Witnessing At Work -- Dave Walton

THE BRAINI was standing outside the room that I was assigned to.  While getting instructions from the nurse, I heard the man inside the room having a heated argument with someone. When I went inside there wasn’t anybody but the patient.  He had just had a head operation.  His head was heavily wrapped.  His hands were also heavily wrapped to keep him from trying to unwrap his head. For many days he hadn’t been able to eat solid food because he couldn’t keep it down.

When I came in he began to cuss me out.  He told me to get out.  I found myself, by God’s grace, to be able to not react emotionally.  I could really see he was feeling insecure about himself.  I told him many times that I wanted to be with him.  He started talking to me.

He expressed many times how he was concerned about his wife’s love for him and how bad he felt he was acting.  I communicated to him that his behavior was what was to be expected because of the stress of the operation and the drugs.  I told him that he should not take too seriously the thoughts he had about his wife because of how hard it is to think clearly in the hospital.

He became really relaxed which helped him to keep his food down at noon.  I told him about Jesus and prayed with him to have Jesus come into his life.  His wife and his son came to see him.  He right away told his son to shake my hand because I had helped him.  I have found that hard times create opportunities for God’s love to be revealed.

We are usually able to help ourselves by speaking to ourselves what we know to be true.  When we are sick it is hard to talk to ourselves.  When we speak simple truths to those who are sick we help them to talk to themselves things that are true.

THE CROSS I was sitting with a young man named Mike who was dying of lung cancer.  He was obviously trying to find God.  I tried preaching the gospel but nothing seemed to be hitting home.  What bothered him most was what the cross had to do with anything.

I asked him if I could pray with him.  He said, “OK”.  All I said was, “Lord I ask you to heal Mike and reveal Yourself to him”.  The power of God filled the room.  I could see the Lord was doing something with him.  At one point along the way He blurted out with joy, “The cross is for me.”

After a while we were able to talk.  He said when we prayed that he felt himself falling backwards.  He decided to let go and found himself floating.  He said he saw Jesus on the cross and Jesus said, “The cross is for you.”  He now was Spirit-filled.  I heard he was bouncing around the next morning!