Last week during camp several times the need for miracles was talked about. I personally know several people in need of a healing. It seems cancer is raising its ugly head in the lives of many. But God is still the Healer. He IS the Miracle Worker. He is the Provider.
In Joshua chapter four, the children of Israel had just passed over the Jordan, walking on dry ground. The Lord commanded Joshua to have a memorial of 12 stones built for the very simple reason that their children would know what God had done.
Joshua 4:6I'd like to share some of the "stones" in my miracle wall. The most recent one took place at camp last week:
That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
Joshua 4:21
And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
On Thursday night after service the staff and campers played basketball. It was a tight game and the lead switched many times. At the end of regulation, the score was tied - 84 to 84. Players on both sides were giving it their all (and then some!) A collision on the court took place and a young man by the name of Jeremy went down and stayed there. I felt a little sick to my stomach as we waited for him to get up, I never want to see anyone hurt.Many of you know of Les' healing from Muscular Dystrophy, but for newer readers, here is his testimony (taken from notes from a message Les preached a few years ago):
After service on Friday night I asked Jeremy's mom how he was doing. His hip had been dislocated and he was still in severe pain. The camp nurses had helped him, but his mom really wanted him to go to the doctor. He was trying to endure the pain and didn't want to go. About fifteen minutes later, as I was making my way back through the auditorium, his mom stopped me. God healed Jeremy during service!!! It was during the altar time, some of the campers gathered around him and he felt a touch go through him that he had never felt before. He was instantly healed!!
During my Kindergarten year I experienced a rapid decrease in my ability to get around. I lost the ability to jump, run, walk up stairs and would complain about my legs hurting. Once, Mom mentioned that I seemed to be struggling keeping up with the others at play. I answered that my new pants weren’t broken in yet and they were slowing me down. To this point, my parents wrote it off as growing pains and growth spurts.
But on a camping trip with three boys and two Moms – Mom’s friend noticed how I walked and ran. She said something looked very wrong and that I should be checked out. Later that summer, my Grandmother was visiting and told my Mother that something was seriously wrong with me and that I should be taken immediately to a doctor.
At this point, I could not walk up stairs without help. At home I crawled on my hands and knees. In public, Mom or Dad would assist me.
At the doctor’s office, I was unable to hop on one foot, or jump over a small block using both feet. Our doctor referred us to a specialist and arranged for an appointment.That little boy who couldn't walk up stairs, is the man who now goes on 100 mile bike rides, has hiked the Grand Canyon, he skis, swims, golfs, and runs, and keeps me on my toes!
First thing the doctors had me do was walk up a flight of stairs, which I couldn’t do. One doctor commented to the other, “Have you ever seen it this bad in one so young?” They thought they were out of earshot, but my Mother overheard them say this. Doctors ran more tests, prescribed some exercises to be done at home, then scheduled a follow-up visit for two weeks later.
Before getting in the car, I wanted to go over to a fountain near where the car was parked. Mom gave permission and watched from the driver’s seat as I went over to the fountain. She broke down in the car and asked God what was happening to her little boy. As she lay her head on the steering wheel weeping, the Lord spoke to her and said, “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in doctors, believe also in me.”
A couple of nights later, Mom and Dad started to do our first session of exercises. As we began, conviction gripped their hearts. They decided that if God was going to do something, He would get all the glory and nobody would be able to take credit for any part of it. We never did those exercises again.
That Sunday in church, by the gift of tongues and interpretation in operation, a message came to congregation. The message started by quoting II Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” The Lord went on to say that there were needs in that place that only He could meet, and that if you would just have faith in Him, every need could be met. As a spirit of worship swept through the auditorium, my parents felt like this was to them, and they took me up to have me prayed for.
A couple of nights later, the same family we had camped with was over for dinner and we three boys were in the basement playing. Upstairs, they heard a bunch of whooping and hollering and came down to see what was going on. When they stepped into the recreation room, the first thing they saw was ME running around the room with my friend on my back!
A few days after that, I went back to the doctor for my follow-up visit. The doctor ran full tests again. He commented to my Mother, “Looks like the exercises have helped.” But my Mother said, “We haven’t been doing the exercises. What happened is that a lot of prayers have been going up for this boy, and God has healed him of this disease." The doctor told her that he wasn’t sure about that, but whatever we were doing, to keep on doing it.
And that was the last time I ever saw that doctor.
Every miracle begins with an impossibility.
- Mom's Bible
About Mom, taken from Grandmother's Memories book:
"Some special things from childhood that I'll always remember are:
I had tuberculosis when I was 9 years old. The day before I was scheduled to go to the sanitarium, Sis. Esther Bennett and Sis. Struble came to the house and prayed for me and God healed me completely!"
Finally, what may not seem like a miracle to you, was definitely a miracle for me:
On Monday, February 23, 2009, our house was broken in to while I was there. You can read the full account at Peace that Passes Understanding, and the followup Casting Down Imaginations.So what about you, do you have a "stone" you'd be willing to share in the comments section? It doesn't have to be a miracle of healing, in these difficult economic times it can be a financial miracle, or a miracle of deliverance. I just want to encourage anyone who is in need of a miracle today that God is still in the miracle working business!
To make a very long story short, when the thugs were in our house there was absolutely nothing I could do, as a matter of fact I was paralyzed with fear. When all I could think about was what would I do if they found me, God was on the move. I truly believe HE frightened the burglars, just as He set armies to flight (see II Kings 7 and Judges 7). They ran from our house as though a gun was pointed at them!
