As weird at it sounds, when I was growing up, it seemed to me that having poor health was the norm; if you weren’t sick, there was something wrong with you! We had a lot of illness around us. We moved from West Virginia to New Mexico when I was a wee baby for my dad’s health. Even though long term, this move proved to be advantageous for his health, still he was often near death, in what we know today as anaphylactic shock caused by allergies. He suffered pneumonia multiple times, and often, more than once each winter until I was about 14 when he underwent a very healing surgery.
When I was fairly young, I fell out of our swing. It was a chains-hung-from-the-cottonwood-tree-limb-wooden-seat-swing and it got stuck on something. Thinking back, I don’t believe that I was really hurt. Maybe a little shaken up, but not at all injured.
However, since illness was a badge of accomplishment, or so I thought, I used that fall from the swing as a ‘tool’. I told anyone who would listen, that fall was the reason I had bad headaches. I don’t know – perhaps I was secretly hoping for some really serious or attention-getting illness. What I do know was that those headaches were awful and nothing seemed to help. I can remember, at age 10, missing a school party because I woke up with one those pounding demons in my head (me miss a party? Never!).
As the years progressed, those headaches developed into migraines; the horrible pain would render me useless, sometimes for 2 or 3 days. Back then, there were no migraine medications; only aspirin which didn’t help at all.
One doctor I went to prescribed Librium – what I now know as a strong anti-anxiety medication. I hadn’t even heard of anxiety back then, and I’m not sure why he prescribed it. What I do remember was that if made me feel ‘strange’ and it really didn’t help the headaches. I think I was all of 19 at the time.
When I was in my early twenties, I met Jesus in a very real way, and began to learn about healing. I learned that health-and-healing was one of the things that Jesus accomplished on the cross. Isaiah wrote about the crucifixion 700+ years before Jesus was born, chapter 53 and verse 5:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (NKJV) (KJV: .. by his stripes we are healed).
Read it here in another version:
“But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.” (MSG)
I didn’t know much about this healing thing, but I knew I wanted it! I knew I desperately needed it.
Sitting in my office at work one day, hands were laid on me, a prayer was prayed, and I was immediately healed – instantly healed. Yes, it was real – no more headache!
For a while, the devil tried to bring back the headaches. Every time the headache would try to start, I knew the one thing to do was tell him that he was defeated at the cross and to quote the scripture, “by His stripes I am healed”! The old man would leave me alone for a time. It took about 5 years of fighting him with The Word before he quit trying to defeat my healing.
Why? I don’t know for sure, but I have a theory. Think about it this way: when God created the world, He spoke it into existence. The spoken word, whether from God or man, is a very powerful thing! Did you ever use the expression, “she talked me into it”? See what I mean?
I think that I spoke my bad and prolonged headaches into existence. As a result, the devil knew that weakness, and used it against me. When he finally realized that he wasn’t going to take me out, he gave up. Jesus said, “It is finished.” The devil was defeated at the cross and has no more power than we allow him to have.
I’ve learned to watch my words. God has blessed me with an upbeat and positive nature. This allows me to see the glass full – not half full or half empty (half liquid + half air = full).
Being negative is not indicative of being humble! Being negative is just being a real pain.
I am so very blessed to know much of the Word. It is a living thing; not just words on paper in a book. Look at John 1 verse 1:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (KJV)
Jesus was the Word! He is the Great I am! He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is Jehovah Rophe, the Healer.
Way back in Exodus 15, some 3500 years ago, God told us in verse 26c:
“I am the Lord that healeth thee.” (KJV)
AND HE DID.
© 2013 Cat Brennan