My story has to do with the healing power of God. While many come to know Jesus as their Savior, Redeemer and Lord, not everyone has had the experience of knowing Him as their Healer… but they can! Jesus suffered and died on the cross not only for our salvation, but for our healing as well. The Word of God gives us a prophetic word in Isaiah 53:5 that;
“He (Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”.
In November of 1992, my family and I moved to Montgomery, Alabama, sensing that God was leading us back there after having been away for several years on the mission field in Argentina, starting a home church in Orlando and then directing Agape Bible School in Cullman, Alabama. Even though my husband had served on the ministry staff at our home church for about seven years prior to our departure, due to their inability to hire him back at that time we returned with no job offer and three small children: Jessica, John and Jason.
For the first six months, things seemed to get worse instead of better. My husband, Norris, soon began a secular job after years of full-time ministry and it was a very humbling time, but he was determined to provide for his family no matter what. In the Spring of 1993, I recall a series of really abnormal and negative things happening to us… things like me getting bitten by a brown recluse spider while I was sleeping. How weird is that? Then there was Norris’ car being hit by a pick-up truck and flipped upside down, causing his car to spin around three times on its hood as it skidded down Carmichael Road during rush hour. When the car stopped, his tape player was still playing a Kenneth Hagin teaching tape on “Faith”. Norris unbuckled his seat belt while still hanging upside down and his head pressing on the hood, and then walked home from the accident. We only had one car at the time. As he came into our apartment, he announced, “Honey, you’re looking at a walking miracle”. The car was totaled, but he was without a scratch. It wasn’t until I went to the place where they had towed our car that I realized how blessed he was to have emerged alive.
If ever there was a time to be discouraged and begin questioning whether we had really heard from God about coming back to Montgomery, the temptation was the biggest at that point. I came to the realization that bad things can happen even to people who are serving God. In other words, nobody is exempt from having to face difficult times or tests in life. The gospel of John 16:13 says that “…in this godless world you will continue to experience to difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” (The Message) It’s how you react under pressure that determines your final outcome.
During that same Spring I found out I had a punctured eardrum. When I went to the doctor concerning it, I casually asked him about a lump I had found a few months ago. Quite frankly, I wasn’t at all concerned, thinking it was just a calcification since I had just stopped nursing our youngest son, then 8 months old. The doctor set up an appointment for me to have my first mammogram at age 35. After that he scheduled a biopsy and while the outpatient procedure was being performed under local anesthetic, I could hear the doctor saying that the tumor looked benign. It didn’t have the texture nor the appearance of a malignant tumor.
The final pathological report took a very long 10 days; I guess they wanted to be sure and for that I am grateful. When the doctor’s office finally called, they asked both my husband and I to come in. As we sat there in his office, I have to honestly say that I was somewhat caught off-guard with the news that I had carcinoma, the same form of cancer that my father had died of three years prior.
When the news came, after the initial shock, I cried and thought to myself… “How can this be happening to me at this age?” I wish I could say that I was emotionally unshakeable and that I boldly declared an appropriate scripture in that doctor’s office as a testament to my faith. In reality, it felt like someone had taken the wind out of me, like the last blow of a nine-round fight, and I could barely breathe. It was undoubtedly a full-blown attack from Satan and I knew it. The devil told me I was going down. But guess what? God’s arms sustained me while I caught my breath. God’s words stirred up the faith and confidence that I could and would make a “come back”. And God’s strength saw me through the disfiguring removal of that malignant tumor and lymph nodes and three months of double-dosage chemotherapy.
Following the diagnosis, I approached the altar for prayer during a church service in our home church. The Bible instructs us that when “(believers) lay hands on the sick, they shall recover”. (Mark 16:18) Also, in the book of James 5:14-15 it says… “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up”. So, I discreetly told my pastor what was I was facing and asked that he not announce it to the entire congregation since it was breast cancer. Also, God directed me to guard my heart by not telling everyone… only those who I knew would speak words of faith and encouragement over me and believe with me for my healing. Many well-intentioned people, even Christians, will say things that they think will help you, but they really don’t do anything more than plant seeds of doubt and disbelief. So, it’s wise to “guard your heart”. (Proverbs 4:23)
As a woman, your physical appearance has more effect on your self esteem than you may realize. Due to the chemo, which is basically toxins that they pump into your body to destroy the “bad cells”, many of the “good cells” are also affected. I lost all of my hair, even eyebrows and eyelids, and had a mastectomy. My weight decreased from 130 to 108 pounds due to nausea and decreased appetite. The lining of my mouth was so tender that anything I did eat had to be soft. My “big hair” wig looked pretty funny on my skinny little body and I got rid of it as soon as my hair grew out a couple of inches, about seven months after the chemo was finished.
Shortly before I was diagnosed, God had given me the “green light” to go back to work as a teacher, which is what my college degrees had prepared me for. I had been a “stay-at-home mom” for about eight years up until then. Within three weeks’ time, I had secured a part-time teaching at Auburn University at Montgomery for the summer and a full-time job teaching at St. James starting that August. Finally, a break-through in our finances! So, when they told me I had cancer, I was furious at the devil… just when it looked like things were getting better!
