The Sound of His Great Name...

"The whole earth is filled with awe at Your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, You inspire songs of praise."
Psalm 65:8

If you would've asked me a few months ago if I believed that Jesus heals, I would've said yes.  With complete assurance in my heart, it would've been yes.  Not because I've had it happen to me personally, but because His word assures me it is possible.  So I would've said yes based on that fact alone.  Now, fast forward to today.  If you ask me that same question, I will wholeheartedly declare a resounding YES, because not only does His word assure me of it, but I have now seen His word in action in my life personally.  I have been a recipient of His touch.  And let me just tell you, its one thing to know it based off of reading His word and hearing stories from other people.  It's a completely different thing to know it based off a personal experience of it.  And THAT my friends, is the inspiration for this blog tonight.

For the past several weeks I have been battling an extremely intense illness.  To make a long story short, I'll just give you the cliff notes.  I was sent to UAB in Birmingham this past Wednesday for what was thought to be a hepatic liver abscess.  Doctors found a lesion on my liver that instigated several imaging scans and with my symptoms continuing to worsen by the day, they felt a transfer to UAB where people experienced in infectious disease could do a biopsy and treat me would be the best possible solution.  No one in our area was experienced with it, and so off we went.

When we left that day, I have to admit, I was scared.  We were faced with the uncertainty of what was going on, with an uncertainty of what was going to happen.  My eyes were clouded by the fog of my current circumstances.  I knew God was with me, but still my heart began to fear.  However, I belong to a faithful God, and He knew what my heart needed, exactly when it needed it.  And so after getting the news that I was being transferred and admitted to UAB, I began sending out messages to everyone I knew.  My church met with us and prayed over me before we left.  Everyone I know began praying and calling on other people to pray.  Word spread quickly and before I knew it, I was surrounded by an army of believers, locked arm in arm, crying out to God on my behalf. 

I don't know about you, but I've never walked through anything like this that required such faith and prayer.  Up until this point in my life, I had never battled serious physical illness, so I really didn't know how to walk in this.  But as people began to pray, things began to change.  My heart was encouraged and strengthened.  And before we left for Birmingham, my husband and I both agreed, we weren't going to Birmingham for my healing, we were going to bring glory to God.  We were going to make much of Jesus through this.  If I was healed in the process, great.  If I wasn't, that was ok too.  We knew God was in this and we trusted Him to lead us through.  And He didn't leave my side the entire time.

There were moments as I lay in the hospital bed that as I closed my eyes, I could sense Him standing at the foot of my bed, just smiling over me.  Like any good dad would do for his kid.  Here stood my Dad, standing at the foot of my bed, smiling over me, giving me the constant assurance that He would never leave my side.  And He never did.  His presence filled my room every moment I was there.  My phone would constantly be going off with texts and messages coming through of people telling me there were praying and just encouraging me in my faith.  When I say it was an army, I'm not kidding.  I saw the army suit up and go to war on my behalf.  THAT is humbling. 

A few days prior to this, I saw a movie about war.  It was about Sparta and a group of soldiers who were defening Sparta.  They were fierce soldiers, who marched into battle with no fear, but always arm to arm in battle.  It was no coincidence I saw this movie when I did.  Because little did I know I was about to experience an army of believers suit up on my behalf and push back the enemy who was coming against me.  And that is exactly what happened.  People I knew, people I didn't know, all on their knees, crying out to God, swords drawn, shields raised, running onto the battlefield for ME.  I'm still in complete amazement by it.

Well, I'm happy to say, it was a battle well fought.  I was admitted on Wednesday and Thursday late afternoon my doctors came into the hospital room and told me this..."you came in with all the signs and symptoms of a hepatic liver abscess.  Yet now your blood work shows nothing abnormal.  Our radiologists have looked at all your scans and imaging, and they believe this spot on your liver to be just a benign hemangioma. Your liver is normal and healthy."  And shortly after I was released from the hospital.

In the course of my stay I began to continuously improve.  The doctors had done nothing.  I had recieved no medicines.  Nothing.  And yet I was improving.  The pain was subsiding, I was coming back to life.  My symptoms began disappearing.  Thursday morning a friend of mine had sent me a post on facebook that said this...
   "From my devotion this morning..."He generally waits to send His help until the time of our       greatest need, so that His hand will be plainly seen in our deliverance. He chooses this method so we will not trust anything that we may see or feel, as we are so prone to do, but will place our trust solely on His Word." 

