(Editor’s note: Every week we receive articles penned by guest columnists. The following was so moving that I would like to devote my normal space this week to this powerful message with hope this will encourage others facing a difficult situation at this very moment. Thank you Pastor Steve for sharing. - Jamie Gardner)
By Steve Statum
John 11:4-6 - 4 - When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 - Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 - Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. - NIV
Steve Statum
Miracle or rationalization
In 1995 two major hospitals in the southeastern United States, one in Birmingham and the other in Atlanta turned me down for a heart transplant. I was told I was not a candidate for several reasons, the main being my size (just less than the weight of a prize bull on the hoof). I remember well the day I came home from my doctor in Huntsville, Alabama, with the news I had less than three months to live. It was a crippling blow to absorb. I had so many things to live for; a beautiful wife, Pam, and an eight-year-old son, Jeremy, were in the forefront. Didn’t God know I was going to change the world? Didn’t He know I deserved to be healed because…well just because!
The depression was immediate. My doctor told me to resign my church immediately, apply for disability so maybe the ninety days or so would turn into six months, maybe even seven. She told me if I didn’t talk to Pam immediately she would. She said Pam deserved to know. She was right! HIPPA laws sure have changed things haven’t they? As she wept with me she told me to walk to the mailbox and back with my son each day as long as I could. She then explained the rest of what would happen.
I simply didn’t know how to tell Pam. All the way home I wrestled to find the words, they simply would not register in my mind. I never had the chance. When I walked through the door of our home Pam and Jeremy were sitting in the floor of the living room praying for me. At once she got up and forcefully spoke the words of Jesus recorded by John, adding only the prefix, “Steve Statum, this sickness will not end in death!”
There is so much more to the story, however eighteen years later and TWO HUNDRED pounds of weight lost, I realize God did heal me. It was not only my faith, Pam and Jeremy actually believed first. I preached healing for others yet found myself doubting God would do this for me. It also has taken major life-style changes and several surgeries to actualize the gift of life given back to me.
The reason for my testimony: Medical science has been good to me and I am grateful. Dramatic weight loss played a major factor in this scenario, not “the” factor. Only God could reverse the damage done to my heart. He has a miracle for you as well. Whether it is physical, mental, financial, or spiritual healing, whether it requires you to make minor or drastic changes, God is your source. Read this last verse and allow the wisdom of the ages to restore your hope. I bless you in the Name of Jesus Christ and I wish for you a miracle as well.
Proverbs 18:14 - A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? - NIV
The depression was immediate. My doctor told me to resign my church immediately, apply for disability so maybe the ninety days or so would turn into six months, maybe even seven. She told me if I didn’t talk to Pam immediately she would. She said Pam deserved to know. She was right! HIPPA laws sure have changed things haven’t they? As she wept with me she told me to walk to the mailbox and back with my son each day as long as I could. She then explained the rest of what would happen.
I simply didn’t know how to tell Pam. All the way home I wrestled to find the words, they simply would not register in my mind. I never had the chance. When I walked through the door of our home Pam and Jeremy were sitting in the floor of the living room praying for me. At once she got up and forcefully spoke the words of Jesus recorded by John, adding only the prefix, “Steve Statum, this sickness will not end in death!”
There is so much more to the story, however eighteen years later and TWO HUNDRED pounds of weight lost, I realize God did heal me. It was not only my faith, Pam and Jeremy actually believed first. I preached healing for others yet found myself doubting God would do this for me. It also has taken major life-style changes and several surgeries to actualize the gift of life given back to me.
The reason for my testimony: Medical science has been good to me and I am grateful. Dramatic weight loss played a major factor in this scenario, not “the” factor. Only God could reverse the damage done to my heart. He has a miracle for you as well. Whether it is physical, mental, financial, or spiritual healing, whether it requires you to make minor or drastic changes, God is your source. Read this last verse and allow the wisdom of the ages to restore your hope. I bless you in the Name of Jesus Christ and I wish for you a miracle as well.
Proverbs 18:14 - A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? - NIV
Blessings.