In Jesus' Hands: 2017
"Large crowds
followed Jesus, and He healed them there" (Matthew 19:2).
In 2010 I reached a point where I was sick of being sick. I
had been to lots of classes where God's healing power was made clear; I had
seen Jesus heal countless people in many Christian meetings, and in people's homes, on the streets and in remote villages. I had seen people healed when I prayed for them, and I
myself had been dramatically healed in my spirit, my body, and my soul, (that
is, my emotions and memories).
"Therefore He is
able also to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all
time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living
to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them" (Hebrews
7:25 - Amplified).
A Big Problem?
But as I saw things, there was still a big problem; only a
few of my illnesses were ever healed, not all
of me. And besides, the number of my health issues was increasing .. Instead of becoming fully healed, like all those people we read about in the Bible
(Matthew 4:24, Luke 4:40), I was becoming less
well.
Back then the list of all my illnesses included six life
threatening or potentially crippling things, and ten or twelve others. I felt
overwhelmed.
30 Days
After much prayer with Trish and our pastors, I believed by
faith to do something totally Christ centred. On 28th September 2010 I threw
myself into Jesus' hands. Over the next 30 days I trusted that Jesus would
fully heal me of all illnesses and diseases, even those of long standing (1
Peter 2:24). I felt led to take none of the 6 medications prescribed for me,
nor see any health professionals (Mark 16:18). I believed that I would become healthy
in spirit, soul, mind and body; rested, alert and vigorous.
As the 30 days went past I prayed often and spent much time
in the Bible. Although Trish and I thought it best to keep the whole project
very quiet, Jesus made it plain on the first day that I was to diary to
PsalmsOfJohn.com each evening; so this I did. "Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'In Jesus' Hands" was the series that resulted.
I was delighted to find that I was not adversely affected by
not taking my prescription
medications (some of which I had had every day for years). I felt the same
level of not-quite-well but not-really-sick as I did when I was obedient to my
doctors.
But I was very
disappointed that there seemed to be no positive changes in my health; there
were no signs that I was healing.
This lack-of-apparent-change continued through the whole 30
day period. Remember, this was a faith journey. Jesus had suggested this path,
indeed He had inspired and managed the whole thing. I sometimes felt I was
just along for the ride (like the paralysed man on the mat in Luke 5:18-26),
but was delighted to have been chosen by my lovely Lord Jesus for His special
attention.
After the 30 days was over my life returned to
"normal", although after this experience I would never be the same
"normal" again .. I had lived so closely with a new view and
experience of Jesus that my faith had grown to be like bullet proof steel. I
resumed all my medications, took all scheduled tests and scans, and kept all my
doctor appointments .. normal!
After a few weeks my disappointment turned to devastation.
Why was I not healed? Even of some of my
illnesses?
My thoughts turned inward: How dare I challenge God, the
King of kings, that He would heal me .. All the old chestnuts came flooding
into my mind: I'm not good enough, others deserve His help but how could I put
my weak and sinful self among them? I felt both worthless and useless; my study
and teaching were useless, my love was useless, PsalmsOfJohn.com was useless,
all my prayer, useless.
But faith prevailed; the many teachings I had sat through
showed Jesus as healer of all who came to Him (Matthew 9:35). Also, our Lord
passed His ministry skills on to His Church, to all of us Christians; this is a
fundamental part of the New Covenant!
"Heal the sick
who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom
of God
"Heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you
have received; freely give" (Jesus words: Matthew 10:8).
A few days later Trish spoke to me (as only a wife will
speak to her husband), and all my devastation melted in the face of her wise
and loving words. Peace returned!
"Gracious words
are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones" (Proverbs
16:24).
Now
Now 7 years have passed since that amazing month. I am still
alive and remarkably well.
Happily many of my medical issues are resolved, particularly
the big ones .. I AM NO LONGER UNDER THREAT OF DEATH OR BEING CRIPPLED FROM
CANCER OR HEART DISEASE OR DIABETES OR ARTHRITIS!!
Jesus did hear my
prayers: "Can a mother forget the
baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though
she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:15).
There are now only five medical specialists in my life where
there used to be ten!
Sure, I am older and a little slower, a little less
flexible. I now have some gaps where I used to have troublesome teeth. But I'm
still active, vital even. I am active as a Christian, a husband, a father and
grandfather, as a house-husband, a handyman and a volunteer for our local
Member of Parliament and for the Heart Foundation.
And I write.
I love to have family and friends around and to cook for them; I love music and the out-doors, the bush and the beach. My exercise program has grown from walking by the river to the Live Longer Live Stronger program at our community gym, it's great; I am living stronger! Trish and I ride our bikes together and we bush-walk whenever we get the chance!
And I write.
I love to have family and friends around and to cook for them; I love music and the out-doors, the bush and the beach. My exercise program has grown from walking by the river to the Live Longer Live Stronger program at our community gym, it's great; I am living stronger! Trish and I ride our bikes together and we bush-walk whenever we get the chance!
"The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and
have it to the full" (Jesus' words about us, John 10:10). Thank you
Lord.
It's really good to be writing this now. So far, this year
has been hard. Many things I'm committed to do seem to be long unrewarding
uphill battles. Last year was remarkable as I flew along in a great cloud of
God's grace; I saw Jesus going before me in everything I did (including some massive renovations). It was like standing in a river; that happy place
we sometimes find ourselves, feet firmly planted, glorying in the sunshine and
being out in nature, facing upstream with the endless flow of the river pushing
and swirling past. Wonderful. So affirming. This year has not been the same.
So this is the best time to remember how good God is to me
and to those around me. It's good to remember that what we see on TV and in the
newspapers and the Internet is not the
news; it's just what the media people want us to see. In my opinion, it's best
to avoid the "popular" media, and not
rely on them for facts or information! (There are truthful and morally sound
media outlets; it's worth the effort to find those that are relevant to us).
