By Brenda Groves
The Post Newspaper Contributing Writer
I want to share an experience with you that I had a few weeks ago because first, it glorifies God, and second, it will build faith in those who choose to believe.
My husband and I attended a Gospel Truth seminar near Dallas a few weeks ago. The hotel where the meeting was held is very beautiful and huge! Just crossing the lobby reminded me of a grand ballroom.
(But I refrained myself from belting out “I could have danced all night” as I crossed the large expanse several times over the three-day stay.)
One afternoon, between meetings I left Ben up in our room taking a siesta while I visited the shops in the lobby. Now they also had pocket areas of sofas and chairs where people could sit and chat. There were several events going on at the hotel over this particular weekend so as I exited the elevator, I entered a hubbub of conversations.
Well, I was crossing the lobby at my usual brisk walk when suddenly my left ankle just gave out! That hasn’t happened to me in many years!
(In case you have never experienced this, it’s as if someone suddenly removed one of your feet out from under you.)
As you might have guessed it was “timberrrr,” and I came down like a mighty oak on that hard marble floor. It was so ugly (A Miss Congeniality fell for sure! Lol!)!
I could hear a collective gasp as I gathered the broken pieces of my dignity and rose to the occasion of “world’s most embarrassing moments.”
When I fell, I landed hard on my left arm and side. But the adrenaline kick of pride overrode all physical senses at that time.
Of course, several people came to my aid, including very concerned hotel personnel, but I assured them all that I was fine and that nothing was broken. I gave them a “Bumble’s bounce” kind of light-hearted response as I nonchalantly fled the scene as quickly as possible.
I tried to blend into the crowd while at the same time noticing a soreness creeping into my body, especially my left ankle.
By the next morning there was a golf ball-sized swelling on that ankle with deep bruising, and my whole left side was feeling the impact of slamming onto a hard floor.
I quickly prayed and rebuked the pain as the word of God has instructed us to do and went about getting ready to go to breakfast.
After we ate, Ben and I walked back to the car but I was experiencing so much pain and my legs were stiffening up.
I fished through the car console for a travel-sized bottle of Tylenol I had purchased a long while back, but it was empty.
Now, before each meeting they have prayer ministers at the front of the auditorium for any prayer needs.
My faith was colliding with a screaming body and I believed I needed someone to pray in agreement for this healing.
(“Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 18:19)
But we were running late and by the time we got there, they had already started the praise and worship music, so I made a decision to shrug off what was happening in the physical world and dive into worshiping our Lord and King.
The songs were so beautiful and sweet! All the words exalting the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, and the love of the Father for us.
The auditorium was dimly lit and I could feel the presence of the Lord so thick around us, like a blanket of love. As I opened my eyes, we were in the middle of a sea of raised arms, all worshiping the Lord together in one accord with one mind.
Just then, the Pastor leading the seminar went back up onto the stage and said, “I feel the Holy Spirit wants us to continue worshiping Him while we have our prayer ministers come back up. So if anyone needs prayer right now, come down and let the Lord heal you.”
Ben and I looked at each other and smiled. As I left my seat and hobbled toward the front of the auditorium, the pain stayed there in the back of my mind, but my heart remained in a state of worshiping the glorious name of my Lord Jesus.
As I was standing there in line with my arms still raised in surrender to His love, I suddenly felt a wave of heat traveling up my left leg and spreading throughout my whole body!
Well, I started laughing and crying as I tested out my “new” ankle by moving it back and forth. The swelling was gone, as if it had never happened!! Thank you Jesus!
About that time, one of the ushers guided me to the next available prayer minister but I told her, “I fell in the lobby yesterday and my left ankle was badly swollen but the Lord healed me as I was in the line worshiping Him! So praise Jesus, I’m good! But let’s agree my feet, ankles and bones are sound and this never happens to me again in Jesus name!”
We prayed, then she and I both giggled with joy at what the Lord had done, and I sprinted back up to my smiling hubby!
Now, I do not pretend to know how all this came to pass in the spiritual realm, and I don’t have to.
I have not always received what I believe is God’s best in my life, but that does not change the word of God. I believe!
Also, healing doesn’t always come the same way.
Jesus did not always heal people in the same exact way, but He is not the variable. We are. He knows who He is and what He has done, but we are the ones riddled with false doctrines, unrenewed minds, doubt, fear, unbelief and so on. The word of God and testimonies helps us to position ourselves to receive from God. It does not motivate God to act on our behalf, because you know God does not respond on a case-per-case basis.
We are never waiting on Him to be moved to heal us. He already moved when He sent His Son to die on the cross in our place.
So I am not going to make up my own doctrine over this healing. You don’t have to be in a church setting or have it all together to receive from God! I sure don’t!!
But I am willing to believe, to humble myself and line up my beliefs to what the word says instead of my own past experiences, religious doctrines I was taught or philosophies I have developed over the years of who God is.
The truth is the healing took place over 2,000 years ago when Jesus took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses into His own body (Matt. 8:17), and “by whose stripes we were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
I believe that I was just standing in the right position in my heart at that time to receive it. My eyes are on Jesus and His finished work of the cross.
I also believe the healing would have come eventually. God created our bodies to heal, that’s how we know it is ALWAYS His will to heal us.
God does not want ANY of us to suffer any longer than necessary, just like a good parent would not want to stand by and see their child suffer if they could alleviate the pain (We will suffer persecution, we have not been saved from that. 2 Tim. 3:12).
Now here’s another truth, “… there is no partiality with God,” (Romans 2:11), so what He did for me, He did for the whole world, and for all who will believe and reach out by faith and be partakers of what He has Sovereignly provided by His grace.
All glory goes to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all three separate, all three One!
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17
Praise the Lord Jesus who took the fall for us all!
(All scripture taken from the NKJV)
Contact Brenda Groves at: bkgroves1996@yahoo.com