Determined that cancer was NOT going to keep me from working, the devil was NOT going to steal my health and he was NOT going to steal our finances any longer, I made up my mind to press through. Enough was enough already. So following my diagnosis in March and my mastectomy in May, I worked at AUM all summer long while getting chemo from June through August. Through it all I missed only one day of work and that was a day that I was scheduled to receive a treatment in Birmingham. I still vividly remember quoting Psalm 103:1-5 out loud while driving to work every day. I was putting a demand on myself and declaring to God and the devil that I would… “Bless the Lord, o my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all His benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases; he redeems (rescues) my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion. He satisfies my desires with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” I was telling my soul (my mind, will and emotions) to praise God at ALL times… I wasn’t praising Him for the cancer, I was praising Him despite the cancer, knowing that His name, the name of Jesus, is greater than any other name in heaven or on earth and that “no weapon formed against you shall prosper”. (Isaiah 54:17) Sometimes you’ve got to tell your mind and your body what to do. We have to allow our “spiritual man”, so to speak, take precedence over our thought life and feelings, not the other way around. It’s called “walking in the spirit” as opposed to walking in the flesh. Be determined not to be ruled by your feelings and allow the Holy Spirit to direct your reaction to the things that come against you.
My new job teaching full-time at St. James School was to begin in mid-August. Since my immunity was at its lowest point and it was not wise to be around so many students, (a mere cold could’ve killed me,) I had to muster up the courage to ask the headmaster for the first two weeks off. Surprisingly, he was very gracious and said it would be no problem; he even let me choose the substitute… a missionary who had formerly taught school and was home on furlough from Ecuador. God even provided that!
After each treatment, I was weak, felt nauseous and looked pretty pathetic. But deciding to continue on with everyday life to the fullest extent possible rather than sit around feeling sorry for myself proved to be the best choice. I remember putting on eyeliner around my eyes and on my eyebrows to help compensate for having lost all my hair. When I put on my dresses, they were about two sizes too big, but I didn’t care because the bible tells us that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26), so this was one way that I felt I could put my faith in action. My body and my mind were screaming “Why bother? You look ridiculous!”, but my spirit man knew that it was important not to be ruled by negative thoughts or how I was feeling.
I told the devil that he would NOT steal my job, my faith, nor my health, try as he may. I quoted John 10:10 out loud… “The thief has come to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give life… and life more abundant”. I meditated on the Word of God regarding healing and read faith-building books. I listed to tapes over and over again, especially Dodie Osteen’s tape called “Healed of Cancer”, as she shared her testimony of how God healed her of terminal liver cancer. The doctors gave her three weeks to live and sent her home to die. Well, perhaps you’ve heard of Joel Osteen who now pastors thousands of members at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Joel is her son and she is still sitting on the front row, more than 15 years later. John Osteen, Dodie’s husband and the founder of Lakewood Church, is now with the Lord and he was our pastor’s pastor.
Now just because Dodie was a pastor’s wife doesn’t mean she got special treatment. God says that he “is no respecter of persons” (Romans 2:11); what he does for one he wills to do for all. He doesn’t play favorites, he just wants us to hook up with him, find out his will, do what you know you should do and then trust him to do the rest. So, I just figured that if he would heal her, he would heal me, too! The scriptures that Dodie quoted on that tape fed my faith so much that I decided to type them on paper. So I sat there and typed, pausing the tape after each verse of scripture, and then carried those sheets around with me everywhere I went. I stuck them in my pocket, like a sword in its sheath, and pull them out to do battle whenever a negative thought entered my head. The Bible instructs us to “resist the devil and he will flee”. (James 4:7) I used to think, “OK, God, I want to resist the devil, but how?”. Well, this is one good way to do it. You can resist the devil by refusing to meditate on negative thoughts. It’s not a sin to have a negative thought, as that is how the devil tries to seduce us all into pulling away from God; he tries to do this to everyone. But when we choose to continue thinking that negative thought, my husband likes to call it “stinking thinking”, then prevents us from walking in faith. You cannot have faith and be in doubt at the same time. So when a negative thought came into my head, I would pull out my healing scripture sheets and quote them out loud.
Nights were always the worst. A spirit of fear would sometimes wake me up and tell me I wasn’t going to live to see my children grow up or ever see my grandchildren. So, rather than passively stay in bed listening to that junk, I’d get up out of bed and go to the living room there in our little 1100 square feet apartment and wage spiritual warfare on the devil, praying and declaring things like, “I shall live and not die and declare the works of the Lord”. (Psalm 118:17) After several rounds of that, the night-time panic attacks stopped altogether.
During the daytime, I had to resist the temptation to dwell on all the negative information on cancer that people had given to me so that I would be “informed”. My mom had come down from New York to help us with our three small children after my mastectomy and she brought with her all the magazines and research she had accumulated when my dad had cancer four years prior. I had a pile of stuff six inches thick under my bed. Please don’t get me wrong; it’s fine to have knowledge about what you are faced with so that you can pray specifically and I know my mom’s intentions were good. She had lost my dad to cancer and she didn’t want to lose her firstborn either. But after a while, the more I read about the problem, the more I could feel my faith draining away. I finally was so convicted that I had heard enough about the negative and needed to now replace it with God’s good report that I took the whole pile of magazines to the trash. What was really needed more than anything else was to feed on God’s Word concerning the problem. God’s words are “…life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning”. (Pr. 4: 22 NLT) Meditating on scripture is like taking medicine and as with any medicine it is more effective if taken consistently, in regular doses.
