Healing Winds
August 2018 |
Recently, while at work at my desk in the early afternoon, I suddenly sensed the presence of the Lord. I believe He spoke to my heart, and it greatly encouraged and blessed me. I believe what He spoke to me will also be a blessing to you. He said, “Healing winds are ready to blow.” I immediately began to praise Him and thank Him for what He has done for me in the past.
Testimony
I know what it is to be supernaturally touched by the hand of God with healing virtue. In 1997, I suffered a stroke. The effects of the stroke left me partially paralyzed on my left side. Beyond a typical cold and flu bug, I had never been sick or suffered any significant physical ailments. How could have I prevented this instantaneous event that caused me to helplessly tumble to the floor? Unable to move, I laid there confused and bewildered. I was an athlete and in excellent physical condition, or so I thought. There was no indication or warning for what I had just experienced. I had regularly checked my blood pressure and had routine blood tests. My diet was very good, and many thought that my exercise routine was exemplary.
My son stood above me speechless and surprised. My wife was out exercising and called the house. I recall hearing my son tell her, “Dad is not doing well, and you best come home quickly.”
It seemed like hours before she came home, but it was only minutes. My body felt heavy and numb. My wife contacted my brother—a paramedic—and before long an ambulance was at the house. Although my brother was not working, he came over to see me. My wife bent over, looked at me, and said in a soft, caring voice, “Honey, you’ve had a stroke.”
Her observation was confirmed by the emergency medical crew and my brother—I heard them speaking to the hospital about my condition. The urgency of the medical attendees made it clear to me that this was serious. I cried out to the Lord in my heart to reveal something to me. The more I listened and watched as they prepared me for transport, the more I began to panic. It was a spirit of fear that came upon me. Will this be my last day on earth? Why is this happening to me? Did I do something wrong? Countless questions came to my mind as the ambulance, with sirens bellowing, carved its way through Pittsburgh’s rush hour traffic to get me to the hospital.
When we arrived, I was quickly moved from the ambulance and rushed into the hospital where I heard nurses yelling, “Stat, take him over to CAT scan. We need to see if he has a bleeder.”
While witnessing their urgency, and reasoning that this must be really bad, I was finally able to whisper, “Jesus, help me.”
The next thing I recall, I was in a treatment room. Several people were in the room talking, but I couldn’t make out all that they were saying. A doctor came in and smiled at me. I thought that was strange at a time like this to be greeted with such levity. He said, “I have good news! You do not have a bleeder” (a bleeder is when a vein or artery leaks blood and, if not stopped, can become progressively worse), and he explained the different types of strokes.
The doctor went on to show me how the left side of my body was affected by the stroke that occurred on the right side of my brain. Later, they showed me how the stroke occurred in the middle cerebral artery. I was to find out that it affected a large part of the right side of my brain.
While in the hospital, along with the battery of tests they performed, I had many Christians visit and lay hands on me for healing, but it seemed like the heavens were sealed up. I wondered if our prayers going up were getting through. I saw the impact that my condition had on my immediate family, friends, and work associates and realized how my life had changed, and also changed everyone else’s life around me.
Past Healings
Early in my Christian walk, I had the privilege of being in services where the power of the Lord was present to heal. I knew early on that God heals. My brother had ministered in the tristate area of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio with Ruth Fisher and Kathryn Kuhlman’s sister (after Miss Kuhlman passed away). You might say I came into my Christian experience seeing people healed as part of nearly every service I attended. One thing is for sure, I never saw people praise anyone but the Lord when they were touched by the power of God.
Seasons
The wind with healings slowed to a gentle breeze and soon the only thing that remained were the memories of what God did. My brother made a comment that stuck with me since then. He said, “God is not moving in this way right now.” What he meant was moving corporately. God responds to faith in an individual’s life, and many have been healed since the early 1980s, after the healing movement waned. I was one of those who was fortunate to have been healed. However, it remained in my heart that God would once again move with healing virtue in a corporate manner. I witnessed many people getting saved during those services.
Healing Winds
My healing took place about a week after my stroke. I immediately knew that I was healed. There was no need for recovery time because it was instantaneous. For some, God may choose to heal gradually. He is God, and He can do as He likes. But this I do believe: healing winds are ready to blow. I believe God will do it again. I believe it is sooner than you can imagine. We worship the Lord for who He is. We praise Him for the things He has done. Healing is in the cross. But the most important healing takes place when a lost sinner repents and gives his life to Jesus.
Let’s believe together for a move of the healing power of God to blow inside dead churches and denominations. Let’s believe God to send healing winds to blow the chaff out of our lives and to purify us. Let’s pray He’ll do it again—this time to reap in the world’s harvest.
Next month, I will resume my article series, “All Israel Shall be Saved.”
|
|
