Read: “Words to Heal”

Singing Her Praise

Approx. 500 words | 3-minute read

Several years ago, I served as a hospital chaplain. Ironically, I fought God over this calling because, for most of my adult life, I had what was referred to as “white-coat phobia”—a fear of doctors and hospitals!

When He sent me into this frightening field, I balked and ran from it. Eventually, His Holy Spirit assured me He would lead me every step of the way. I did what He asked me to do and came to love my assignment.

I was pretty much on call in addition to making my regular rounds. I remember one time getting an emergency call from the head nurse on the intensive-care wing. At the time, I was in Walmart, not far from the hospital.

The nurse told me a family was asking for a chaplain. Their mother was in an induced coma and hooked up to life support. They were trying to make the difficult decision of whether to disconnect her from life support.

When I entered the woman’s hospital room, it was very dark. The drapes were closed and the lights were low. Without a doubt, it was a very sad situation: five grieving family members and an unconscious woman lying there.

Silently, I prayed, “God, help me. I don’t know what to say to these poor people!”

I first placed my hand on the shoulder of the woman’s husband and prayed for his peace. I did the same for the other family members in the room.

Then I felt the Spirit of the Lord telling me to place my hand on the woman’s forehead and tell her how much He loved her and that He was there in the room with her.

As I continued speaking to her about Jesus and His love for her, large tears began to flow in rivulets down her pale cheeks. Her eyebrows turned upward in an expression that, to me, seemed as though she might be seeing the face of Jesus. Her lips quivered.

I stayed with her family for a while longer and then left them with the terribly difficult decision they faced.

Several days later, as I was making my rounds on the same ICU floor, one of the nurses stopped me and asked if I had heard the good news about the woman I had prayed for—the woman who had been on life support.

I said no, I had not.

The nurse told me the woman’s doctor had taken her off life support and that she had been released to go home with her family.

Before she left the hospital, the nurses said that for a couple of days the woman had been singing church hymns at the top of her lungs for everyone to hear! It turned out that she loved to sing and had sung in her church choir.

She had received what I believe was her healing, and she was rejoicing through the gift she had been given—singing her praise!

For me, the experience remains a powerful testimony to my faith that God still heals.

Divine Resource

Recognize the Good God Has Planned

Approx. 220 words | 1-minute read

People sometimes lack hope for their situations because they see only the negative aspects of their circumstances. They may fail to see the good God plans to accomplish through their situation.

When God moves us out of our comfort zone, He may be doing it for our growth and development.

James 1:2 tells us to “consider it all joy” when we encounter various trials. Why? James goes on to explain that the testing of our faith produces endurance.

When we recognize the good God has planned for us—and remember that even a dark cloud may have a silver lining—we begin to understand and believe in the hope we have through Him who saved us.

People often lose hope because they don't feel they can handle what is confronting them. When we try to deal with our troubles alone, without God's help, we suffer.

But we aren't alone with our problems.

We have a God who loves us and knows our every difficulty. He truly cares!

God's Word reminds us in Romans 8:37 that through Him who loved us, we are more than conquerors.

And Philippians 4:13 reminds us:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

As Christians, we can face our struggles with blessed confidence because our Divine Resource is Jesus Christ.

— Melton Carr

Originally written January 3, 2008

© 2026 Melton Carr. All rights reserved.

Ravenous Wolves Are Coming

Approx. 328 words | 2-minute read

Verdant green, lush grass stretched as far as the eye could see. The flock had endless, wonderful grazing. We would not go hungry because, in His name, the One had provided all that was needed to sustain these hills and valleys.

This was a land of plenty.

Our flock numbered in the millions. He—our guard, our shepherd—watched over us, protecting us always, making sure no predator or pestilence could come into our midst. We assumed His protection would always be there. We took our passive, peaceful world for granted.

Life as one of His sheep was good.

Then, over time, our complacency and ignorance became forgetfulness—and, worse, denial.

We cursed our protector and cast Him out, no longer wanting His presence among us. We came to believe His wisdom and His rules were meaningless, too restrictive for the lives we wanted to live.

At last, the patience of the One waned, and He left us to follow our own paths of separation.

Then came the first dark wolf.

Cunning and clever, seeing that we were now vulnerable, he slipped among us. Soon others followed, wave upon wave of his vicious breed. Ravenous beasts overtook us one by one.

Disguised to look like us, these hunters of hell hid beneath wool until the time was right. Then they threw off their disguises and began to devour us without hesitation.

And then came a virus—a pestilence that descended upon flocks both near and far. Like the wolves, its numbers multiplied, taking young and old alike.

What had once been a peaceful, plentiful valley became a sickening killing field.

The warnings had been there, but we had done more than ignore them. Our flock had deliberately chosen separation from our caring shepherd.

And in doing so, we had invited a den of evil to the feast.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Matthew 7:15 (KJV)

— Melton Carr

© 2026 Melton Carr. All rights reserved.