The church body at Christian Life Church in Montgomery, Alabama, really came through in a big way to help us. The hospitality team brought food to us the first five days after each of the three chemo treatments. One dear sister, Pam Rhodes, watched my three children on the days of my treatments and another one, Pam Williams, accompanied me to Birmingham on those days so that my husband could be with me during the 2-3 days following each treatment when I felt the worst. I don’t know what I would’ve done without any of them. The body of Christ needs one another, especially in times like these.
Speaking of Birmingham, did I mention that we had no medical insurance during this time? My doctor in Montgomery sent me to what was then called the Baptist Montclair Referral Clinic for cancer patients; I filled out some paperwork and the only bill we ever received was for the pathology fees which totaled a thousand dollars. God only knows what the total bill would’ve been with today’s cost of medical fees; we certainly didn’t have it! The Pneupigen (sp?) shots Norris had to administer to me in my thigh every day, thirty of them in all, normally cost $100 each. But there was no charge. What makes this testimony of God’s provision even more fantastic is that even the thousand dollars was provided supernaturally. We received a check from a Baptist brother who had been a long-term medical missionary in Africa for exactly one thousand dollars within days of receiving the bill. God is so good! He made a way where there was no way in the financial realm as well.
Within a matter of months, God turned everything around for us. It did not happen overnight and even though it would’ve been nice not to have had to go through it all, the good thing is that I did go “through” it all and didn’t stay there. The diagnosis was in April of 1993. Between then and August of that year was the toughest part, with the mastectomy, chemo and after effects. But by the first weeks of September, I was back! I may have looked funny at 5’7”, 110 pounds and wearing a wig, but I was back teaching high school, six classes a day, on two separate campuses and “floating”, without a classroom of my own. As time progressed, my weight and coloring came back and by the following spring my hair was just long enough to take off that silly wig… praise God forevermore! No more Dolly Parton hair on a body that looked like a toothpick! The following August we bought our very first home for $89,000 after 10 years of marriage and being on the mission field. We definitely felt like we were “moving on up” from our little 1100 square foot apartment for 5 people to what seemed like a palace with 1,650 square feet. I can remember how grateful we were for that nearly new garden home. Furthermore, Norris had been asked to come back on staff at the church as the Associate Pastor and God was blessing us from every direction. Life was so sweet… and it still is.
One of my more active roles at our home church in Montgomery, besides helping to lead short-term mission trips with my husband, was praying one-on-one with people at the altar for those battling similar circumstances. Over the years since that time, I have heard countless stories of people who have been healed by the power of almighty God, against all odds, by either an instantaneous miracle or over the process of time by persevering in faith. There are numerous ways to receive healing. The Bible says that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever”. (Heb 13:8) What he did during his earthly ministry he’s still doing today, through the Body of Christ. He’s still saving, healing and setting people free from every bondage. But he requires us to have faith and “faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.” (Heb 10:17) So that is why I felt compelled to proclaim this message to you today. I’m sharing my testimony with one purpose in mind and that is to renew your hope and build your faith in my God, who is not only full of power but also full of desire to see you blessed in every area of your life.
It’s been over sixteen years since I receive my healing from cancer. I go for my yearly check-ups and do my best to follow a healthy life-style. God increased our faith to believe for a larger home in 1998 in Montgomery, our combined salaries have more than tripled since those tough times in the early 90’s. Then, in August of 2005, God directed us to come to Boynton Beach to pastor Grace Community Church, between Boca Raton and West Palm Beach in South Florida. He has placed within us a vision to help people, struggling with the same tests and trials that we’ve had to face, to show them how with God all things are indeed possible. God never ceases to amaze me. Whenever I get discouraged, I think of the old song that says “Why so downcast, O my soul? Put your trust in God… and bless his holy name!”
“For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and you will find me, when you seek with all of your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29: 11-14a
As I’ve listened to the testimonies of others who have been healed, I’ve come to realize that they all have a number of things in common. This is what I’ve noticed:
1) They didn’t blame God for the illness.
a.. Jesus came to give life. Satan comes to rob, kill & destroy. (paraphrased: John 10:10) Attitude is as important as what you do.
2) They were true worshippers.
a.. “If anyone is a worshipper of God and does his will, He hears him.” (Jn 9:31)
a.. “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1 )
3) They were proactive in their faith.
a.. Be aggressive, not passive!
b.. Do spiritual warfare against the devil!
c.. Declare the scriptures that pertain to your personal situation out loud over your life… put the devil to flight!
d.. Hebrews 6:12 says, “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
4) They became firmly established in the God’s Word.
a.. No matter your previous experience, leave no room for doubt!
b.. Find the scriptures that pertain to your personal situation and meditate on them, day and night.
c.. As you do, his word goes from head knowledge to heart knowledge.
5) They refused to compare themselves to others.
a.. Whether someone you know had a good experience or a bad experience.
b.. Examples: my dad (died of cancer) and Nellie (healed instantaneously)
c.. Don’t dwell on anything that causes doubt to rise.
6) They resisted self-pity.
a.. Focus on the promise (Jesus), not the problem.