Big News
The big news is
that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords; His Christian Church is the
biggest and best supported faith group in the world, and every day there are
countless testimonies of fantastic things happening in people's lives in every
country. God is our Father and Jesus never stops interceding for us. "For in him we live and move and have
our being" (Acts 17:28).
"Give thanks in
all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians
5:18).
"I will give
thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds" (Psalm 9:1).
"Give thanks to
the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever" (1 Chronicles
16:34, Psalm 136).
Report
All this happened more than 7 years ago. A long time. There
have been huge medical changes in me .. How many people my age can say they are
significantly healthier than 10 years ago? Very few? Well, I can! A miracle?
All the scary and life-threatening things are gone. Here is
a report:
Heart
My worrying heart condition is healed. I believe that Jesus
found Vincent, my last cardiologist, for me. After a number of cardiology
adventures over two decades, Vincent uniquely identified my problem and applied
just the right clinical fix, (a fairly new and very technical procedure). A couple of weeks later a registrar
was checking me over, "I'm fixed", I said. The young doctor looked at
me and laughed in surprise. I no longer need to see any heart specialists. A
miracle?
Diabetes
Treatment for my last melanoma cancer was tough. The
surgeons took out all the cancerous tissue from my temple and then thirty-four lymph
nodes from my upper body. There are scars under my chin which look like zips
and I have a lop-sided smile. Also, my internal thermostat and sweat system are damaged.
My oncologist put me on Interferon (which is like
chemo-therapy); I injected myself every day for almost a year; it was a painful
treatment and I became very run down; this tipped me over from being
pre-diabetic into full-on type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a filthy disease; your
body rots out from the inside .. your eyes begin to fail, and your circulation
deteriorates, feeling goes from your legs and feet, from all your extremities,
and ultimately you may need amputations! Many doctors say that diabetes is
incurable, effectively a life sentence.
Apart from medications (which could do very little for me),
the only defence against diabetes is diet and exercise. Praise Jesus! Trish is
a Home Economics teacher and understands about food, exercise and our bodies ..
She and I applied her wisdom to our lives and I am healed! I no longer get
treatment for diabetes, nor do I need to be tested. All my degenerations have stopped,
my ophthalmologist said my eyes have improved,
then he told me I don't need to see him any more. They dropped me from the
Diabetes Clinic. Hallelujah! Another miracle?
Fear and Anxiety
Those of us who were troubled by fear or anxiety were invited to come to the front at a Christian meeting. With the world in its present chaotic state, who does not fear for their family or their nation? I did, and often lay awake at night aware of my powerlessness in the face of the continuing erosion of security and of moral and cultural values. I did step forward, there were prayers, I knew immediately that something changed, I felt lighter.
Those of us who were troubled by fear or anxiety were invited to come to the front at a Christian meeting. With the world in its present chaotic state, who does not fear for their family or their nation? I did, and often lay awake at night aware of my powerlessness in the face of the continuing erosion of security and of moral and cultural values. I did step forward, there were prayers, I knew immediately that something changed, I felt lighter.
Since then fear is defeated in me. Now, when I worry or
become anxious or feel afraid, I simply call out to Jesus and it lifts off me.
God has many names; one of Holy Spirit's names is "Comforter", the
Comforter comes and I am free in a way I could not have believed. Another
miracle?
"But the
Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you
all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (John
14:26).
"The next day
John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world'" (John 1:29)!
Feet and Knees
I was born with unusual feet, my family said I had
"Grandma's feet". There came a time when I could no longer fit into
footwear from the shops. Since then I have seen orthopedic surgeons
who have done wonders with what would have been rapidly declining mobility; the
first surgeon said, "It's a good thing you're here, otherwise you could be
in a wheelchair by age 60". I wear custom made orthotic shoes, boots and
sandals and can walk, climb ladders and hike in the bush. Praise Jesus for the
lovely, caring medical people He has given me.
Along the way my "basketball knees" became
troublesome; x-rays showed there to be arthritis with torn cartilages "like
an old worn blanket". At one time I believed that Jesus healed the left
knee (which was much worse than the right); my symptoms went away and my walk
was easier. Recent x-rays show that the damage is still there; I now believe
that Jesus simply made everything work better so that I could get around. All
these years later I still walk with a limp, (like an old man?) but have great mobility and no pain. Praise Jesus
for his loving care!
Mystery
I sometimes wonder why I am not fully healed, and why the
miraculous healings in the Bible seem so much more complete than what I see in
me and in the world today. Nothing I have experienced or learned answers these questions. To me it is a mystery, but I am at rest, at peace.
Paul, who is such a hero of the faith, also experienced a
similar kind of mystery? He wrote "..
in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh
.." (2 Corinthians 12:7). Many scholars have commented on this passage
without finding a clear definition for Paul's "thorn". Perhaps my
remaining medical worries are my thorn. (I know that I am prone to
over-confidence, even pride. Do my health restraints help me keep an even keel?)
My many visits with doctors and other medical people give me
so many opportunities to testify to God's presence with us and His great love
and power. There is so much to be
thankful for, so much to rejoice over. I'm happy to continue to live my
Christian walk as best I can, and to grow in Jesus, and to share Him whenever I
can. One day I'll be with Him and I can ask Him face to face .. in the meantime
.. praise Jesus! Hallelujah!
Favourite Bible
Verses
".. I have come
that you may have life, and have it to the full" (Jesus' words, John
10:10).
"It is for
freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let
yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).
"And the peace of
God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).
"I will give you
a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of
stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26).
"Jesus said: 'He
who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers
of living water'" (John 7:38).
"May God himself,
the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul
and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1
Thessalonians 5:23).
Amen.
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Amen.
