Category Archives: Healing

Cast Down but not Destroyed

by Saint In Training
Original Image by: Joel Olives

Original Image by: Joel Olives

Satan does not wait for anyone to come to him, he goes searching. Like a lion on the prowl he searches for lives to destroy; minds to confuse; bodies to afflict with sickness and disease; families to tear apart and finances to dry up. He does this to the children of God in hopes that we will first curse God, and then die.

Sometimes we feel as though we will be overcome. We are surrounded on every side; struck down by the problems we face and threatened with hopelessness. But, we are not without hope. Our hope is in Christ. Our strength is in Him. God sees our tears and He knows our heartaches and our fears.

God is the God of Compassion. He cares for us and he wants us to bring him our worries, our anxieties and troubles. He wants us to leave them in his capable hands. He wants us to trust Him!

2 Corinthians 1:3-11 (NIV)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

It leads one to wonder as to the whys of God’s seeming unwillingness to deliver us speedily from our trials. Paul addresses this with eloquence:

If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Does God allow us to be tormented for the sake of others? The answer is ‘yes’ but it is not as simple as it seems. You see, it’s through our sufferings that we not only receive God’s glory but He is glorified among men. When we endure without giving way to the enemy, our fellow sufferers who are our brothers and sisters in Christ receive comfort and encouragement in their own fight of faith. Further, sinners who watch us, some who are in hopes of our failing, will see the salvation of our faith which is Christ Jesus. Even if our tribulation seems to be unto death, Paul preaches, it is so that we will trust in God and not in ourselves (nor in man).

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

But here is the hope and the promise!

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Paul reiterates this reason and hope in 2 Corinthians 4:15-17 (NIV):

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man [our Spirit] is renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…

During our days of lack when we’ve drawn our belts so tight we can’t get air enough to breath and we’ve received all the assistance man has to offer but still are in need – we must endure and trust God.

When the doctors shake their heads in despair and their reports offer us no hope of recovery, beloved we must endure and trust God.

When our children, siblings or spouse refuse to turn to the Savior we love and adore; when they linger in the filth of sin and shame, we must endure and trust God.

It is in God we find hope. It is in the Master of the universe that our peace resides. It is in the bottomless well of Living Water where our thirst can be quenched. Though the fiery arrows of the enemy fly overhead and threaten to engulf the world around us in flames – we must endure and trust God.

Beloved of God, my brothers and sisters in Christ, stand firm on the rock of your salvation. Stand! Do not give ground. Do not give up. If you have to crawl, clawing your way inch by inch to the mountain’s peek, screaming and crying all the way – don’t you dare give up! For, “after you have suffered a little while,” your suffering will end. (2 Peter 1:10 NIV) It is ‘after’, that God will heal. It is ‘after’, that God will loose the chains from the captives. It is only after that the flood gates of prosperity will be opened.

But before we can see the ‘after’ – we must endure.

It hurts. It’s painful. God knows the chaos and confusion that assails our minds. Cling to Him! Dig in the deeper beloved. Imprint yourself in the Ark of Safety and hang on for dear life because if you don’t, “…to whom shall we go?”

It is God who has the words of eternal life. He is our hope in this life and He loves us. He hears our prayers and despite what the enemy may say God has answered every one of them. We just have to wait for the answer to be made manifest.

Trust Him. Rely on Him. Turn to Him and He will not fail you. Hold on! For the Lord says:

“I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”   Revelation 2:9-11 (NIV)

Beloved I don’t like to suffer. I’ve been running from suffering all my saved life. But, I am not alone anymore; I have the Holy Spirit within: He says it’s time to stop running. I have the Hope of Glory residing on the inside of me and where I falter He will stand! So I say to my Lord, the God of my Salvation, my Hope of Glory…So be it.

I pray that you are encouraged and that the Holy Spirit will enable you to do the same. If you have not yet received the free gift of the Holy Spirit, pray to receive Him and that God grants you mercy until you do. He who is able to keep us faultless will cover you with His mercy and grace until that blessed time.

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For additional encouragement read:

2 Peter 1:7-11

1 Peter 5:7-9

The Suffering Saint – a poem

A Pit full of Purpose – a poem

 

Joy in the Midst of My Storm

by Saint In Training

Written by : My mother – Christine Wilcox

Original Image by: Andrea Rose

This testimony is for all of you who are facing a test that is trying your faith in God. I pray that this witnesses to your heart and encourages your faith in God’s love for you, for His love is truly everlasting.

The beginning of my test, and my victory, was in September of 2006. I was diagnosed with colon cancer. The news wasn’t delivered to me in the plush surroundings of a doctor’s office; rather it was given to me over the phone while I was in a classroom filled with busy three-year olds. That phone call would change my life forever.