7) They saw themselves healed; expected to overcome.
a.. Put up pictures on the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror of them healthy.
b.. Know that in the end, we win!
c.. In fact, the Bible says we are “MORE than conquerors” (Rom 8:37)
They surrounded themselves with those who would speak only faith-filled words to them.
a.. “Guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life.” (Pr.4:23 )
b.. If people are not really helping when you are fighting for your life, politely send them home if you can.
I’m telling you right now… God wants you healed! Stop praying “Oh God, if it be thy will to heal me, please do…) The Word of God makes this plain that it IS His will and where knowledge of His will enters, so comes the faith to claim that promise for yourself. In fact, he is ready, willing and able to heal you right here… right now! All you have to do is call on the name of Jesus, believe him at his Word, trust him with your life and then cooperate with Him. To “co-operate” means to work together WITH someone. In this case, you must work together with God. To put it another way, do all that you know to do in the natural and then depend on Him to do the supernatural. I’m not telling you to stop taking your medication; you should co-operate with your doctors, too. When your healing becomes apparent, it will be a sign and a wonder to the doctors and even they will eventually acknowledge that your medications aren’t needed anymore. Don’t confuse faith with presumption. God is NOT against medical science. If he was, it would be a sin to even go the doctors (…which is not true!). We just need to understand that Jesus is the source of all healing. Chemo may have helped me, but I know lots of people who have had chemo or radiation and those treatments alone didn’t heal them… so man’s medicine and knowledge alone are not the key factors. Men, even doctors, are human and fallible. Yes, you should feel good about the doctors who are caring for you, but put your ultimate trust in God!
If you are facing a physical attack, a disease or a chronic illness today and would like prayer, please fill out the information on this link and we will bring it before God during our intercessory prayer service every Monday night. (And when you receive your healing, please send us your praise report!) Better yet, if you live in South Florida, come visit us and tell one of the ushers you would like prayer following the Sunday service at 10:30 a.m.
If you can’t visit us here at Grace Community Church, find a good, Spirit-filled church where they believe and preach that divine healing is still for today. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, now and forever”. (Heb 13:8) Jesus is the same; what He did while on earth is still his will today. (Acts 10:38) It is so important that you purposefully surround yourself with people who are speaking words of faith over you. (So be careful what you allow yourself to listen to, the programs you watch, and the things you read.) Once you find a church like that, ask for the leadership to anoint you with oil and pray the prayer of faith over you for your healing. Remember, it is not the person praying for you, but the power of God that resides within them that can be instrumental in bringing forth the manifestation of your healing as you get into agreement with them and receive your healing by faith. Don’t ever idolize any minister of the Gospel. If you examine Jesus’ ministry on earth, some were healed upon contact with him, some by the confession of their mouths, and some were healed “as they went”. But they all got the ball rolling, so to speak, by believing. The reason Jesus could do no mighty works in Nazareth was because of their unbelief. That is one thing that can stop healing in its tracks. So, if you are still not sure about the things I’ve told you today, I would challenge you to seek out the scriptures for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to show you that what I’m saying is true. Only then can you operate in faith, because “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Heb. 11:6)
Finally, you must fully EXPECT that your final outcome will be complete recovery, health and wholeness in your body. Don’t just hope so… know so!
*****************************
Cry out and draw near to Jesus, then hold fast to your faith! He alone has the power to heal you. You, too, can overcome “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony.” (Rev 12:11)
And until you see the full manifestation of your healing, remember these words from Isaiah 42:16:
“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
Along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn darkness into light before them
And make the rough places smooth”
Just like Jesus did for me, you can also become more than just a survivor…
you’ll be an OVERCOMER, and your testimony can affect hundreds, thousands,perhaps even millions of people facing similar battles.
Encouragement
“For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” — Romans 10:10
Copyright © 2009-2010 · All Rights Reserved ·
Author Unknown
“He (Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”.
In November of 1992, my family and I moved to Montgomery, Alabama, sensing that God was leading us back there after having been away for several years on the mission field in Argentina, starting a home church in Orlando and then directing Agape Bible School in Cullman, Alabama. Even though my husband had served on the ministry staff at our home church for about seven years prior to our departure, due to their inability to hire him back at that time we returned with no job offer and three small children: Jessica, John and Jason.
For the first six months, things seemed to get worse instead of better. My husband, Norris, soon began a secular job after years of full-time ministry and it was a very humbling time, but he was determined to provide for his family no matter what. In the Spring of 1993, I recall a series of really abnormal and negative things happening to us… things like me getting bitten by a brown recluse spider while I was sleeping. How weird is that? Then there was Norris’ car being hit by a pick-up truck and flipped upside down, causing his car to spin around three times on its hood as it skidded down Carmichael Road during rush hour. When the car stopped, his tape player was still playing a Kenneth Hagin teaching tape on “Faith”. Norris unbuckled his seat belt while still hanging upside down and his head pressing on the hood, and then walked home from the accident. We only had one car at the time. As he came into our apartment, he announced, “Honey, you’re looking at a walking miracle”. The car was totaled, but he was without a scratch. It wasn’t until I went to the place where they had towed our car that I realized how blessed he was to have emerged alive.
If ever there was a time to be discouraged and begin questioning whether we had really heard from God about coming back to Montgomery, the temptation was the biggest at that point. I came to the realization that bad things can happen even to people who are serving God. In other words, nobody is exempt from having to face difficult times or tests in life. The gospel of John 16:13 says that “…in this godless world you will continue to experience to difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.” (The Message) It’s how you react under pressure that determines your final outcome.
