I recently caught up again with Frank Clissold, the Lightning man, from Queensland. Frank was struck by lightning a few years ago and suffered two years of serious debilitation, including limited ability to speak and his walking reduced to a shuffle. Frank was nearly 80 years old when this happened and his wife, Ruth, struggled at watching her husband endure such terrible limitation.
Frank and Ruth began to press in for more of God, including watching Christian preaching on television. In his morning devotions Frank came across a verse that spoke to him.
“I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says the Lord” Jeremiah 30:17
Frank felt the verse speaking to him personally, so he went out to try walking. He managed to shuffle past three houses and turned around, feeling terribly limited by useless legs. He stopped and said, “Lord, this is ridiculous!” Suddenly his leg moved freely and his foot straightened. Within moments he was walking freely and was so impressed he began to run. He then stopped and began jumping on the spot. He was healed. He hurried home to tell Ruth and she was impressed that he could speak clearly. A large lump on his cheek, from the lightning heating a metal plate in his face, disappeared and he was perfectly well.
That was a wonderful healing and it confirmed to Frank that God’s Word is absolutely true and that receiving it as God’s Word to us releases God’s power.
To make the miracle all the more wonderful Frank experienced another injury about six months later. He was under his car, as an octogenarian home mechanic, tightening a bearing. Suddenly he felt something snap in his lower arm, near the elbow. He felt excruciating pain and knew he had done serious damage.
His regular doctor was away so Frank saw a relief doctor who ordered a scan which showed Frank had severed a tendon. He was told it would take six months to two years for the muscle to fully recover.
Frank reflected on the verse that spoke so clearly to him earlier and he noted that it talked about wounds, or injuries.
“I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says the Lord” Jeremiah 30:17
That prompted Frank to ask if this new injury would be included in that promise. He remembered that the verse talked about multiples – ‘wounds’ – not just one injury. And this is the key to what I want to point out. Frank could have decided that the Bible didn’t relate to his new injury. But Frank asked, “Does the reference to injuries include this one?” He came to the conclusion that God’s promise of healing included healing this new injury. He settled that in his mind and said to himself, “This new injury is one of the wounds God will heal”. He suddenly felt the strong pain near his elbow move down his arm and out his fingers.
That surprised and delighted him so he tentatively used his arm and found it moved easily. He reached up and scratched the back of his head. The arm worked perfectly.
When Ruth saw Frank’s arm out of the sling she was concerned, but Frank assured her God had done yet another miracle in his body.
The next week Frank saw his regular doctor for an annual check up. The doctor felt the strength of Frank’s grip and pulled on his arms to measure strength in each limb. Frank’s arms held so tight the doctor almost pulled him off the bed.
Then Frank asked his doctor to check the medical report from the previous week. The doctor was alarmed, realising the recorded injury meant the doctor should not have even touched the arm. Frank told the doctor the same God who healed the lightning strike had done it again.
Frank’s experiences are a simple testimony to the process each of us can follow. We press in to God, hear God’s Word and allow it to speak to us. When we see promises in God’s Word we have opportunity to believe it is for us, or put it aside and assume it won’t be any good.
When we choose to believe God’s Word we release into ourselves the blessings God intends to give us.
That’s how we get each of God’s blessings. If we don’t believe God will forgive our sins we will not ask for forgiveness. If we don’t believe we can have new life in Christ we will never ask for it. If we don’t believe God cares about us, we will not press in for His love and grace.
When we realise from God’s Word that God has provided payment for our sins through the blood of Jesus, and that God wants to adopt us into His family as His children, and that God has wonderful plans of new life for us, we can take hold of those things.
Then when we see the promises of peace and joy, healing and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can ask God for those things and receive them into our life.
Our faith in God’s Word is the active key in receiving anything from God. So, friends, I urge you to seek God, and to read God’s Word and to put your faith in what God has said and promised. And I urge you to enjoy the wonders of eternity here in this life as you live by faith, daily Applying the Word of God.
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