Last week my understanding of the Holy Spirit grew in ways that I have been hoping for.
A little context to set the scene: It was the ninth day of World Race training camp. If I could describe this experience in a phrase it would be missionary boot camp. I have been stretched and pulled in so many ways, which has opened doors for God to present Himself in ways I have never experienced. Training camp forced me to live in tight community with people I only met nine days ago. Today, these strangers fully understand who I am and speak life into me so that I can live in the fullness of the person I was created to be. Through this process I have come to deeply and intimately know the people around me. One of these people is Lindsay who I now consider to be one of my closest friends. I could write an entire blog about each person I have come to love over the past few weeks, and Lindsay’s would go on forever. Lindsay has a powerful testimony and an incredible story that proves the immense love that God has for His children. Lindsay experienced a tragic back injury when she was a sophomore in high school that took away a competitive lacrosse career which added on to a life time of issues with the length of her legs. She has had length discrepancies her whole life and having two uneven legs causes obvious pain in her back and hips. When I met Lindsay, her legs were 3/4 of an inch different in length. When she sat on the floor with her legs stretched out in front of her, her ankle bones did not line up like they should. It was visibly apparent that her legs were different lengths, there was no slight length difference, it was huge.
Over the course of training camp we learned many incredibly powerful insights that prepared our hearts to be disciples and enter the mission field full time in August. Last night we had a speaker teach about the importance and power of sharing the gospel through words while also proving the Gospel through actions. In essence, is that spreading the Gospel with only words is not God’s intention or desire. Romans 1:16 explains the demonstration of the Gospel is more highly received because it gives people the opportunity to have a testimony. When anyone, a believer or non-believer, experiences the power of the Gospel, it allows that person to have a tangible experience with God. Demonstrations of the Gospel are invitations to participate with the Holy Spirit. This requires the willingness to step far outside of your comfort zone in order to experience something supernatural. This teaching made perfect sense to me. It is easier to believe and understand something when you have proof in the form of an experience. I have heard countless stories of the Holy Spirit preforming supernatural healing, and the Bible is full of times when Jesus and His disciples healed all types of people. While I have always believed in the power of the Holy Spirit, I put that kind of power outside of my Christianity box. Of course it happened, it just wouldn’t be a part of my Christian journey. These experiences were for someone else. Before this teaching I did not realize that the power of the Holy Spirit was a gift available to anyone who was willing to receive it.
When the session ended, I was amped up. I was ready to try this Holy Spirit thing and step outside of my comfort zone. When the speaker presented the opportunity to pray for healing for members of our squad, I felt ready to pray. I was ready to pray hard. With multiple hands raised asking for healing, I found Lindsay and knew that we needed to pray for her leg. We had previously prayed for her leg to be brought to length earlier in the week and it was not. I felt sad after this prayer when nothing happened. Lindsay knew that it wasn’t her time to be healed, she had two words after our prayers, “not yet”. The night after this session, we tried again. A group of people began to pray of the Holy Sprit to bring Lindsay’s leg to the proper length and to put an end to her pain. As our group prayed hard for her leg, nothing visible happened. We prayed hard and long, but still nothing happened. We said amen, thanked our God that even when He doesn’t heal, He is still so good. When we finished and asked Lindsay how she felt, she told us her leg was tingling. “It feels like a gas tank that’s not full yet” she told us. In that moment we knew we needed to pray again. Lindsay stood up and we placed our hands on her body. My hands were on her leg and I prayed harder than I have ever prayed in my life. I was desperate for the Holy Spirit to bring healing to someone I care so deeply for. After some time, her right leg began to shake uncontrollably. I was fighting to keep my hands on her leg while I continued to pray. When I opened my eyes to see the shaking leg, I was overcome with joy as each member of the group praying for Lindsay had a smile more pure than anything I have ever witnessed. Each of us praying continuously, and I rejoiced in my God who presented us the Holy Sprit to worked supernaturally. I could not contain tears of thankfulness and awe when her leg suddenly became still and she sat on the floor, reached her legs straight out in front of her, and cried when her ankle bones aligned perfectly for the first time in nearly six years.
The power of healing made me a witness to the true character of God. God is in the business of healing because He loves His people so much. It was never His intention for Lindsay to experience so much pain, but He used that experience to teach, shape and refine her heart while she struggled through injury. When the teaching was finished, other parts of His character were revealed through the restoration He brought to Lindsay’s body. He loves her so much that He used supernatural power to lengthen a leg that was not perfect. She didn’t have to do anything to receive that gift. That night I realized that God does everything for His glory. Everything He does is what will bring Him the most glory. When Lindsay was prayed for, it was the third time the Holy Spirit was asked to bring the leg to length. If the Holy Spirit would have brought her leg to length the first time we prayed for it, or any other time it had previously been prayed for, a small group would have witnessed the power of healing. Instead, the Holy Spirit waited until the perfect moment, the third prayer, to bring healing and restoration to Lindsay’s leg. The power of healing was not demonstrated to a small group of people, but He waited until the whole camp was together so that nearly 200 people could be witnesses to the power of the Holy Spirit. I can’t find enough words to say how thankful I am for God’s timing, so that I was able to be a witness to this power. What a testament that God’s timing is so perfect, and will always bring the most glory to Him! He heals because of His infinite love for His children, He brought Lindsay’s leg to length because He loves her. He let me be a part of it because He loves me. He let nearly 200 people be a witness to this healing because He loves them. He put a desire on my heart to share this testimony with my friends and family and strangers because He wants His love for His children to be known by everyone. No longer will the supranational power of the Holy Spirit be outside of what I believe Christianity to be. I will no longer put my religion in a box because my God is bigger than any box I could ever try to create. No matter how uncomfortable or unsure I am, I will listen when the Holy Spirit presents an opportunity to demonstrate the gospel. A mark of having the Holy Spirit is boldness, and I will be bold in obeying His directions so I can be a witness to many more healing’s for people I love, and people I don’t even know.
I understand that this experience is far outside of many peoples comfort zones, and that’s okay- it was far outside of mine. Do with this testimony what you will, call me out of my mind, discount it, share it, believe it or don’t, please ask me questions about it. I am learning to put down my reputation to be bold in my faith, and be a witness for our God. Whatever purpose this story serves you, someone is meant to read it.