During that same Spring I found out I had a punctured eardrum. When I went to the doctor concerning it, I casually asked him about a lump I had found a few months ago. Quite frankly, I wasn’t at all concerned, thinking it was just a calcification since I had just stopped nursing our youngest son, then 8 months old. The doctor set up an appointment for me to have my first mammogram at age 35. After that he scheduled a biopsy and while the outpatient procedure was being performed under local anesthetic, I could hear the doctor saying that the tumor looked benign. It didn’t have the texture nor the appearance of a malignant tumor.
The final pathological report took a very long 10 days; I guess they wanted to be sure and for that I am grateful. When the doctor’s office finally called, they asked both my husband and I to come in. As we sat there in his office, I have to honestly say that I was somewhat caught off-guard with the news that I had carcinoma, the same form of cancer that my father had died of three years prior.
When the news came, after the initial shock, I cried and thought to myself… “How can this be happening to me at this age?” I wish I could say that I was emotionally unshakeable and that I boldly declared an appropriate scripture in that doctor’s office as a testament to my faith. In reality, it felt like someone had taken the wind out of me, like the last blow of a nine-round fight, and I could barely breathe. It was undoubtedly a full-blown attack from Satan and I knew it. The devil told me I was going down. But guess what? God’s arms sustained me while I caught my breath. God’s words stirred up the faith and confidence that I could and would make a “come back”. And God’s strength saw me through the disfiguring removal of that malignant tumor and lymph nodes and three months of double-dosage chemotherapy.
Following the diagnosis, I approached the altar for prayer during a church service in our home church. The Bible instructs us that when “(believers) lay hands on the sick, they shall recover”. (Mark 16:18) Also, in the book of James 5:14-15 it says… “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up”. So, I discreetly told my pastor what was I was facing and asked that he not announce it to the entire congregation since it was breast cancer. Also, God directed me to guard my heart by not telling everyone… only those who I knew would speak words of faith and encouragement over me and believe with me for my healing. Many well-intentioned people, even Christians, will say things that they think will help you, but they really don’t do anything more than plant seeds of doubt and disbelief. So, it’s wise to “guard your heart”. (Proverbs 4:23)
As a woman, your physical appearance has more effect on your self esteem than you may realize. Due to the chemo, which is basically toxins that they pump into your body to destroy the “bad cells”, many of the “good cells” are also affected. I lost all of my hair, even eyebrows and eyelids, and had a mastectomy. My weight decreased from 130 to 108 pounds due to nausea and decreased appetite. The lining of my mouth was so tender that anything I did eat had to be soft. My “big hair” wig looked pretty funny on my skinny little body and I got rid of it as soon as my hair grew out a couple of inches, about seven months after the chemo was finished.
Shortly before I was diagnosed, God had given me the “green light” to go back to work as a teacher, which is what my college degrees had prepared me for. I had been a “stay-at-home mom” for about eight years up until then. Within three weeks’ time, I had secured a part-time teaching at Auburn University at Montgomery for the summer and a full-time job teaching at St. James starting that August. Finally, a break-through in our finances! So, when they told me I had cancer, I was furious at the devil… just when it looked like things were getting better!
Determined that cancer was NOT going to keep me from working, the devil was NOT going to steal my health and he was NOT going to steal our finances any longer, I made up my mind to press through. Enough was enough already. So following my diagnosis in March and my mastectomy in May, I worked at AUM all summer long while getting chemo from June through August. Through it all I missed only one day of work and that was a day that I was scheduled to receive a treatment in Birmingham. I still vividly remember quoting Psalm 103:1-5 out loud while driving to work every day. I was putting a demand on myself and declaring to God and the devil that I would… “Bless the Lord, o my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all His benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases; he redeems (rescues) my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion. He satisfies my desires with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” I was telling my soul (my mind, will and emotions) to praise God at ALL times… I wasn’t praising Him for the cancer, I was praising Him despite the cancer, knowing that His name, the name of Jesus, is greater than any other name in heaven or on earth and that “no weapon formed against you shall prosper”. (Isaiah 54:17) Sometimes you’ve got to tell your mind and your body what to do. We have to allow our “spiritual man”, so to speak, take precedence over our thought life and feelings, not the other way around. It’s called “walking in the spirit” as opposed to walking in the flesh. Be determined not to be ruled by your feelings and allow the Holy Spirit to direct your reaction to the things that come against you.
My new job teaching full-time at St. James School was to begin in mid-August. Since my immunity was at its lowest point and it was not wise to be around so many students, (a mere cold could’ve killed me,) I had to muster up the courage to ask the headmaster for the first two weeks off. Surprisingly, he was very gracious and said it would be no problem; he even let me choose the substitute… a missionary who had formerly taught school and was home on furlough from Ecuador. God even provided that!
After each treatment, I was weak, felt nauseous and looked pretty pathetic. But deciding to continue on with everyday life to the fullest extent possible rather than sit around feeling sorry for myself proved to be the best choice. I remember putting on eyeliner around my eyes and on my eyebrows to help compensate for having lost all my hair. When I put on my dresses, they were about two sizes too big, but I didn’t care because the bible tells us that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26), so this was one way that I felt I could put my faith in action. My body and my mind were screaming “Why bother? You look ridiculous!”, but my spirit man knew that it was important not to be ruled by negative thoughts or how I was feeling.
