God Can Heal: It ain’t Planter’s peanuts!
I’m somewhat of an introvert by
nature and like to think of myself as someone who doesn’t complain about or
share my personal problems with the world at large. (I like to think that but who knows,
depending on who you are maybe I have complained about my burdens to you. Feel
privileged you’re in the inner circle!)
As a Christian, the rule is to bear
our burdens with patience and to trust in the Lord. Our attitudes are to be of gratitude and the
Old Testament example of the complaining Israelites, condemned to the dessert
for 40 years never to see the promise land, teaches us to try to keep a
positive outlook on life knowing that the Lord is in control.
So about a year ago, I noticed me
right big toe was swollen in the lower “knuckle?” area. I thought that maybe it was just a callous at
first but after examining it I realized that there was something inside the
flesh that didn’t go away no matter how much dead skin I filed off with a
pumice stone or massaged it. I had lost
some weight so I surmised maybe it was fat?
You know the old saying “a moment on the lips. a life time on the….big
toe? I know. It didn’t make sense to me
either. Then I thought that I had run a
bunch of 5k’s in 2015, so maybe it was damage caused by running? Wouldn’t that just be the way! That’s what you get for exercising!
But it didn’t hurt…really… not too
much anyway. So not wanting to complain
or to burden others with my problems, like most people, I think, I ignored
it. I had a couple of other weird hard bumps
in my feet that I had been ignoring so I would just ignore the toe as
well.
Like I said that was over a year
ago. I am good at ignoring things. I ignored my alcoholism for 25 years or so
what’s a year, right?
Anyway, I decide to go for a run
one day a few months ago and noticed my running shoe on the right foot was
really uncomfortable. Also I started to
notice that after working all day, as a lineman, the big toe and those other
bumps were giving me occasional pain. It
was harder to ignore. So I showed my wife and she told me to get it checked out
because it obviously wasn’t normal.
So I made an appointment and I was diagnosed with plantar
fibromatosis, which is the more advanced form of plantar fibroma.
What is plantar fibroma?
A plantar fibroma
is a benign nodule that grows on the bottom of the foot and usually appears in
the second through sixth decade of life. It is usually slow growing and
measures less than an inch in size. More invasive, rapid-growing and
multi-planar fibromas are considered plantar fibromatosis. Both of them are
benign tumors made up of cells found in ligaments.
The good news is that my doctor, Dr. Daniel Longo, of Hudson
Valley Foot Associates had me in surgery in Monday April 3rd to
remove these invasive tumors. If you
have feet issues, go see Dr. Longo. He
has done right by me. So now I am
recovering and something that goes beyond medicine has happened to me
overnight.
With sickness and injury, Christians are encouraged to pray
for healing. And I know from my own and others testimony that healing can come. I prayed over my lumps to just melt away
miraculously but that didn’t happen. So
I saw a doctor. Good idea. Dr. Longo
took out the tumors.
After surgery I was in a great deal of pain, and couldn’t
get around without crutches because every time I moved my foot or put weight on
it I felt like I stepped on a nail. This
was the state I was in last night when I dragged myself to Celebrate Freedom,
my Christian Recovery ministry at Rock Solid Church.
At the end of the night, the guys
in my group prayed over me, and before I went to bed last night I said a prayer
for healing to take the pain away. I
prayed specifically for the pain to subside, for the blood to flow in a manner
to relieve the pressure, and for whatever was causing the pain to be
healed. I prayed over it my foot in the
name of Jesus.
I went to bed with throbbing pain
but upon awakening I noticed it was gone. I stepped on it and the sharp
shooting pain was gone. I rose and walked around the house praising the name of
Jesus. I ‘m telling you God can heal and
He will heal. You have to trust Him. You
may have to be persistent in your prayers but if it is according to His will you
will receive healing. I testified to my daughter, Haley, that I had prayed for
healing and I have received it. I’m not
100% and won’t be for some time but I don’t need the crutches anymore and the
sharp shooting pain is gone.
My mentor, sponsor, and friend Bob has called God “the
midnight surgeon”, that we can pray for an issue or struggle with a hard heart
for a long time but if we are faithful to pray and trust in God, He can and
will come and heal us, literally, overnight.
I have experienced this “phenomenon” time and time
again.
God answers prayers according to His will. In order to have God in your life you have to
be in relationship with Him.
Say a prayer of repentance, tell God that you are sorry for
your sins and that you are going to go forward and live your life according to
His Will.
You have to surrender yourself to Him.
You have to show Him you’re for real.
That means you worship Him.
That means church. Go
to a church that teaches the Bible as the word of God.
That means you read the Bible daily, as a form of worship
and a way to learn about and grow closer to God. If your starting out for the
first time reading the Bible, \focus on
the New Testament and the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
That means you talk to God through prayer. You can use traditional prayers, and make
requests for His intercession, but you also should talk to Him like you would
talk to a best friend or a trusted counselor.
Don’t do too much at once.
God will work with whatever you bring Him but you need to give it to Him
voluntarily and willingly.
Search your heart and the Holy Spirit will show you what
needs to change. It’s not rocket science. We know what’s wrong in our
lives.
Find help. Find
community. Invest yourself in your local
church to build heathy friendships of trust and common purpose in Christ. Join a “celebrate recovery” type of group
where Christ is the center where you can learn what it means to live a life
that is in relationship with God.
It’s not about being good, nobody’s good. It’s about being His and following Him.
That means trying to be holy. Don’t go nuts.
If you need a church, in New York State in: these are churches of whom I am familiar with
the Pastor and know that they can be trusted to teach Biblical truth.
Columbia County: Rock
Solid Church 334 Union Street, Hudson NY 12534.
Greene County: Light House Church, 18 North Franklin St,
Athens, NY 12015
Albany County: City Harvest Church, 585 Central Ave, Albany
NY 12206
Delaware County: Catskill Mountain Christian Center 629 Main
St, Margaretville NY 12445
Ulster County: King’s Fire Church 865 Neighborhood Rd, Lake
Katrine, NY 12449
Where you go to church doesn’t matter (It should be a Bible
believing, Bible teaching church), what matters is that you are seeking a
relationship with God.
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
33 But seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be
added to you.
Psalm
37:3-6 (NKJV)
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land,
and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires
of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall
bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your
righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.
Will you receiving healing? I don't know. That's for God to decide. However, I do know that if you give your self to seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and make Jesus your Lord and Savior, you will not regret it. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you will be set free from sin and death. If you invest in your relationship with God, you will know a peace that goes beyond understanding and will receive His blessings.