At this moment, the disease of dementia knows no boundaries. It affects both small and great, male and female with more people being diagnosed with it every day in many countries around the world. This is starting to alarm some authorities and get the attention of many who are in power.
I am currently working as a humble nurse in the Aged Care Arena here in Australia, as so many in our noble profession have been doing for quite some time now. With eyes wide open, we are constantly seeing the devastating effects that this particularly nasty disease is having upon those who are directly affected by it, and also the effect upon their families and friends.
Unfortunately for those affected, they have no choice but to go along for the ride. I’m sure they would all agree that this is one ride that they wish everyone could just get off and never get back on again for as long as they live; because it is just too hard to go through and too heartbreaking for everyone affected by this horrible disease.
This message is especially for those who have been recently given the diagnosis of dementia from a doctor and those who are unsure of what the future holds for close family and friends. And for those who have been dealing with it for some time (going through hell on earth because of what this horrible disease is doing to their loved ones). Loved ones who sadly are no longer the way they used to be.
The patient may be a treasured family member or a friend whom you have been very close to for some time, someone you love and cherish never dreaming for a second that they would ever go through something like this; a situation that has caused both you and others so much grief and sadness. Feelings of despair and uncertainty of what the future holds for everyone is a common factor when dealing with this illness.
When you are caring for anyone who has a condition that they cannot help and certainly did not ask for, then from within your own heart you must honestly and sincerely seek out our Lord Jesus—the crucified and resurrected One, because He has suffered so much Himself, and He knows that this pain is very personal for all involved. Christ came down and lived a humble life, to learn of the incredible pain, grief and hopelessness that people had in their lives and to save them from their sins.
He voluntarily followed through with God’s perfect will, rejecting all that Satan offered Him when greatly tempted. He went through the most barbaric torturing methods that Man could possibly think of—all for the love of His Father and for the welfare of His suffering creation. And then He was so wonderfully resurrected from the dead to return to heaven.
He knows exactly what you are going through and understands the feelings of despair that you have at this moment. He is exactly the One you need to help you get through this impossible situation. When you genuinely seek Him out, He will give you extraordinary strength and fortitude so you can get through every day. This strength will come to you when you need it the most because He loves you and sincerely wants you to come out the other side much stronger for it. You will come to know that you can depend on Him every single day—to give you the strength and fortitude that you never had before. Remember these words: The world will pull you down to destroy you, but Jesus will lift you up to preserve and keep you.
I think most of us would agree that if we had this terrible condition or any terminal illness for that matter, that we would want only genuine God-fearing people around us in our hour of need. These sincere individuals can sometimes be sent to you when you have asked Jesus for help, to be there at your side when you need help the most, and they may be best described as angels of God.
These God-fearing individuals will not come for the purposes of being seen before an audience, as so many people seem to want to do these days—politicians, actors and actresses alike, and ordinary people are guilty of doing this as well. This is what is called pretend compassion or pity, these people want an audience and to be seen as being compassionate by silly people who believe everything they see, and think what wonderful people they are to do this.
The real reason for those showing off and giving only lip service is not for the benefit of the person needing help, but solely for the benefit of the vain person and to bolster his or her self-image or self-gratification needs that they want filled.
Giving genuine compassion and understanding is very often done out of sight and behind closed doors. It is solely for the purpose of lifting and preserving the person who is in need. This comes from the untainted heart where God can see into, not the outward appearance of charity that so many people are foolishly engaging in to bring praise to themselves.
The God-fearing ones will come to share their God-given gift of genuine compassion and understanding (which they have received through their own life experiences with the help of Jesus). And without needing an audience. They don’t seek any praise for themselves or have any hidden agendas; their only wish is to do God’s will through the compassion of Jesus.
They will come to comfort you and to care for you, to make your life easier. They will sometimes appear out of nowhere to help you; these are sincere God-fearing souls full of the compassion and understanding that you need so very much. You will plainly see that these people are true extensions of Jesus Himself, only wanting to lift you up and preserve you.
People like this are a wonderful God-given gift, sharing genuine compassion and understanding in your darkest hour when you so desperately need it. And when you receive it you will have tears of gratitude in your eyes and feelings of thankfulness in your heart. You will see that this is like a bright light that is stunningly warm and comforting and nurturing; help that has come to you in the middle of this dark, cold and barren landscape that is your sorrow. You will know that this is worth more than all the gold in Fort Knox. You will want to hold onto this blessing tightly with both hands and never let go, thanking Jesus every day for what He has provided freely for you in this dire situation because He loves and cares for you and your affected loved ones.
For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, this message for you:
Unless you personally go through a serious tragedy of some sort in your life, to personally experience a serious need for genuine compassion and understanding you will never know what it is like to fully appreciate and value this wonderful gift when it does comes your way in your life. At this moment I feel I must make a strong point to some of you who are reading this. Do not let arrogance come from your heart at this time by saying to yourselves: This could never happen to me, I am in perfect health, I have a sharp mind and superior intellect, things couldn’t possibly go wrong for me now.
Letting this kind of arrogance spring forth from your heart is the complete opposite of humility, and that my friends, is something that God truly does not want to see in your heart.
With all humility, seek out the Lord Jesus now, and pray that He keeps this horrible disease away from you and your loved ones lives. Seriously, do this now and maybe, just maybe He will keep it out of your lives. Jesus may be known to have oceans of patience, but I would strongly advise you to never hold a foot in both camps with Him; always have a humble and honest heart when dealing with Jesus.
When He personally knocks at the door of your heart, run to open the door and greet Him with all sincerity and thankfulness, for as the Israelites humbly did in Egypt by painting the blood of an innocent lamb on the door posts of their houses, the Angel of Death passed over their houses, and spared them the terrible acts done to the Egyptians and their first born children (as it has been historically recorded in the Old Testament of your Bible).
The point is this: There are plenty of other souls that will greet Christ openly and thankfully when He comes knocking at the door of their hearts, so don’t pass up this opportunity to open the door of your heart to Him, and to learn all about Him in all His magnificent glory.
The Lord Jesus is even now helping multitudes of souls around the world, assisting them get through very personal hardships every day, helping them to lean and depend upon Him. These include new Christians who have only recently found out about Him, and are now constantly fully dependent upon Him. And also the old hands who already know about Him and have for many years educated others about our Lord.
Remember this: The unseen eyes of God are not on the big political get-togethers like the G20 summit by the world’s leaders with all their fan fair and ceremony, or huge royal weddings with all the trimmings or any similar event that is being viewed by many hundreds of millions of people on the TV. But His caring eyes are on the day-to-day suffering of His children who need Him and call on Him through Jesus every single day behind closed doors and not in public view.
You may not always hear about everything He does with such a caring and compassionate heart, desiring to save and nurture all those that come before Him; to lift up and preserve every single one of the lost sons and daughters of God. But I know that there is a lot more going on behind the scenes than anyone actually realizes even as I write this. Thank God for Jesus, for His salvation.
For those who don’t have dementia affecting them and are reading this seriously give thanks to Jesus for His kindness and for sparing you from this horrible disease. We must show our thanks for this with all our hearts.
Stay strong with the help of Jesus (Yeshua).