I told the devil that he would NOT steal my job, my faith, nor my health, try as he may. I quoted John 10:10 out loud… “The thief has come to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give life… and life more abundant”. I meditated on the Word of God regarding healing and read faith-building books. I listed to tapes over and over again, especially Dodie Osteen’s tape called “Healed of Cancer”, as she shared her testimony of how God healed her of terminal liver cancer. The doctors gave her three weeks to live and sent her home to die. Well, perhaps you’ve heard of Joel Osteen who now pastors thousands of members at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Joel is her son and she is still sitting on the front row, more than 15 years later. John Osteen, Dodie’s husband and the founder of Lakewood Church, is now with the Lord and he was our pastor’s pastor.
Now just because Dodie was a pastor’s wife doesn’t mean she got special treatment. God says that he “is no respecter of persons” (Romans 2:11); what he does for one he wills to do for all. He doesn’t play favorites, he just wants us to hook up with him, find out his will, do what you know you should do and then trust him to do the rest. So, I just figured that if he would heal her, he would heal me, too! The scriptures that Dodie quoted on that tape fed my faith so much that I decided to type them on paper. So I sat there and typed, pausing the tape after each verse of scripture, and then carried those sheets around with me everywhere I went. I stuck them in my pocket, like a sword in its sheath, and pull them out to do battle whenever a negative thought entered my head. The Bible instructs us to “resist the devil and he will flee”. (James 4:7) I used to think, “OK, God, I want to resist the devil, but how?”. Well, this is one good way to do it. You can resist the devil by refusing to meditate on negative thoughts. It’s not a sin to have a negative thought, as that is how the devil tries to seduce us all into pulling away from God; he tries to do this to everyone. But when we choose to continue thinking that negative thought, my husband likes to call it “stinking thinking”, then prevents us from walking in faith. You cannot have faith and be in doubt at the same time. So when a negative thought came into my head, I would pull out my healing scripture sheets and quote them out loud.
Nights were always the worst. A spirit of fear would sometimes wake me up and tell me I wasn’t going to live to see my children grow up or ever see my grandchildren. So, rather than passively stay in bed listening to that junk, I’d get up out of bed and go to the living room there in our little 1100 square feet apartment and wage spiritual warfare on the devil, praying and declaring things like, “I shall live and not die and declare the works of the Lord”. (Psalm 118:17) After several rounds of that, the night-time panic attacks stopped altogether.
During the daytime, I had to resist the temptation to dwell on all the negative information on cancer that people had given to me so that I would be “informed”. My mom had come down from New York to help us with our three small children after my mastectomy and she brought with her all the magazines and research she had accumulated when my dad had cancer four years prior. I had a pile of stuff six inches thick under my bed. Please don’t get me wrong; it’s fine to have knowledge about what you are faced with so that you can pray specifically and I know my mom’s intentions were good. She had lost my dad to cancer and she didn’t want to lose her firstborn either. But after a while, the more I read about the problem, the more I could feel my faith draining away. I finally was so convicted that I had heard enough about the negative and needed to now replace it with God’s good report that I took the whole pile of magazines to the trash. What was really needed more than anything else was to feed on God’s Word concerning the problem. God’s words are “…life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning”. (Pr. 4: 22 NLT) Meditating on scripture is like taking medicine and as with any medicine it is more effective if taken consistently, in regular doses.
The church body at Christian Life Church in Montgomery, Alabama, really came through in a big way to help us. The hospitality team brought food to us the first five days after each of the three chemo treatments. One dear sister, Pam Rhodes, watched my three children on the days of my treatments and another one, Pam Williams, accompanied me to Birmingham on those days so that my husband could be with me during the 2-3 days following each treatment when I felt the worst. I don’t know what I would’ve done without any of them. The body of Christ needs one another, especially in times like these.
Speaking of Birmingham, did I mention that we had no medical insurance during this time? My doctor in Montgomery sent me to what was then called the Baptist Montclair Referral Clinic for cancer patients; I filled out some paperwork and the only bill we ever received was for the pathology fees which totaled a thousand dollars. God only knows what the total bill would’ve been with today’s cost of medical fees; we certainly didn’t have it! The Pneupigen (sp?) shots Norris had to administer to me in my thigh every day, thirty of them in all, normally cost $100 each. But there was no charge. What makes this testimony of God’s provision even more fantastic is that even the thousand dollars was provided supernaturally. We received a check from a Baptist brother who had been a long-term medical missionary in Africa for exactly one thousand dollars within days of receiving the bill. God is so good! He made a way where there was no way in the financial realm as well.
Within a matter of months, God turned everything around for us. It did not happen overnight and even though it would’ve been nice not to have had to go through it all, the good thing is that I did go “through” it all and didn’t stay there. The diagnosis was in April of 1993. Between then and August of that year was the toughest part, with the mastectomy, chemo and after effects. But by the first weeks of September, I was back! I may have looked funny at 5’7”, 110 pounds and wearing a wig, but I was back teaching high school, six classes a day, on two separate campuses and “floating”, without a classroom of my own. As time progressed, my weight and coloring came back and by the following spring my hair was just long enough to take off that silly wig… praise God forevermore! No more Dolly Parton hair on a body that looked like a toothpick! The following August we bought our very first home for $89,000 after 10 years of marriage and being on the mission field. We definitely felt like we were “moving on up” from our little 1100 square foot apartment for 5 people to what seemed like a palace with 1,650 square feet. I can remember how grateful we were for that nearly new garden home. Furthermore, Norris had been asked to come back on staff at the church as the Associate Pastor and God was blessing us from every direction. Life was so sweet… and it still is.
