Episode Transcript
HEAR
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
CONSIDER
Today, our Holy Spirit story comes from Jan de Chambrier! Jan passionately follows Jesus and has a ministry with her husband, Phillipe. She writes books and lives a life continuously encouraging others and pointing people to Jesus. You can learn more about her and her ministry here. In this story you will watch how the Holy Spirit used Jan in a moment of deep sorrow and grief to bring beauty out of ashes.
Below, you will read the story in her own words, and, if you listen, you will hear it in her own voice.
My husband, Philippe, was about to retire from his thirty-seven-year career as an airline pilot, culminating with a final round-trip including family members to the destination of his choice. Having selected Honolulu for obvious reasons, we were anticipating a delicious oceanside breakfast at our favorite cafe early in the morning of his final flight. As our table was being prepared, my cell phone buzzed insistently, the caller identified as my older brother, Tim. Thinking there might be an emergency with our mother, I took the call.
“Jan, I just got a call from the Albuquerque police. Mark committed suicide.”
Our younger brother, a gifted veterinarian, had been struggling with mental illness for many years. Despite our ongoing attempts to intervene and try to love him through it, he was unable to remain in the land of the living. My gut felt as if I’d just been harpooned right there on Waikiki Beach.
At that moment, the calmest voice in the universe, the still small voice of the Holy Spirit, gently intercepted my runaway emotions with His wisdom. “You have a choice to make right now, Jan—a choice to either indulge your raw pain, or to trust Me to carry you through it. Today was set apart to celebrate your husband’s career victory. To defer your grief is not to deny it. Let Me have this day and I will show you how I will bring beauty for ashes.”
As Philippe and our son Paul were already seated at the table, I joined them and relayed the news, not with hysteria but with the kind of peace only the God of hope can bring. We shed a few tears together as I told them what the Holy Spirit had impressed on me about celebrating this day. After a stack of tropical pancakes and bacon, we spent the day hiking around Honolulu, reminiscing over Philippe’s adventurous flying career.
As we joined the United Airlines flight crew on the van to the airport late that evening for Philippe’s final flight as a Boeing 777 captain, my emotions begged to retreat inward, as if seeking a nest to nurse my wounded soul. After boarding the plane, our son and I were escorted to the first row of first class, a gift from the company to the retiring pilot and his family. But instead of facing forward, the seat configuration in this plane was like that on a train, so we were facing toward the back.
The flight attendants had handed each passenger a sheet of paper with Philippe’s photo and biography in celebration of this auspicious occasion. I noticed a man sitting kitty-corner from me studying the information with interest. Philippe had left the cockpit briefly to come into the cabin to check on me before takeoff, after which this man leaned forward and said, “So the captain is your husband?”
The introvert in me wanted to give him a one-word response and leave it at that. But the gently insistent voice of the Holy Spirit said, “Talk to this man.” Instantly, I was waging a full-out fight with the Lord, trying to convince Him that this was MY time. I’d complied with His instructions to celebrate this day, but it was now midnight. The day was over. Cinderella had left the ball and her coach had turned back into a pumpkin.
But the Holy Spirit nudged me from the deepening abyss of my dark thoughts right back into His glory light within a few seconds. Engaging in conversation with this kind man, I answered his questions, telling him about Philippe, his flying career, and our missionary teaching around the globe. When he told me he was a doctor, a heart surgeon, I also shared with him about our ministry of healing prayer in hospital chapels.
By this time, I began to see why the Holy Spirit had persisted in having me talk to this man, whom I discovered was a world-renowned surgeon who had actually invented a procedure to cure rather than just mitigate the effects of atrial fibrillation. After telling him that we had a dear friend on our hospital team with a very serious case of A-fib, this doctor handed me his business card. “Have your friend call me directly. He won’t need to go through my office staff. We’ll get him fixed up.”
Within a month, our friend had met with this anointed surgeon and now, five years later, is perfectly fine. The worst of days had become the best of days as the Lord bore my grief and carried my sorrow, turning mourning into dancing as He brought life from death, beauty from ashes.
PRAY
Father in heaven, thank you for your ability to bring beauty from ashes. We praise you that you turn our sorrow to joy. I pray you show us how we can partner with your Holy Spirit. Even in the midst of our darkest days. Your strength is made perfect in weakness. Thank you for this reminder today. Use us even when we don't think we have the strength. Praying this in Jesus's name, amen.
