The One That Multiplies

Matthew has spent years proclaiming the gospel of Christ to the villages of India with little results. After many hours of prayer and hard work, Matthew had only one faithful convert. Matthew did not understand what God was doing. He knew he had been called to this place. God why did you send me here knowing there were be so little response?

Then the situation got worse. Matthew’s only convert became very sick. The doctors tried to save him but the man died anyway. Matthew was devastated and cried out to God:

What are you doing God? Now my only convert is dead?

After four days, the body was prepared for burial. As the village gathered around the body, God spoke to Matthew’s heart,

Go, uncover his face and pray.

At first Matthew was uncomfortable with the request because he did not consider himself to be a great man of faith. Then again,

Go, uncover his face and pray.

Matthew pushed back the fear and follow the Lord’s leading. He walked up to the body, uncovered the man’s face, and prayed, “Lord, in obedience to You, I lay my hands on this man and I ask for you to heal him in the name of Jesus. Amen.”

The words barely got out of Matthew’s mouth when the man gasped for air. Matthew was astonished. And the village…well they will never be the same again.

In His timing, God had answered the cries from Matthew’s heart for the people of his village. There was no question in anyone’s mind that Matthew’s God was real and powerful. There, in that moment, a whole new church was born.

When I heard this present day miracle over the holidays, my heart leaped for joy. And as I pondered what happen, these two truths seemed to pop out.

·      The way God handles ministry can often be misunderstood because of His timing. We go in expecting the immediate results. If we do not see progress, we assume we made a mistake. Sometimes, we do not take into account the need for periods of intercession as well as learning about and getting to know the people/situation we are to serve.

·      Matthew did not lay his hands on the dead man because he had great faith in himself. He did it out of obedience and confidence/faith in God’s words and abilities. So often when God wants to do the miraculous, we hold back by putting the spotlight on our lack and not on God’s abundance. The power for this mighty miracle came with Matthew simply surrendering to what God had asked him to do.

This story gave me hope. Those things, which I have been praying for and waiting to manifest, are still under God’s care. And in the end, it is not about building great faith in my abilities but in God’s. When God asks me to step up and act, His creative miracles are ready to come forth to do the impossible.

You've Got Cancer

Hearing the words “You’ve got cancer,” are devastating. Walls seem to come crashing down around you, as you begin to realize you must mount up to face the fight. It looks as if faith flees momentarily, but like a magnet comes back the moment you turn to stand.

These were my thoughts as I sat in a chemotherapy waiting room this past week. My daughter-in-law, Leslie and I had driven Tom, her step-dad, to his monthly doctor’s appointment. This time, Tom was there for a check-up before his chemo treatment the next week; however, this fight started long before this visit.

Tom has been battling brain cancer for the past 10 months. It took six weeks, and numerous theories before the doctors could diagnose Tom’s problem correctly. Tom’s type of cancer is very rare, and little is known, so the doctors felt compelled to give him chemotherapy as a precautionary measure. Tom is one of three in the world that has ever had this type of cancer and the only one who has had it to start in the brain first. It usually manifests itself in other areas of the body first. Thus, explaining why the doctors felt the need for further treatment.

Within the next several weeks of the diagnosis, God miraculously healed Tom of the brain cancer. The two heart-shaped tumors were on the x-ray, and then they were gone. The doctor’s couldn’t explain the disappearance, but they couldn’t deny it either.  Tom and his wife Nancy had gone through days of not knowing what challenges were coming up next, how are they going to pay for the expensive treatments and, of course, just the exhaustion of dealing with an illness like this. Even though God healed Tom of the brain cancer itself, it has still been a fight to make sure the illness is totally defeated. Tom and Nancy have remained strong through the whole process. They have thanked God for the miraculous healing He has given them and they have thank God for the strength to finish this final leg of their journey. Tom and Nancy have become stronger, wiser, and even more convinced of God’s loving care as they have sought Him in every aspect along the way.

I am thankful for Tom and Nancy’s Godly witness and perseverance in their most recent challenging experience. It helps me know that I can expect God to be there for me when I go through my difficult times. The journey may not be as easy as I would like, but God can redeem any circumstance for my good and His glory, when I seek Him with my whole heart.

How are you handling your overwhelming challenges? Are you running away from God in anger and disappointment, or are you running to Him for His strength and wisdom? Choose to let God into all your circumstances and He will become more then enough for your every need.