God blessed me to maintain my composure as well as the strength to finish out my work-day. As you can imagine, on the inside, I was experiencing a roller-coaster of emotions! The inner stress I was dealing with pushed my body to its limit. However, I knew that I had to gain control of myself because I would have to tell my two beautiful daughters the heartbreaking news.

A mother’s thoughts ran through my mind. How on earth could I bear to see them in pain? Pain that could not be soothed by a mother’s touch or kiss. This kind of news required more comfort than I was able to offer. I wished that they were three again! That they could return to that time when I was still able to protect them from the worst of life’s sorrows. Those were the thoughts of a mother but the thoughts of a child of God recognized that this storm was one only He could calm.

And bless the Lord! He did just that. I broke the news to my girls and, it was as I’d feared, my oldest daughter took it hard. But, as I was telling them the full prognosis, something wonderfully amazing happened: God anointed me with a spirit of praise! Needless to say, it took my daughter by surprise. In the face of such despair, God blessed me to speak words of comfort to her heart. I spoke with the authority of the Holy Ghost, I would be alright! Her tears dried up and precious hearts, she never shed another tear after that day.

But that’s not all! My youngest daughter spoke with a gift of faith and proclaimed that I was going through a test so that I would have a testimony of God’s power and what He can do! This proclamation came from her mouth but the words were planted in her by God! Although the trial of watching me suffer was hard for her to bear – she never wavered in her faith that God would heal me. God was already at work!

Healing came but it was not instantaneous. I endured rounds of chemotherapy treatment and grew weak; my blood count was low and the need to have my blood drawn constantly sapped the energy from me. But, my spirit stayed high for the duration. I was and am blessed to have a Christian family of saved brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and most of all, my children. I never lacked for prayer or encouragement. I couldn’t give up if I wanted to!

However, I was not through being tested. A day came when I heard those dreaded words no cancer patient wants to hear, “We may have to go back in.” They said, “We’ve spotted cancer in your liver.” I was speechless. That day I left the doctor’s office angry. I wasn’t angry with God but I was angry at the thought of having to endure surgery and the subsequent hills and valleys of recovery. I didn’t want to have to go through the process all over again!

Oh I was fighting mad! I suppose people must have thought me crazy because I marched away from the office, talking to my God all the while. Who else could know my frustration so well? Who else could do something about it?! I’d listened to the doctor but it was time to get a Word from God. I talked to Him and spilled my heart to Him right there in the hallway (when you’re in desperate need dear hearts, you don’t care where you are!).

“I don’t want these people cutting on me again!” I told Him. That statement was my prayer. It was all that was required. That moment gave me the courage to reach out for my “not yet” faith, the faith that God was working to develop in me. My oldest sister had accompanied me that day. I relayed to her the doctor’s news once I’d reached the waiting area where she was sitting.

You may think it strange but, she broke out into a grin. It was a grin created by the “been there, done that” faith God had gifted her with in the midst of her own tests. She simply said, “You won’t have to have the surgery.” Her certainty helped me to stand firm on my faith. It was time for God to show up and show Himself strong.

As I waited for the next set of test results to come back I had an experience that was hard for me to believe: it was something I will never forget.

One day, while I was preparing dinner, I cut up a whole clove of garlic into a pot full of sauce. When I set down to eat I noticed that I didn’t see the garlic pieces or smell the garlicky aroma. I was puzzled to say the least. I knew that I wasn’t crazy! I saw the chunks of garlic fall into the pot but now…there was no sign of me having done so. What was going on?!

An hour later, still perplexed about the disappearing garlic, I was recreating every step I took during my preparation of the miracle meal (there’s just no other way to describe it!). It was then that one of my sisters called. I promptly told her about what had happened and do you know, the Lord used her to reveal the mystery to me. She said, “Just like you can’t find the garlic in the food, the test isn’t going to show any cancer in your liver.” I hung up from my sister rejoicing in the God of my salvation. He was reassuring me that I had the victory! How could I expect anything else when we have a victorious God who has never lost a battle?!

When the test results came in the doctor, bless his heart, shifted from one foot to the other with a puzzled expression on his face. He took off his glasses and kept saying, “This is unusual,” over and over again. The test showed that there was no sign of cancer in my liver! They would not have to go back in! The doctor called it unusual, I call it a miracle!

God has made a promise in His word that He will never leave or forsake us and He meant just that dear hearts.

God gave me a scripture during this time of testing that has stayed with me ever since:

Psalm 34

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.

God was with me then and has stayed with me through all the tests that have tried me since. He is with you too. Whatever the test, whatever the difficulty you’re facing right now, know that God has not forsaken you. He has not, nor will He ever! He will lift you when you are low, encourage you when you are despondent and will strengthen you when you’re weak. Do not lose heart dear ones, give it to God and He will surely carry you through to a victorious end. There are tests ahead of me to be sure, but where I once had a “not yet” faith I now know God better and I’m inching closer and closer to the “been there, done that” faith. Every round goes higher and higher!