When Lynda started taking a step aerobics class at her church, she began to have intense pain in her feet. She quit the class, but her pain persisted. Medication gave no relief.
She repeatedly asked for prayer. Still, her suffering increased, and she was forced to greatly curtail her activities.
“One day my Sunday school teacher, who had prayed for me for months, called me with hopeful news,” Lynda says. “She had had a vision of me being healed. She’d seen Jesus and me hugging each other and crying tears of joy.
“I presumed this meant instant healing—although she didn’t say that. But another year went by before healing came. And it only happened after I chose to make some changes in my attitude and daily habits.”
Lynda admits she had become addicted to television. At night when she couldn’t sleep because of the pain, she would watch romance and fantasy shows as a distraction. Although she knew this was allowing “garbage” into her thought-life, she continued the practice.
Also, because of her intense pain, she would sometimes take more medication than prescribed. When she confessed this to her husband and her doctor, they determined that Lynda’s husband would dole out her medications from then on.
“I made some drastic decisions,” Lynda says. “I stopped watching television completely and studied God’s Word instead.
“I changed my eating habits by abstaining from sugar and choosing a more healthy diet, which meant I lost weight and lightened the load on my feet. Then I enrolled in an exercise program at a local gym. I also allowed the podiatrist to fit me with specially made plastic molds for my shoes [orthotics] to help balance my weight more evenly and lessen pressure on the ball of my foot.”
Within two weeks of getting the orthotics, Lynda was able to walk without pain. She attributes her healing to God’s intervention and her lifestyle changes, along with help from her doctor.
“I learned the difference between faith and presumption. I had to obey what God was showing me and change my bad habits,” she reports.
“Today I can walk anywhere, and I am back into the full swing of living—minus medications and television. I thank God every day for the miracle of being able to walk without pain after eight years of suffering.”
Trusting God, Not Miracles
Every health crisis gives us an opportunity to come to a deeper understanding of how the same God who created our bodies also has the power to heal them. Of course, the means God uses to heal one person may not be the means He uses to heal another. Just ask Beverly, Hilda and Lynda.
God sovereignly deals with each of us in unique ways. He knows what will draw us closer to Him and make us more like Christ.
That’s why, when pain, tragedy, or illness strike, we must place our faith in God—not just in our expected miracle. Our part is to pray. God’s part is to heal, in His way and His time.
Quin Sherrer and Ruthanne Garlock teach and minister to women around the world. They have co-authored several books including, Lord, I Need Your Healing Power (Charisma House).
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