My time in Columbia has been absolutely beautiful. Every day has been incredibly fulfilling, but the days have also been very challenging. When I signed up for The World Race, I thought I would be blogging about playing soccer with kids, the work that God is doing in my life, and the people that are pouring out into their communities. This is not one of those blogs.
For those of you who are skeptics, that don’t think God still performs miracles or maybe thought He is still at work but his methods have changed over the centuries, I’m coming to you as a witness of the supernatural. The past few weeks my team has been stepping out of our comfort zones, diving head first into the work that is being done in this community, and trusting God to show up. As a team we have taken part in some of His miracles. The Lord has used us to heal the sick and cast out demons. We have faced evil spirits and seen firsthand the effects off witchcraft.
During one of our sessions at launch we focused on Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14:22). We learned that in order for us to step into the supernatural, we must get to a place where we fully trust Jesus. We learned that fear is always going to be used to misdiagnose what Jesus is doing in the situation and that we must listen for His voice to seize the opportunity. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on water they were afraid. They thought he was a ghost. Peter, who fully trusted in Jesus, listened when Jesus told him to “Come.” He was able to walk on water himself and stepped into the supernatural. When Peter saw the wind, he allowed fear to misdiagnose the situation, he began to doubt, and he began to sink. Jesus was there to protect him and immediately reached out his hand to save him. As Peter climbed back into the boat, the wind died down and the others in the boat became calm. At that moment Peter brought the supernatural back into the boat with him.
In my last blog I wrote briefly about praying healing over a woman who was blind in one eye. The work that Jesus is doing for her is truly supernatural. We recently stopped back at her house to check in on her and she has regained some sight in that eye. Amazing! Since that time we have had the opportunity to pray healing over many other people. One woman had been bed ridden for the better part of 16 years. She had an issue with her spine that caused her immense pain. Though she was able to get out of bed some days, it would cause her so much pain that she would need to spend the entire next day in bed to recover. When we arrived at her home she had only been out of bed twice in the past month, once for a Christmas service at church and once to take her elderly mother to the hospital. We prayed healing over her three times. We asked God to take away her pain, to heal her spine, to give her peace, and to make those days in that bed a distant memory. God did just that. After we finished praying the third time, my teammate Luis told her to get up. She was hesitant. She said that one day she hoped to be healed so she could do just that. Luis told her that she needed to get up now. She gingerly set her feet on the ground and we helped her stand. Her pain was gone. She was able to walk, she was able to dance, and she was even able to walk up and down her ramp unassisted. God healed her that day and since then she has been sharing her testimony. She says she feels like she is 15 again and she’s moving like it too. We have seen her several times since then. She has fallen once and though she was frightened that she had reinjured herself, she got rite back up with no pain. We didn’t perform the miracle that day, God did. He used our faith and our trust to make something supernatural happen.
As a believer there are still many things that I am stretching to understand about God. I hope that’s always the case. I’m praying that as I gain new understanding, I continue to seek God and that I never get complacent in my relationship with Him. I hope I’m always hungry for more. Up until a couple weeks ago I really didn’t have any understanding of the spirit world. I believed in spiritual warfare but didn’t know what that meant. I believed in the struggle between good and evil but chose to remain uneducated on the subject. After all, ignorance is bliss. As I continue my walk with God and continue to step out of my comfort zone, He continues to show me new things. As a team, God continues to use us and we have taken part in several exorcisms.
On a recent trip to San Pedro, Pastor William warned us that there were many evil spirits in the city and that many of its citizens practice witchcraft. He shared that witchcraft was used to curse others and that this was an invitation for demons to possess people. This trip wouldn’t be our team’s first encounter with demons, but for me, it was the most eye opening. We were going to attend an evening service at Pastor William’s other church. He asked that during worship we pray over the small congregation. As we circled the room in prayer William laid hands on a woman and also began to pray. She began to weep. As William continued to pray she began swaying back and forth. As his prayer intensified and he spoke with greater authority, she started dancing uncontrollably. Minutes later she dropped to the floor convulsing. It looked as if she was having a seizure. For a time she became calm and William finished with the rest of his message. After the service, William continued to pray over her. He has twenty years experience casting out demons and countering the acts of witchcraft. He knew that this woman had not yet been released. As he prayed she started vomiting and he asked that we as a team come assist him in prayer. I had no idea what I was doing. William told us that the way to counteract evil was love so I started praying that the Holy Spirit pour out on to her and that she be filled with His love. I prayed that any chains of the enemy be broken, and I prayed for protection. I prayed all of this in Jesus’ name. We hugged her, held her, and prayed for peace. She was finally released.
I was blown away by what I saw that night. God has continued to show us his power and his mercy. He has continued to allow us to take part in his miracles. God has been using this month to prepare us as a team. He is giving us knowledge so that we may share it with the rest of our squad and other believers around the world. As followers of Jesus Christ we all have this authority to heal the sick and to cast out demons. We cannot put limitations on Him or lower our expectations to fit what we believe He will do. We must be like Peter. We must fully trust in Jesus and not let fear cloud our vision so that we to can step out of the boat and into the supernatural.
These were just two instances that God has done the miraculous. I promise to share more in my next post. Also, my next fundraising deadline is coming up quick! I don’t know how the Lord will provide, but I have faith that he will. Please prayerfully consider allowing him to use you. Thank You!
