage beyond any human explanation. A person only needs to ask what they would do in his situation to understand the power of God. His family and friends have joined in his refusal to give up. Together they have orchestrated a benefit that will be held this upcoming weekend in Dothan, Alabama. Because of their dedication, the first “JonJam Benefit” will be held, but it will not be the last. As Jon remembers the weight on others backs, he has committed himself to have one benefit each year from now on to benefit adults and children with disabilities that have inadequate or nonexistent health care coverage. That commitment will show others how to stay on top of the water no matter how bad the storms of life may seem. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:23-24.
Through Jon’s dedication, we can see God at work. Someone who has been labeled “paralyzed” is committed to teaching others to walk in faith whether they are paralyzed or not. Someone labeled “paralyzed” is helping others hold up their own Cross.
From raising awareness to donations, the benefit will show others what real faith looks like. Right now, Jon is walking, no matter what doctors may say, because he has placed his future hope in God. Those around him believe he will walk physically again. Although doctors may say this is impossible, Jon knows his hope is in God and not man. When we place our hope in God for anything, if it is in His will, He guarantees that our hope will materialize into our reality.
What the world dismisses as “impossible”, due to the weight of our burdens, is what God turns into the “possible” we can see completed by His hand. God knows our hope should not lie in what we can see or hear. “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Romans 8:24-25. Even without the therapy he desperately needs, Jon is already regaining some movement. We call it a miracle, knowing it was something man alone could not do nor predict.
The world may have told him he is paralyzed, but Jon is walking in faith. He demonstrates to others that faith is complete confidence in what you hope for, with absolute assurance of God’s power to overcome all according to His will.
Through his walk in faith, we can see how many of us are truly paralyzed in the only walk that counts, but no matter the worldly diagnosis, Jon is not one of those people. In turn, he shows us all how God truly works.
Through God, one death on a Cross, offered salvation and rescue from an eternity of torture beyond the grave.
Through Jon, one fall, will offer God’s hope and strength through the challenges some of us face on Earth.
Thank you for the example you set for us all, and to your future endeavors Godspeed….
** For more information on “JonJam Benefit 2009” please go to http://www.jonjam.com/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment