"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
Written on March 20, 2016
