In 1987, after adopting two children and having two natural children, Pam again became pregnant. However, this time we noticed that she was getting larger more quickly than she had with the first two pregnancies. We learned that this was because she indeed was carrying twins! What God had promised was now in motion.
Pam carried the babies to term, and on February 6, 1988, she gave birth to two beautiful identical twin boys, whom we named Jesse David and Jacob Levi. God’s promise had been fulfilled!
But something was wrong in their new little bodies. One baby had a serious heart problem, and the other had a serious liver problem. Within one week of their birth, both of our new sons died.
I watched as they were born, and I held them as they died. The grief and mourning were almost overwhelming. The promise of these twins had been the reason that we could believe the barrenness in our lives would be broken, and now, just as it was being fulfilled, that promise had died.
How were we to react? We knew the Lord well enough to know that He was faithful. Actually, what we believed He had promised us had in fact manifested. Had we done something wrong? Were we to keep trusting? Just how were our emotions to be acting?
I was going back and forth between Dallas (visiting the hospital where the twins were being treated) and Denton (where Pam was in the hospital recovering from a C-section). How were we each allowing the Lord to deal with us? How would we process this together? Would we keep progressing?
When the second of our twins died, we had an outdoor memorial service for him. During that service, Pam stood up and sang a beautiful song out over the field where they were interred. It was an incredible moment.
One week after the death of the second baby, a friend called and said she had a real problem with the fact that God had allowed the boys’ deaths. She was also having a problem with how Pam was dealing with this trauma—with seemingly unshakable faith.
One of the most impacting things I have ever heard anyone say came from my wife’s mouth that day. Pam told our friend, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that the quicker I submit to the hand of God, the quicker I can resist the devil. I have chosen to submit to God’s hand in this circumstance. And in submitting to the hand of God, He will give me the ability to overcome the enemy so that the double portion that has been robbed will be returned.”
The Lord was speaking through my wonderful wife. Those words went deep into my spirit, and I have carried them since that time.
Here’s how this applies to you: Even when you don’t understand what has happened in your life, in the midst of your loss and resulting grief, you need to learn to submit quickly to God’s greater plan for your life.
When we submit, we stand under. The concept of submitting is the act of allowing the wing of His goodness and grace to spread over us and shelter us from the accusatory thoughts of the enemy, the fray of the world and the condemnation of our own mistakes. If we always submit our lives to God, then we can resist the roadblocks in our destined path.
Truly, Pam and I eventually learned from this situation that loss has great benefit when we submit. We must allow God to work our situations for good and respond to His love no matter how difficult our circumstances may be.
Pam and I both were able to recognize that even in this trauma of the loss of two children, God was working out a higher-level promise of restoration on our behalf. Loss can produce a great acknowledgement of God within us if we submit to His hand.
Those incredibly hard things that we go through will truly become some sort of blessing in the hand of the Lord and will produce a greater prophetic fulfillment in our lives. Yes, a sad, bad, unbearable time can become a joy-filled moment when we place that moment in the hand of God and give Him thanks for the moment.
Time then takes a turn. The harsh memory of pain from the loss of expected joy can now be redeemed. That situation can become a transforming work of grace that can be seen in you for a lifetime.
About the author: Chuck D. Pierce is the founder and president of Glory of Zion International Ministries (glory-of-zion.org); an internationally known prophetic minister; and the author of several books, including his upcoming Charisma House release, Redeeming the Time (available May 5).
