For three months I clung to the promise of Jesus that believing prayer and laying on of hands would bring recovery (Mark 16:17-18).
Day after day I tried to do what it was impossible for me to do. Then one day, there was a slight movement. In fact, it was so undramatic that I hardly noticed. With a shock, I realized I was doing something that I couldn’t do before.
It was a very small thing–just sliding something across the floor. But I did it! (I have since learned that miracles often do occur in a non-sensational fashion.) Then, daily, strength returned.
Sometime later I met my doctor in the street–the one who had told me that faith could not heal organic injuries. I showed him how I could now lift my arm to shoulder height. ‘That’s remarkable!’ he said, a statement he repeated twice more during our brief conversation. Today, my arm is fully restored.
I should add that I have no argument with medical practitioners. Quite the contrary. I owe my life to the expert care and attention I received after the accident. But there are times when even the most skilled physicians reach their limits.
With or without such expert attention, Jesus still calls us to trust in him.
‘Don’t be afraid. Just believe’ (Mark 5:36)
To read more on this topic see Living in the Image of God, Barry Chant (Miranda: Tabor, 2012 available in eBook and Paperback) from which this edited extract is taken.