God’s Strongman

It was Father’s Day. Pastor Gary Rankin, still grieving the recent suicide of a church member, gave his all in preaching to the Middletown, New York, Alliance Church congregation. Using hand weights to demonstrate strength, Rankin related the story of Joshua’s obedience to God’s call in bringing Israel out of bondage. “Joshua drew his strength from the Lord,” says Rankin. “But Joshua had another man in his life; Caleb was his strongman. He came alongside Joshua, encouraging him and building him up.” 
 
Although Rankin and his wife, Ovel, are childless, they have a deep love for all of the children in their church, and Rankin was expressing his desire to come alongside the children whose father had taken his life. His heart ached, and he wanted them to know he would be there for them. 
 
Feeling a need for renewal after the service, the Rankins retreated to a national park with hiking trails and waterfalls. Afraid of heights, Ovel stayed below to take pictures of her husband as he waved from the top of the trail. During Rankin’s descent, the ground suddenly gave way. Ovel had turned momentarily when she heard several people exclaim, “Someone’s fallen!” 
 
Ovel says the Lord spoke to her. “He said, ‘Be prepared. It’s Gary.’” When she reached him, Rankin had no pulse. Ovel removed the dirt and rocks from his mouth, and Rankin began breathing. A man with a cell phone called for help. “That was the first miracle,” she says. “We were in an area where there were no signals for cell phones.” Ovel used the same phone to begin a chain of prayer for her husband that would link across the nation. 
 
Rankin’s injuries were extensive. A punctured lung, ruptured spleen, broken back, ribs, and wrist, and the possibility of permanent brain damage left little hope for recovery. His condition critical, Rankin slipped into a coma. 
 

Seeing from Inside

 
The awareness of a comatose person has long been the subject of debate. Ongoing reports of near-death experiences raise the age-old questions: Does a comatose person hear those who are speaking to him? Does a ubiquitous Presence exist? Is it the spirit of man that speaks just beneath the surface of physical consciousness or is it God’s Spirit? 
 
Rankin describes his experience as “seeing from inside.” He believes it is what gave him the will to live. “I could ‘see’ songs and hymns playing inside me,” says Rankin. “God of Wonders” and “It Is Well with My Soul” prevailed. “I couldn’t understand it but just gave honor and praise to Jesus and sang in my spirit.” 
 
Many people kept bedside vigils, praying for Rankin’s healing and recovery. A woman on the trauma center’s clergy team visited him daily to pray and play music. Christian staff members gathered around Rankin’s bed and prayed for him. Even though he was “in a coma,” Rankin was easily agitated due to his inability to communicate. His blood pressure and heart rate would rise, putting more stress on his already strained body. A clergyman regularly visited, bringing his guitar. “He would sing, and my blood pressure would go down,” says Rankin. “I was able to rest in the Lord.” 
 

The Bedside View

 
“Since Gary’s accident, I have been a witness to more miracles than ever before,” says Ovel, who struggled in her relationship with God in those first few weeks. “Oh, I put on a great façade, but for a time I wanted nothing to do with God.” Then Ovel had a vision of the Body of Christ as a spider web. “The thread itself is very fragile, but when the spider is finished weaving, the web is strong enough to hold and protect the spider.” 
 
Like the spider and its web, God was weaving a network of intercessors to hold up Rankin and his wife in prayer. When she reached the end of herself, Ovel extended her hand and cried out to God, “If You want me back, You are going to have to pull me up, because I can’t do it.” A great peace filled Ovel at that moment. “He pulled me into His lap and hugged me to His bosom,” she relates. “How many people must have been praying for me at that moment?” 
 
In fact, thousands were lifting them to the Lord as word went out throughout the global Alliance family, including the children of the suicide victim that Rankin had in mind while preaching his Father’s Day sermon. “They were stunned,” says Ovel. “But it was the two oldest [Nyack students] who made CDs to play for Gary while he was in a coma. It was that music that Gary remembers hearing.” Cousins of the students live within a half mile of the rehabilitation center, and when they learned of Rankin’s accident, visited him once a week. 
 

The Road to Recovery

 
Rankin spent several weeks in the trauma unit after regaining consciousness. Soon he was transferred to a rehabilitation center, where he was placed on a ventilation unit. Annoyed with his immobility, Rankin repeatedly attempted to walk, only to fall. Staff chastised, “Mr. Rankin, you cannot get up.” But he kept trying, so his mattress was placed on the floor to avoid further injury. 
 
Physical pain and frustration at not being able to walk, speak, or remember things led Rankin to the brink of despair. He knew the Lord was in his life but felt alone. When a crabby roommate added to his emotional turmoil, Rankin was moved. His new roommate, a paraplegic named John talked freely about his injury and inability to walk. “I looked at him, and suddenly a peace came over me,” Rankin says. “I felt the Lord tell me, ‘I hear you, Gary, and I love you.’” 
 
It was Johnny McGuire who encouraged Rankin in his outreach to fellow patients. McGuire, a staff therapist, would begin a Scripture reference and ask Rankin to finish it. “I knew it but couldn’t say it,” he says. McGuire’s constant reinforcement eventually paid off. “Soon I was remembering.” 
 
Philippians 4:6–7 was especially meaningful to Rankin. “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, was guarding my heart and mind.” Rankin wanted to share that peace with fellow patients. McGuire suggested a Bible study. 
 
Rankin began meeting with the center’s residents, called “neighbors,” once a week to share his hope in Jesus. McGuire brought the patients, building a network of participants. Some came out of curiosity; others, to debate the validity of Rankin’s teaching. “I told them that they were welcome to come, but I would not entertain arguments. I wanted to build up the Lordship of Jesus.” A Jehovah’s Witness withdrew from the group, but interest in Rankin’s outreach grew. “Scripture came alive and had soothing affects on the people,” he says. 
 
Even staff members came to Rankin for prayer. One therapist had recently lost her brother. “Gary, will you pray for me?” she asked. He prayed and shared the gospel with her, planting a seed that he prays will take root. As Rankin came alongside the members of his hospital community, he saw the application of his Father’s Day sermon about Caleb. “I see life differently now,” he says. 
 
Rankin was released from the rehabilitation center in time to celebrate Christmas 2004 at home. “Gary attends therapy three times a week and does better each week,” says his wife. “And his ministry outreach now has been extended through e-mail.” Through the pain and heartache of Rankin’s tragic accident, the Lord is being glorified. Today as he continues to recover, Rankin is a strongman for God, helping people to excel in their faith.

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