“Next a poor demon-afflicted wretch, both blind and deaf, was set down before him. Jesus healed him, gave him his sight and hearing. The people who saw it were impressed-‘This has to be the Son of David!’ But the Pharisees, when they heard the report, were cynical. ‘Black magic,’ they said. ‘Some devil trick he’s pulled from his sleeve.'” (Matt 12:22-24, MSG)

In our world, healings from God do not seem to be welcomed by anyone except the one who needs the healing. In fact, in some legalistic churches I have visited, pastors openly proclaim that healing is from the devil. Quite similar to the Pharisees, don’t you think?

Even our society has a hard time accepting healing. They will always find reasons to “explain” the miracle away, throwing doubt in the face of the healed. Sadly, some healthy churches even join their cause: “It’s not possible, therefore, there must be an explanation.” How sad! Have we forgotten that, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt 19:26b)?

About 20 months ago I was diagnosed by the top expert cardiologist of our region as having Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease. This meant that my aortic valve had only two leaflets instead of three. He told me matter-of-factly that I would need open heart surgery within two years.

It took time for him to give this diagnosis, because my first tests returned with inconclusive results. When he gave me a harder task to perform, however, he made the discovery about the bicuspid valve, and he even showed it to me on the ultrasound screen.

It made sense, really. When I was 16, a doctor in my country had told me I had heart murmurs…

Although the cardiologist I saw was the top expert in the region, I didn’t like his bedside manners. If I needed heart surgery, I wanted a doctor who cared. I asked for a referral to a Chinese doctor who was truly friendly. He redid all of my tests, and more than a year ago, he gave me the news that indeed, I had 3 leaflets to my aortic valve instead of just two. “The other doctor must have been wrong,” he concluded. “At times it is hard to see all 3 leaflets.”

But I had seen this with my own eyes. Besides, I had suffered from heart symptoms for months. I was often short of breath after the least bit of exertion. I had to pay attention when climbing stairs, and I couldn’t participate in gym class with my students as usual. What the surgeon didn’t know was that three months before I saw him, I woke up energized, and my Heavenly Father confirmed to me that my heart was healed. From then on, I was back to myself, for I trusted my Father that it was so.

The principal at my school had no doubt that I was completely healed. She had seen how I took my time going up the stairs. She had watched me direct gym class from the sidelines. Yet a few days after I had confirmation of my healing, I was again running up the three flights of stairs to my classroom without losing my breath. I even started participating in gym with my students, and they all noticed a big difference in me.

My principal approached me: “I am a bit puzzled. You are back to normal. How come?”

I looked her in the eye and said, “I am healed. I now have 3 leaflets on my aortic valve, instead of the two I was born with!”

“But that’s impossible,” she said. “A third leaflet cannot appear out of thin air!”

I smiled. “It’s simple. My God healed me.”

She couldn’t refute this, for she was witness to the transformation of my health through my actions, and she left the conversation pondering my testimony. The ones who didn’t know God experienced Him through the healing of my aortic valve.

A similar story was portrayed in a movie called, “Miracles from Heaven,” based on a real-life experience. The daughter was critically ill, and she was suffering immensely. Her body couldn’t digest her food intake, resulting in excruciating abdominal pain. She was on numerous medications to alleviate the pain, but to no avail. Unfortunately, there was no cure for her condition. Imagine the nightmare her parents faced!

One day she climbed up a tree with her older sister. They didn’t know the huge trunk was completely hollow until somehow the girl fell inside the tree. She tumbled all the way to the bottom, landing on her head. It took all night for the firefighters to get her out. Miraculously, she survived with no consequences of her fall. No broken bones, no blood, nothing. It was truly amazing.

What was even more amazing is that immediately after this, the girl stopped taking her medication. Her stomach that had been blown up like a balloon flattened itself out, and she was able to digest her food.

When her mom asked the specialist: “Is she healed?”, she was told: “There is no cure!” The specialist saw the facts, however. That girl was running, smiling, playing…

The doctor had promised this girl that if one of his patients ever got well, he would stop wearing his Elmo tie. All he could do as he watched her play was to take it off.

Nothing is impossible for our Heavenly Father. He loves you and me. He is nuts about us and He heals beyond the norms of medicine.

P. S. People who are with us every day will see with their own eyes that there is a God who cares!

Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “The Forgotten Message” devotional series, please click here.)

Written on March 20, 2016