THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT – No. 7

I have written often about the fact that we believe God has said He is going to heal me of ALS/MND. I have often wondered when and where this healing may take place. Will it be with other people around, or when I am alone? Will it happen while Christian believers are laying on hands and praying for me, or will it be spontaneous? Will it take place at home, at school, during a church service, or will I need to travel somewhere else?

Twice since my diagnosis we have had great expectations for receiving my healing at a specific event. The first took place about a year ago, and second happened recently. Because of space, I will describe these two instances in two separate posts. Please bear with me as relate the details of the first event…

Almost since my initial diagnosis, people had been encouraging us to attend one of a certain pastor’s events. We had never felt comfortable with it until several members of the youth group in our church approached us saying that they wanted to take me to the upcoming event at a stadium in the area. They had prayed a lot about it and were full of faith. One of them had even had a dream in which she had seen me as I am on a Sunday morning and then completely restored that Sunday evening. We consulted the elders in our church, and they came back saying that if we felt it was right, they were with us. So we gathered a group to go with us, phoned to book our tickets and began waiting and praying.
A few days before the event, God took me back to Psalm 118, a passage I had received from three different sources soon after my diagnosis…
15 Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The LORD’S right hand has done mighty things!
16 The LORD’S right hand is lifted high;
the LORD’S right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
18 The LORD has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
So our faith was high.

Friday came and we were very excited. We had tried to fetch the tickets on Thursday, but were told they were not available. So a friend set off early Friday morning to collect them from the stadium. The scene that greeted him was nothing short of chaos! It took Him until after 10 just to get parking. And before he got to the front of the line, it was around 12 and they were closing the gates and saying the stadium was filled to capacity! This news initially knocked the wind from my sails. But Nicky immediately suggested that, as everyone’s faith was stirred, we all join the youth group meeting that same night at the church building. I prayed about it, fighting confusion and disappointment. As I prayed, I was reminded of the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda who couldn’t get to where the action was, but received healing directly from Jesus where he was. That rekindled hope in me, and we made plans to meet with the youth that night.

Then… a phone call from one of the girls in the youth saying she was at the Stadium and that they were still letting people through the gates. So a quick bite to eat and back to plan A!
Until… another phone call from the same girl saying they had just closed the gates and were not letting any more people in. So, back to plan B!
And then… a phone call from a friend inside the Stadium saying people were still coming in!

At this point we were at our wits end. We know our God is not the author of confusion, and we recognised the attempts of the enemy to distract us. So the final decision was made—to go to the youth group meeting!

At 7:30 we gathered with the youth for a short time of teaching. The youth leader did a great job of setting the stage and stirring people’s faith without resorting to hyped up emotionalism. We began singing praises to God, and His presence filled the room. Then everyone began praying—next to me were two of the girls from the youth group who had really driven this from the beginning; the rest of the youth group in a circle around us; and several adults surrounding them. It was awesome, and I lost track of time completely. I only know that it was after 10 when we got in the car to come home.

Was I healed that night? Not immediately.
Was I disappointed? A part of me was, yes.
Do I regret not having made it to the stadium? Not a bit.
Did I lose hope? Absolutely NOT!!!

I came away from Friday night with many things:

• I was stirred out of what had become a resignation to a seemingly inevitable process of degeneration.
• I experienced a greater outpouring of love from God and His people than I ever thought possible.
• I was inspired by the faith of two young women.
• And I became more certain than ever that God is going to heal me on this side of eternity!