The doctors had even come into my room and told me they weren't doing anything for me.  Boy were they right! haha  THEY weren't doing anything. It was completely the hand of my God at work, in response to the prayers being offered on my behalf.  My army that had suited up to go into battle for me, they were pushing back the enemy with the power of God at work through them.

This was a place I had never been.  I've had to trust God before on things, but never like this.  I knew He would be with me.  I just wanted to glorify Him through it however I could.  And I wanted the whole thing to make much of His Name regardless of the outcome.  And assuredly, it has indeed. 

Wednesday morning I wasn't sure what would happen with me I was so sick.  I had lost about 8 pounds in less than a week.  I was sick.  Really sick. And yet by Thursday night I was on my way home because God had touched my life and made me whole. 

My faith was tested for sure.  I had to step out when I didn't see anything to step onto and just trust His hand to guide me through this.  I found alot of things during this dark moment.  Several treasures found hidden in these darkest moments that I would not otherwise have found.  Kinda like Peter.  You have to step out of the boat and into the stormy waves to learn that you can, in fact, walk on the waves of adversity when you fix your eyes on the One Who can stands in the midst of the chaos and summons you to come and experience Him like never before.  But as long as you stay in the boat, you'll never learn that miracles await those who walk by faith.  Is it scary?  Yes, when you only look around and see the chaos and stormy waves on all sides.  But, when we step out, and our gaze become fixated on Him, the waves of adversity disappear, you don't care where you're next step will be because you're walking on the certainty of the One Who has reached for you.  You walk with the assurance that He will be the ground beneath your feet.

I also found healing through this dark moment.  It is indeed a treasure.  I would  not know healing if I didn't walk through a time of needing to be healed.  I would not know Jesus as my Healer any other way.  But now, I can sing with a confident assurance, "I believe You're my healer, I believe You are all I need..."  Before all of this, I sang that song based on a head knowledge really.  I believed that He healed.  But now?  Now I will sing that song with it permanently etched into my heart because now I KNOW Him as a Healer.  And I'd go through months of being sick to find it out all over again.

The bottom line in all of this craziness?  It's ALL worth it friends.  Every trial we go through.  Every dark night we encounter.  They're all worth it when we find Him in the midst of it.  Dark times can be scary, but you can always rest assured of one certain thing....morning WILL come.  The sun WILL rise.  ALWAYS.

Before I finish this post, let me say thank you to all of you who stood with me and prayed on my behalf. I'll never have the words to adequately say thanks. But my life has been changed by the love and encouragement I have recieved from so many people. It is humbling. It is absolutley amazing. And I love each one of you for it. And rest assured, I am asking my Father to return to each of you that prayed, the same blessing that was bestowed upon me in that hospital room.

I posted a Psalm 65:8 at the beginning of this blog post.  It just so happens that my room number in the hospital was 658.  So I looked it up in the bible and found this verse.  It was quite appropriate.  So appropriate, in fact, that I'll write it here again for you....
  
"The whole earth is filled with awe at Your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, You inspire songs of praise."
Psalm 65:8

He is a mighty God.  He is a Healer.  His name is Jesus.  He has the power to do the impossible my friend.  Throughout this journey, He has indeed inspired many songs of praise.  His hand has moved on my behalf, and because of it, I have a facebook page that is lit up with nothing but songs of praise to my Jesus.  Post after post after post, all declaring the greatness of my God.  So yeah, this whole sickness...was it worth it?  Absolutely.  Because my God was glorified through it and at the end of the day, His great Name has inpsired many, many songs of praise. 

I'll close with a few of the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, which, by the way, now holds even greater meaning for my life.  It's "Your Great Name" by Natalie Grant.  May these words take root in your soul and may you find all the treasures your heart needs found in the dark times of your soul as well. 
      All the weak; find their strength; at the sound of Your great name
     Hungry souls; receive grace; at the sound of Your great name
    The fatherless; they find their rest; at the sound of Your great name
    Sick are healed; and the dead are raised; at the sound of Your great name
    Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man
    You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name
    Redeemer, My Healer, Lord Almighty
   My savior, Defender, You are My King

I love you all from the bottom of my heart,
Stacy