Home | Articles | Poetry | About The Author | Contact Us |
Psalm 33:18-22 so eloquently states:
"Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You".
Oh how we do hope in You, Heavenly Father! How good is our God! He is the greatest, greater than anyone or anything else for those of us who know Him. He will be just so for the rest of mankind when it is their time to finally come to realise that He not only exists but has always existed despite what the deceived world says, despite how the enemy twists the truth and lies about God's intentions and plans. Sometimes it is difficult to have patience and perseverance for the Kingdom of God to arrive upon Christ's return to earth as the elect see that the nations of the world need help to overcome all the misery and confusion. It can be very challenging and testing to say the least whilst experiencing trials in order to develop Godly character throughout times of longsuffering. Yet we must and the only successful way to do this is definitely through strengthening ourselves in God by reading His Word, communicating in formal and informal daily prayer without ceasing as 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 reveals, in fasting, and if needed with anointing. These are our "power" tools as we engage in spiritual warfare for the battle of our lives (Ephesians 6:12).
Some of us have required anointing from time to time while some may not have been anointed before. The first time I was in need I did not really know what to expect even though my faith was such that I knew God could and can do anything, with no limitations, nothing is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:17, Job 42:2) -- but would He heal me straight away? He did all those years ago within minutes of the Sabbath service commencing straight after the introductory prayer which followed the three hymns. As I sat there it was immediately apparent the pain was gone, the physical impediment lifted, and I was now able to sit up straight -- what a difference! How strange, but no matter how God did this my gratefulness was no less felt. In hindsight none of this sudden pain and inability to stand up to walk with a normal gait made any sense as there was no logical explanation for such but perhaps it was a test to see how much I wanted to keep the Sabbath? My thoughts prior to attending cycled back and forth until I rather matter-of-factly said to myself, "You are not contagious so go" and "If the pain gets so bad that I cannot drive, just return home -- simple". I just knew I needed to make the effort. God's Spirit led me to go and thankfully I listened and allowed His Spirit to lead me as the healing became a wonderful blessing. It would have been so easy to curl up in a ball and remain bed bound for the day if not for God's Spirit encouraging and motivating me (Philippians 4:13).
Years go by and just last Sabbath, less than a couple of hours before leaving home to drive to the service, suddenly my usual pulse of around 74 jumped to well over 100 bpm and no matter what I did I could not get it down again. There was some central chest pain and other sharp pain in my arm. The pressure was noticeable and not something experienced before. As a veteran registered nurse I knew very well what was happening and stubborn enough to refuse hospital due to the mild nature of my symptoms. I told God I wanted to attend as not contagious and for Him to get me through it without bothering anyone. The last thing I wanted to happen was to collapse or interfere with everyone's enjoyment; plus, there was the special opportunity of being anointed which is rare where we are -- in fact our Pastor was able to cross the border only this very week after many months of border closures. The timing of this opportunity did not go unnoticed and was a great blessing after such an unexpected and sudden onset of chest pain with debilitating headache. After being anointed the service commenced and God brought my pulse down from around 106 bpm to my usual healthy baseline. Our merciful loving God, yet again provided healing. This time I did not wonder if He would heal me -- instead my thoughts were more about if He did, all good and well, but if He did not then He knows what He is doing and there is a reason for it.
We are healed by God for different reasons. It is not because I deserve it, rather that God is not finished with me yet -- more Godly character to develop, with more lessons and perhaps further trials to endure. My thoughts went to "Why is God so good to me?" The simple answer is He is good to all of His called out ones and wants fruit. Developing healthy fear or awe and respect for God like Noah who waited for God to tell him he could leave the Ark once the land dried up, is crucial. This needs to be kept in mind for those of us who would look outside, see dry ground, and expect that it is all okay to leave the ark without waiting or seeking God's permission or approval (Genesis 8:13-19). After so long being contained on the Ark loaded full of animals floating on water I know I would be extremely eager to get out on dry ground. There is much to contemplate here through the spiritual layers of supernatural writing inspired by God. We must always wait on God to give the "green light" to go or proceed forth (Psalm 27:14, James 5:7-8).
So many biblical examples to learn from -- one can read the many accounts where King David would ask God whether to go into battle or not -- God was with him and always provided help. God will never let us down as long as we seek Him out in faithful obedience but we must seek Him first and that is why asking for anointing is so important. Imagine seeking out physical medical help before speaking to God -- what would He think of that? After putting God first in prayer the best we can do is contact our Pastor to explain the health issue and request an anointed cloth if the Pastor (or Elder) lives in another state and the cloth takes a week or so to arrive. Others have shared with me that they were healed or known of others healed as soon as they requested an anointed cloth. Reminds me of the Centurion (Roman soldier) asking Jesus to heal his servant in Luke 7:1-9 which is further written about in Matthew 8:5-13. There is also another account of the Official's son being healed straight away in John 4:46-53 which is quite remarkable to draw from. As we very well know, time and distance do not present any obstacle or difficulty to our Master Healer which should only further increase our faith.
At the beginning of my journey with God about 15 years ago I desperately wanted healing for all health problems and afflictions. Since the advent of the virus in 2019 the focus has shifted to being more responsible for my health with building immunity, doing the best each day with what I have, and surrendering fully to God's will for my life. This brings peace, joy, and contentment as the apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:11-13. It took a few years and has been quite a process in fact to get to this place of trusting God in complete surrender to hold my life in His hands for when He is ready to take me because He does not make mistakes and as long as I do my part, then all will be well. It also helps as one gets older as we have lived longer lives than most, travelled widely, and experienced many things. So while we may very well wrestle in our determination to decide what to do when under health trials, or any trials for that matter, God is always our best source for help as we know within our own hearts we can be all too easily influenced with self justification (Jeremiah 17:9).
Here is a link below to a sermon entitled "Anointing, God's Pathway to Healing" given just recently on January 1st, and I trust you may find it of great interest and benefit concerning the topic of anointing which I found very valuable due to God's perfect timing and do not believe this was just a random coincidence: https://youtu.be/wUQJjfoLeTA May His people always seek God out first and foremost placing our requests and petitions before Him in humble awe for His will to be done and all will be well as God will never let us down ever. Enjoy the peace this brings to your heart and mind as we earnestly pray for the healing of many around us affected by health trials, including Malcolm Robertson, our dear brother in the faith, who is fighting cancer.