One of my more active roles at our home church in Montgomery, besides helping to lead short-term mission trips with my husband, was praying one-on-one with people at the altar for those battling similar circumstances. Over the years since that time, I have heard countless stories of people who have been healed by the power of almighty God, against all odds, by either an instantaneous miracle or over the process of time by persevering in faith. There are numerous ways to receive healing. The Bible says that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever”. (Heb 13:8) What he did during his earthly ministry he’s still doing today, through the Body of Christ. He’s still saving, healing and setting people free from every bondage. But he requires us to have faith and “faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.” (Heb 10:17) So that is why I felt compelled to proclaim this message to you today. I’m sharing my testimony with one purpose in mind and that is to renew your hope and build your faith in my God, who is not only full of power but also full of desire to see you blessed in every area of your life.
It’s been over sixteen years since I receive my healing from cancer. I go for my yearly check-ups and do my best to follow a healthy life-style. God increased our faith to believe for a larger home in 1998 in Montgomery, our combined salaries have more than tripled since those tough times in the early 90’s. Then, in August of 2005, God directed us to come to Boynton Beach to pastor Grace Community Church, between Boca Raton and West Palm Beach in South Florida. He has placed within us a vision to help people, struggling with the same tests and trials that we’ve had to face, to show them how with God all things are indeed possible. God never ceases to amaze me. Whenever I get discouraged, I think of the old song that says “Why so downcast, O my soul? Put your trust in God… and bless his holy name!”
“For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and you will find me, when you seek with all of your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29: 11-14a
As I’ve listened to the testimonies of others who have been healed, I’ve come to realize that they all have a number of things in common. This is what I’ve noticed:
1) They didn’t blame God for the illness.
a.. Jesus came to give life. Satan comes to rob, kill & destroy. (paraphrased: John 10:10) Attitude is as important as what you do.
2) They were true worshippers.
a.. “If anyone is a worshipper of God and does his will, He hears him.” (Jn 9:31)
a.. “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Psalm 34:1 )
3) They were proactive in their faith.
a.. Be aggressive, not passive!
b.. Do spiritual warfare against the devil!
c.. Declare the scriptures that pertain to your personal situation out loud over your life… put the devil to flight!
d.. Hebrews 6:12 says, “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
4) They became firmly established in the God’s Word.
a.. No matter your previous experience, leave no room for doubt!
b.. Find the scriptures that pertain to your personal situation and meditate on them, day and night.
c.. As you do, his word goes from head knowledge to heart knowledge.
5) They refused to compare themselves to others.
a.. Whether someone you know had a good experience or a bad experience.
b.. Examples: my dad (died of cancer) and Nellie (healed instantaneously)
c.. Don’t dwell on anything that causes doubt to rise.
6) They resisted self-pity.
a.. Focus on the promise (Jesus), not the problem.
7) They saw themselves healed; expected to overcome.
a.. Put up pictures on the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror of them healthy.
b.. Know that in the end, we win!
c.. In fact, the Bible says we are “MORE than conquerors” (Rom 8:37)
They surrounded themselves with those who would speak only faith-filled words to them.a.. “Guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life.” (Pr.4:23 )
b.. If people are not really helping when you are fighting for your life, politely send them home if you can.
I’m telling you right now… God wants you healed! Stop praying “Oh God, if it be thy will to heal me, please do…) The Word of God makes this plain that it IS His will and where knowledge of His will enters, so comes the faith to claim that promise for yourself. In fact, he is ready, willing and able to heal you right here… right now! All you have to do is call on the name of Jesus, believe him at his Word, trust him with your life and then cooperate with Him. To “co-operate” means to work together WITH someone. In this case, you must work together with God. To put it another way, do all that you know to do in the natural and then depend on Him to do the supernatural. I’m not telling you to stop taking your medication; you should co-operate with your doctors, too. When your healing becomes apparent, it will be a sign and a wonder to the doctors and even they will eventually acknowledge that your medications aren’t needed anymore. Don’t confuse faith with presumption. God is NOT against medical science. If he was, it would be a sin to even go the doctors (…which is not true!). We just need to understand that Jesus is the source of all healing. Chemo may have helped me, but I know lots of people who have had chemo or radiation and those treatments alone didn’t heal them… so man’s medicine and knowledge alone are not the key factors. Men, even doctors, are human and fallible. Yes, you should feel good about the doctors who are caring for you, but put your ultimate trust in God!
If you are facing a physical attack, a disease or a chronic illness today and would like prayer, please fill out the information on this link and we will bring it before God during our intercessory prayer service every Monday night. (And when you receive your healing, please send us your praise report!) Better yet, if you live in South Florida, come visit us and tell one of the ushers you would like prayer following the Sunday service at 10:30 a.m.
