During my School Of Ministry Development (SOMD) I re-injured my knee on a wet bouncy house. And yes, you read that right, RE-injured. A slightly annoying way to re-injure myself, but hey, Jesus says have faith like a child, right?
A little over a year before I started SOMD I tore my MCL in a soccer game. Surprisingly, it truly hadn’t given me any serious issues besides being unstable with certain motions. However, the bouncy house incident did me in. My knee completely gave out and in one fell swoop I heard a ‘crack’ and a ‘pop’. The next day I could barely bend my leg because my knee was so swollen. I sat down in worship that morning during the last song because I couldn’t bear the weight anymore. No one would’ve known I sat down due to the pain I was in, but, unexpectedly, my friend Hope came up to me as I sat on the floor. She whispered in my ear, “God told me to come pray for your leg and I have no idea why.” She told me nervously that she wasn’t sure if she had heard God right.
She whispered in my ear, “God told me to come pray for your leg and I have no idea why.”
I was shocked! She was absolutely right! I’ve seen God do a lot of cool stuff in my life, but I still get excited when He shows up like that. I never once told her ANYTHING about my knee. She obeyed Jesus so purely in faith. I had forgotten He cared for me in that way. It never even crossed my mind to ask for healing. It was as if Jesus was saying, “I want to heal you. Won’t you ask me to? I delight in restoring every part of you.” It wasn’t until Hope came to me with a word from the Lord that I received the truth He DID want to heal me, and He DID care about me in even the smallest things.
It was as if Jesus was saying, “I want to heal you. Won’t you ask me to? I delight in restoring every part of you.”
Hope prayed for my knee and in that moment I completely trusted Jesus to move. When she finished praying and helped me get up off the floor, I put all my weight on my injured leg. I then walked around and tested it. I felt significantly less pain, but most of all, I felt confident that my Jesus was near to me. Throughout the day, the swelling went down and I walked freely BECAUSE I was prayed for. If Hope had not prayed for me, I would’ve walked around in fear that my knee was doomed, but her faith in the Lord gave me confidence to blaze through fear and run as if my knee were completely restored!
I felt significantly less pain, but most of all, I felt confident that my Jesus was near to me.
How often does God ask us to run ahead even when everything doesn’t seem ready yet? All the time. Or how often does Jesus test our faith by allowing us to press in deeper? I think of the faith of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28. She pressed harder when Jesus seemingly resisted her request to heal her daughter. Her faith healed her as she continued to plead with Jesus. He said to her because of her unrelenting faith, “’Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.”
Faith isn’t always activated in one instant.
Faith isn’t always activated in one instant. Sometimes, Jesus calls our faith to be activated hours, days, weeks, months, or years after His initial touch. Jesus didn’t completely heal my knee in one instant, which I believe has a purpose. I believe what Jesus was trying to do was remind me that He’s always thinking of me even when I’m unaware, & He’s concerned for me even when no one else is. Not even myself. Sometimes Jesus isn’t after a complete and instant healing. He’s after the transformation of our hearts and the increase in our faith. My knee isn’t completely healed yet, and because of that, I have the joy and excitement of coming to my Father everyday until it is. That is my true healing.
Beautiful like you, Laura! You are truly made in His image❣️