Dave Giesbers is the pastor at Mt Roskill Baptist Church in Auckland.
“You’re okay. You’re in the right place. You’re in safe hands.”
These are the comforting words I awoke to early in August 2024 – but all I could think at the time was, “Why do I need to be in safe hands?” The answer was slowly filled in over the days and weeks that followed. In short, I’d had a rough ride for the last five weeks. On Monday, 8 July 2024, I was taken to the Emergency Department, and just days later, I was in a coma, and my wife was told I only had a 30% chance of surviving.
But I’m getting ahead of myself; I’d better give you some backstory.
My family (Rachael and our four kids) have had the joy of serving Jesus at Mt Roskill Baptist since early 2023. When the weather is fine, you’d find us out for a family bike ride, and when it’s wet, playing Lego. I love a good bike ride, fine-tuning a new recipe, and sitting down with a black coffee to listen to some music.
In July 2024, I came down with a nasty form of pneumonia. I was put on a ventilator and an ECMO machine (a form of life support that provides oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from the blood when the heart and lungs fail) and had frequent blood transfusions. I basically needed everything our health system could throw at me.
It’s interesting thinking about your life being sustained by someone else’s blood. Blood which has been lovingly and sacrificially given. Blood that means I’m able to be here to write this reflection. The word ‘thankfulness’ doesn’t quite cut it. I’m thankful when I’m offered a beautifully extracted coffee, even more thankful if that’s after a bike ride around the Eastern Bays.
There have been so many points during my (still ongoing) recovery where I have broken down and sobbed, thankful for the treatment I received, the skills of medical teams, and the blood given by people I’ll never know. If you’re able to give blood, what a beautiful and sacrificial thing to do. Someone who will never know you might make it through a terriblydark season and be reunited with loved ones because of it.
It was interesting to reflect on Jesus’ blood spilt for me as we shared the Lord’s Supper together as a church whānau during the Easter season this year. If I’m thankful to the point of tears for the blood given so sacrificially, allowing me to make it back from the brink of death, then how much more thankful am I for the blood given so that I might escape death entirely! Here’s how Jesus explains his blood given for us:
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them (Mark 14:23–24).
Perhaps another way to put it is that because Jesus’ blood poured out for many, we can all hear those comforting words: “You’re okay. You’re in the right place. You’re in safe hands.” Instead of just me hearing them from my amazing wife Rachael, who carried our little family through those dark hours holding onto (and being held by) our faithful God, we can all hear those same words from Jesus, our saviour.
It’s only because Jesus’ blood was poured out that I have life, and hope, and a perfect relationship with the God who made me. It’s only because Jesus’ blood was poured out that my sin is paid for, and death is defeated. We’re okay, we’re in the right place, we’re in safe hands, because we are safe with Jesus. And the thing is, we all need to be in safe hands. Not just safe for a season until another threat comes, but safe for eternity. Would you join me in tears of thankfulness for that glorious reality?
Find out more about donating blood in New Zealand
Photo: Dave Giesbers in the ICU. By Rachael Giesbers