If you can’t visit us here at Grace Community Church, find a good, Spirit-filled church where they believe and preach that divine healing is still for today. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, now and forever”. (Heb 13:8) Jesus is the same; what He did while on earth is still his will today. (Acts 10:38) It is so important that you purposefully surround yourself with people who are speaking words of faith over you. (So be careful what you allow yourself to listen to, the programs you watch, and the things you read.) Once you find a church like that, ask for the leadership to anoint you with oil and pray the prayer of faith over you for your healing. Remember, it is not the person praying for you, but the power of God that resides within them that can be instrumental in bringing forth the manifestation of your healing as you get into agreement with them and receive your healing by faith. Don’t ever idolize any minister of the Gospel. If you examine Jesus’ ministry on earth, some were healed upon contact with him, some by the confession of their mouths, and some were healed “as they went”. But they all got the ball rolling, so to speak, by believing. The reason Jesus could do no mighty works in Nazareth was because of their unbelief. That is one thing that can stop healing in its tracks. So, if you are still not sure about the things I’ve told you today, I would challenge you to seek out the scriptures for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to show you that what I’m saying is true. Only then can you operate in faith, because “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Heb. 11:6)
Finally, you must fully EXPECT that your final outcome will be complete recovery, health and wholeness in your body. Don’t just hope so… know so!
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Cry out and draw near to Jesus, then hold fast to your faith! He alone has the power to heal you. You, too, can overcome “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony.” (Rev 12:11)
And until you see the full manifestation of your healing, remember these words from Isaiah 42:16:
“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
Along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn darkness into light before them
And make the rough places smooth”
Just like Jesus did for me, you can also become more than just a survivor…
you’ll be an OVERCOMER, and your testimony can affect hundreds, thousands,perhaps even millions of people facing similar battles.
Encouragement
“For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” — Romans 10:10
Copyright © 2009-2010 · All Rights Reserved ·
Author Unknown
Hi Rev Joe. Your story is inspiring and so detailed, I felt the experience as you wrote this. God Bless you for your miraculous healing and a lifetime of continous blessings for you and your family. My mother is currently battling stage 4 cancer with mets to various parts of her body. I believe that God planted a seed in me to be my mother's biggest advocate in Christ. I believe he planted a seed in me to pray and believe for my mother to be healed completely from cancer. The size of her problem pales in comparison to the size of our God! Although there have been many terrible, discouraging days, where the devil tried to torment my mother and I with negative thoughts, GOD ALWAYS WON. Your story is living proof that with several obstacles God still believed for you to walk on water and be saved. Please pray for my mother as I believe with my whole heart that she will be healed....
ReplyDeleteThese are the scriptures I've been mediating on..
Psalm 58:11
Matthew 9:19-22
2 Corinthians 12 5-10
JEREMIAH 17:5-8
Matthew 17:20
Matthew 21:21
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO READ YOUR STORY....YOU WERE CALLED ON THIS EARTH FOR GREAT THINGS AND A WONDERFUL PURPOSE...CONTINUE TO FULFILL THAT
I so appreciate your testimony.On Dec.4,2014 at the age of 47 I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer that had spread to my bones.I was totally in shock along with my husband and precious children. The doctor told me that he wanted to manage the cancer with chemo,but I would always have cancer. I did the chemo treatments and it was heart wrenching when I lost my hair. When I went for my first PET scan after @ 16 chemo treatments there was NO cancer found.I reminded him that everyone was praying for me.The doc.was trually amazed. He said he had never seen anything like this in over 30 years and it was definitely a God thing. I am so thankful and I praise my Lord Jesus with all that is in me. I with I could say that was a pillar of strength through the whole time, but there were times when I felt so scared. I had to keep praying and confessing God's Word. My husband and children encouraged and trusted God with me. I want everyone to know that God's promises are true and I give Him all glory!
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate your testimony.On Dec.4,2014 at the age of 47 I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer that had spread to my bones.I was totally in shock along with my husband and precious children. The doctor told me that he wanted to manage the cancer with chemo,but I would always have cancer. I did the chemo treatments and it was heart wrenching when I lost my hair. When I went for my first PET scan after @ 16 chemo treatments there was NO cancer found.I reminded him that everyone was praying for me.The doc.was trually amazed. He said he had never seen anything like this in over 30 years and it was definitely a God thing. I am so thankful and I praise my Lord Jesus with all that is in me. I with I could say that was a pillar of strength through the whole time, but there were times when I felt so scared. I had to keep praying and confessing God's Word. My husband and children encouraged and trusted God with me. I want everyone to know that God's promises are true and I give Him all glory!
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate your testimony.On Dec.4,2014 at the age of 47 I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer that had spread to my bones.I was totally in shock along with my husband and precious children. The doctor told me that he wanted to manage the cancer with chemo,but I would always have cancer. I did the chemo treatments and it was heart wrenching when I lost my hair. When I went for my first PET scan after @ 16 chemo treatments there was NO cancer found.I reminded him that everyone was praying for me.The doc.was trually amazed. He said he had never seen anything like this in over 30 years and it was definitely a God thing. I am so thankful and I praise my Lord Jesus with all that is in me. I with I could say that was a pillar of strength through the whole time, but there were times when I felt so scared. I had to keep praying and confessing God's Word. My husband and children encouraged and trusted God with me. I want everyone to know that God's promises are true and I give Him all glory!
ReplyDelete