On Easter Sunday, I was abruptly reminded I am no longer 30 years old! Lisa and I had accepted an invitation from friends to play pickleball. We had never played, so we said, “Sure, let’s do it! After all, it’s not a contact sport.”
I work out regularly, but mostly with a stationary bicycle and lots of weight training, which is much different than moving around quickly. So when I tried to be a young guy and do a backhand to get the ball over the net, my body didn’t stop, and my face and head slammed on the concrete.
The next day, as I explained my injuries to a doctor friend in another city, he said, “Doug, you should get to the emergency room right away for CT scans and X-rays.” When I went to the clinic, they told me I had fractures in my cheek, on the side of my head and on my forehead near my eye.
I sent my scans and X-rays to my doctor friend as well as another one who is an ENT. Both said I should see an ENT surgeon as soon as possible, which I did. The good news is I did not need surgery, and I began healing pretty quickly aside from some pain and headaches.
However, when one of my doctor friends was looking at the scans and X-rays I sent over, he took note of something unrelated to the accident.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said, “but your thoracic aorta looks a little prominent to me. This could be an early sign of an ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm.” A follow-up scan confirmed his hunch.
An ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm is a bulging area in the first part of the aorta, which is the main artery in our bodies. An aneurysm is a weak spot in a blood vessel wall that can tear, rupture or break open, causing severe, life-threatening internal bleeding. ATAs are caused by inflammation of the aorta, plaque buildup, traumatic injuries that cause tears in the artery wall or a combination of other things.
Interestingly, most people who have ATAs don’t even experience symptoms, so they are often detected by chance, which is exactly what happened with me. But thankfully, God allowed this condition to be exposed so I can monitor and treat it accordingly.
Prophetic Drama
Every situation we go through can become a life lesson that becomes part of a larger message—or what I call a “prophetic drama.” This means I always try to take difficult or challenging circumstances and turn them into intercession for the church at large.
In 2015, when I had cancer, I determined to keep my eyes, heart and focus on the Lord and all He called me to do, even while fighting that battle. And by His grace, He brought me through it. We prayed then and continue to pray for so many people who are going through similar crises and difficulties. God turned our circumstances into opportunities for intercession. It was a ministry we did not seek, but it became a ministry nonetheless, bringing hope and encouragement to others.
In my current situation, I once again began to get some prophetic downloads. The fall on my head and face actually exposed the ATA in my heart. Likewise, I believe, the Lord is allowing some things in the church to happen to expose and address issues of the heart, individually and corporately.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to his disciples, “Tarry here for an hour.” He went to pray, but when he returned they were asleep “from sorrow” (see Matt. 26:40). The inference is that their hearts were overwhelmed. They were exhausted from the stress and anxiety. When we go through trauma or stress or difficulties, we can shut down, harden our hearts or close ourselves off.
With so many dramatic things going on in the world today—natural disasters, wars, mental health issues, crime, violence, divisiveness—our hearts, too, can become overwhelmed. I believe God wants us to pray and intercede for the church as a whole not to harden our hearts but to be open for Him to do the work He wants to do so we can reach the soul of our communities, our nation and a generation.
In the latter part of 2022, God began speaking to me that He was going to begin exposing things that are hidden. And now, I realize how He exposed what was happening in my own body. But he took this situation meant for harm and turned it, instead, to expose something that could have been deadly.
Ripe for Revival
Much like today, the year 1857 was a time of poverty, crime, sickness and plagues, and rumors of civil war. The government and institutions of man did not have the answers, so Jeremiah Lanphier, a businessman and a lay minister in New York City, issued a call for daily noontime prayer. The first day, no one showed up for the first 30 minutes; finally, four people arrived.
But that didn’t discourage Lanphier. Every day, he faithfully met and prayed with anyone who came. Within six months, 10,000 people in the city were giving up their lunchtime every single day to pray for revival in America, and the movement began to spread to other communities across the United States. And out of that, nearly 2 million people came to Christ.
What would happen if God began to do something like that again in 2023? What if we are already seeing the beginning of that through the outpourings at Asbury, Texas A&M and many other locations? America had a population of 32 million people in 1857, and we have 334 million now—over 10 times more! What if, this time, tens of millions come to Christ?
Historically, great outpourings have come in the midst of difficult times. Even in 1857, as God was birthing a revival that began in New York City, the Civil War was coming, a time when brothers, cousins and family were pitted against one another in deadly battle. And we, in our nation, are in that place right now—a place of spiritual, political, generational and racial divisiveness. We are ripe for God to show up. And it is only a church awakened that can bring healing and hope. {eoa}
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For the rest of this article, visit dougstringer.com.
Could it be that God is giving us one last opportunity to allow His Spirit to be poured out upon the earth before the return of Jesus? Read More in Rod Parsley’s book Revival If.
Doug Stringer is founder and president of Somebody Cares America/International. As an American of Asian descent, Doug is considered a bridge-builder of reconciliation amongst various ethnic and religious groups. He is a sought-after international speaker, addressing topics such as persevering leadership, reconciliation, community transformation, revival and more. He is host of “A Word in Season with Doug Stringer & Friends,“ with new programs posted weekly on the Charisma Podcast Network.
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