Prior to the race I don’t think I truly understood the power of the Father that we serve. I had experienced a little bit of His grace when my sister defied the odds of her autoimmune disorder, but even then I don’t think I grasped the magnitude of the work that the Lord can do.
On the World Race we all rock t-shirts that say “heal the sick” and we all come with the expectations that we are going to see miraculous healing, but that doesn’t happen for everyone. We all get to experience the Lord in the exact way that He chooses for us, and last week the Lord chose to use me to show His mighty power and love to my squad. He performed a healing miracle, in me, through the hands of my squadmates.
So let me set the stage for this “mind blown” moment..
We are now in Malaysia and team changes have happened.
And the biggest change. I am a squad leader.
Squad leading was something that I had randomly thought about during month 1 of the race, but then I quickly dismissed the idea because I thought there were others more equipped to serve our squad. The night I was raised up to a squad leader my race completely changed and I knew it. With the excitement of a new role on the squad came a pain; a physical, excruciating pain in my shoulder and neck. A pinched nerve was debilitating my physical movement and my emotional growth.
On New Years Day the pain only continued to grow so a squadmate offered to massage it and hopefully relieve some of the pain. When she finished and I was still in pain she asked if I had asked for prayer. My heart started beating fast because earlier during worship I had heard the Lord say, “stand up, ask for help. I can heal you.” But for whatever reason I remained silent and thought Advil would take away the pain.
When I woke up the next morning the pain was there and worse than ever. I wanted to cry, but instead I gritted my teeth and headed to our morning roof worship. After an hour I couldn’t take it anymore and I stood up and declared a need for healing. Through my tears I told the squad about my intense pain that only continued to grow.
My squad started raining prayers down. There were words and visions.
Towards the end of the prayer I heard God loud and clear.
“When you walk away, there will be no pain. You will stretch and pull and no pain will be there.”
He gave me a vision of what it was going to look like, so when the prayers finished a squadmate asked how I felt and I immediately obeyed His vision.
And the pain was gone.
I fell against the wall in tears. I had been healed exactly as He had said and He was showing our squad His power and love. So much more than physical healing happened in that moment.
For the two days prior to this moment I had been battling with the enemy about my place in the squad. He was feeding me constant lies and I allowed myself to rest in them.
You are not equipped for this. There are people that could do a better job than you. You don’t know enough about the Word to teach and serve them.
and the worst lie.
Your squad didn’t want you in this position.
In the moment that I was physically healed, the Lord also did a major healing of my heart.
He gave me confidence.
A new kind of confidence.
A confidence in my Father to equip me and allow me to serve my squad.
A fully trusting, never doubting, kind of confidence.
It has been a week since God healed my pinched nerve and I am happy to say that there is still NO pain and I am walking in total confidence as a squad leader.
It was a complete healing miracle; physical,emotional, and spiritual healing.
I was reading this week in Acts 3 where Peter and John were going into the temple and they see a beggar who had been lame from birth. Peter told the man “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping, and praising God.
I just love this picture. A lame man was just healed and instead of praising Peter and John, he immediately gives praise where it is deserved; to our Father who is over all and loves all.
Jesus’ disciples were simply the messengers for the healing that Lord wanted to do in this man.
My squad is 39 obedient disciples of Christ who stood in place of the Lord and allowed Him to heal me.
And praise God, HE DID!
with love(and a completely healed shoulder/heart),
Sam
