By Brenda Groves
The Post Newspaper Contributing Writer
We aren’t quite sure how the seeds got there, but several years ago a foreign plant found its way into one of our large planters in front of our office.
I had noted that it was growing beside the shrub but didn’t take much more notice than that until one day when a coworker and I were walking past it.
She stooped down and exclaimed, “Well, look at that!! That is a pepper plant growing in there!”
Mildly interested I glanced down but only seeing the plant and no peppers I asked her how she knew what kind of plant it was.
“You can see them right there!!”
Squinting now, I bent down and examined the plant again.
“Where?”
“Right there, can you see them? Well, I’ll be,” she continued. “I wonder how they got there?”
I peered closer, almost nose to leaf. “I don’t see any peppers.”
Looking kind of puzzled, she asked me again, “You can’t see those?”
Okay. At this point I have two options. Call her a liar (which is really not an option because I know her.)
Or, accept her statement on faith alone.
Because … I DIDN’T SEE ANY PEPPERS ON THAT PLANT!!!!
She was just beaming and went into the office spreading the good news. “Hey, there’s a pepper plant growing out here!”
Her enthusiasm was contagious. Soon other people were popping out of their chairs to come see the pepper plant and making comments about how they LOVED peppers.
Within a few days, the peppers arrived, “in my sight.” And I had to agree- “THAT’S a pepper plant!!”
You know, I once heard about a woman’s testimony who had a huge goiter on her neck. And on the first night of a week-long Gospel revival meeting she went up to the front and asked for prayer that God would heal her.
Immediately, she said that she received the healing by faith in what Jesus did on the Cross. Faith in knowing His goodness, in His written word and, His faithfulness to perform it!
She started praising the Lord and thanking Him for healing her. She asked if she could come before the people and testify of God’s greatness in healing her.
And that’s exactly what she did.
“Thank-you Lord for healing me from this goiter!”
Even though the goiter was still there, just as big and highly visible to everyone.
The next night she returned, just as excited for how good God is so she asked them again if she could give her testimony.
With a little reluctance they smiled and allowed her to stand once again before the whole congregation where she gave her testimony and continued to declare the goodness of God.
“Thank-you Lord for healing me from that goiter.”
On the third night the same thing took place, but now amongst the murmurings of some of the Pastors and congregation.
By the fourth night she was making many people feel uncomfortable with this testimony because obviously to them, for some reason, God had not answered her prayer because the goiter was still there. So this time when she went up on stage they denied her request to share her testimony.
Undeterred from what people thought she prayed out loud, “Heavenly Father, I know you answered my prayer the first time I prayed, but these people will not believe until they see it so for their sakes I am asking you to remove this goiter now off of my neck now.”
And the goiter fell off of her neck before the whole assembly, leaving her completely healed with no visible effects that it was ever there in the first place.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” Heb. 11:1
Just because we haven’t seen it in the physical yet does not mean that it hasn’t taken place first in the spiritual.
I am still re-adjusting my vision to look into His word and see with the eyes of my heart first.
So that I no longer have to see it in this physical world, to believe what my loving Heavenly Father has already provided for us in the spiritual realm.
So, what are you believing in God for today? You don’t have to know how it is going to happen.
Do you see it in His word? Do you believe what He says? Then get excited because it is only a matter of time. Keep believing. Keep standing and keep looking!
Can you see the peppers yet?
Amen!
PS. Testimonies are a powerful witness to the goodness of God, and if you are finding it hard to believe about the women’s goiter, that such things can happen … Well, I had a cancer fall off of my leg several years ago. I saw it in God’s word. I believed. I prayed. I spoke to it, “you’re dead at the root,” and two weeks later it simply fell off of my leg and left a smooth healthy patch of skin in its place. Praise Jesus!!!
Contact Brenda Groves at: bkgroves1996@yahoo.com
