The Word For Today

Paul told the Corinthians, 'Therefore we do not lose heart...For our light affliction...is working for us' (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 NKJV). Jim Stovall proved this to be true. At age seventeen, his doctor told him he was losing his sight, and that nothing could be done to reverse it. Rather than drop out of life, he pursued a college degree and also studied privately with a successful entrepreneur. His goal was to be in business for himself, even if blind, so that he might manage his own career and life. Even though he had prepared himself for blindness, when the day came that he could no longer see, he felt devastated.

In his book, You Don't Have to Be Blind to See, Jim said, 'All I wanted to do was sit in my living room and listen to music.' But then Jim dug deep down in his faith and, as he said, 'God opened my inner eyes to a new idea.' He entered a highly unusual field for a blind person - television! He founded the Narrative Television Network to aid visually impaired people. NTN adds more 'descriptive narration' to soundtracks so that listeners might visualise a programme or film and enjoy it more fully. NTN broadcasts to over twenty million households, and amazingly, some 60 per cent of the audience can see. For his work, Jim received television's highest honour, the Emmy Award, after only one season on the air!

So the word for today is this: God can make your problem 'work for you' and 'turn a curse into a blessing' (Deuteronomy 23:5 NKJV).

In 1928, a happy, ambitious nursing student was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Back then, such a diagnosis often meant a death sentence. Her family sent her to a nursing home for several months, hoping for a cure. She remained in bed for the next twenty-one years! Many people would have given up, but not Isabel Smith.

Isabel neared death on several occasions, but her faith remained strong, and she never ceased to pursue the art of living. She read voraciously, wrote letters, studied geography and taught other patients to read and write. From her bed she studied atomic energy with a fellow patient, a young physicist, and organised a town hall meeting on the topic. While ill, she met a kind, gentle man, also a patient at the nursing home. She dreamed of marrying him and having a little house 'under the mountains'. At her lowest ebb, her dream kept her going. And in 1948, she got married. She then authored a book called Wish I Might, published in 1955. The book was 'about all the good things life has brought me', and it earned her enough royalties to buy her the mountain retreat she dreamed of.

A tragic life? Hardly! Isabel Smith achieved everything she set out to achieve, though the odds against her were overwhelming. Even when flat on her back in bed, she never stopped growing, learning, dreaming and giving. 'Though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day' (2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV). Victory is an 'inside job'.

In the autumn of 1894, Guglielmo retreated to his room on the third floor. All summer while on holiday, he read books and filled notebooks with squiggly diagrams. Now the time had come for him to work. Every day, he rose early. He worked all day and long into the night, to the point that his mother became alarmed. He had never been a robust person, but now he had become appallingly thin. His face was drawn, and his eyes were often glazed over with fatigue. Finally, the day came when he announced that his instruments were ready. He invited the family to his room and, pushing a button, succeeded in ringing a bell on the first floor! While his mother was amazed, his father was not. He saw no use in being able to send a signal so short a distance. So Guglielmo laboured on. Little by little, he made changes in his sending circuits so he could send a signal from one hill to the next and then beyond the hill. Eventually his invention was perfected - partly due to vision and inspiration, but mostly due to perseverance.

Guglielmo Marconi was eventually hailed as the inventor of wireless telegraphy, radio's forerunner. He not only received a Nobel Prize in physics but also acquired a seat in the Italian senate.

If you want what successful people have, you must do what successful people do. And most of their success is due to vision and hard work. 'Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper' (Proverbs 13:4 NLT).

Here's a prayer for healing and continued good health: 'Father, the power of your word is the source of my healing and continued good health. It declares that you have delivered me from all destruction. I may have made decisions in the past that caused ill health in my life, but you have forgiven me in Jesus, and you deliver me continuously from all sickness, pain, weakness and disease.'

'Your word says: "Because you have made the Lord...your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling" (Psalm 91:9-10 NKJV). You are my refuge and my dwelling place. There is no sickness in your presence, and since I abide in you, sickness cannot remain in my life. I am protected because I am in Jesus. Your word says, "Let the weak say, 'I am strong'" (Joel 3:10 NKJV). So I call myself strong even when I feel weak. Lord, your word says you will satisfy my mouth with good things so that my youth is renewed (see Psalm 103:5). You are my source of complete satisfaction, and I believe my youth and strength are being renewed. As a result, I age gracefully in Jesus.'

'Lord, your word says that I can call upon you, and you will answer me. You will be with me in trouble; you will deliver me and honour me. With long life you will satisfy me, and show me your salvation (see Psalm 91:15-16). Therefore, I stand on your word and declare by faith: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord"' (Psalm 118:17 NKJV).

Just because you haven't seen results yet doesn't mean your prayer is not being answered. The word of God is a seed; it needs time to produce fruit. Ask God for the grace to hold on to what you believe from his word while it takes root and grows. No matter what the situation, it's always a good time to be thankful. Satan wants you to focus on your circumstances and what appears unchanged, instead of thanking God for the part of your life that's got better.

As you're standing in faith and allowing his word to work inside you, continue to meditate on the promises of God about healing. God's word works when you plant it in your heart. Keep watering that seed by continuing to speak God's promises over your life. God said: 'The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it' (Isaiah 55:10-11 NLT). What did God say about his word? 'It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.'

Keep your faith strong and stand on God's word; 'I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living' (Psalm 27:13 NIV).

Healing can happen in different ways. Sometimes God performs a miracle and instantly heals someone. Other times he heals a person progressively. When looking at Scripture and the many miracles Jesus performed, it's easy to think he always healed people in the same fashion. But on closer examination, we see that in many cases he didn't do the same thing twice.

For instance, here's how he healed those who were blind: (1) In Matthew 9:29, Jesus healed two blind men by simply touching their eyes. (2) In Mark 8:22-25, he put saliva on a blind man's eyes and laid hands on him twice before he was completely healed. (3) In Mark 10:52, he healed blind Bartimaeus by speaking to him rather than touching him. Jesus wasn't bound by one method of healing people - but he was always willing to heal them. Regardless of the method, the receivers consistently showed belief in his ability to heal and willingness to release his power on their behalf. And the same is true today!

If you've prayed for healing and nothing happened immediately, that doesn't mean your faith faltered. It also doesn't mean that God is angry at you or that he wants you to suffer. It just means it's time to thank God that you're taking him at his word and believing you're getting progressively better day by day: 'By whose stripes you were healed' (1 Peter 2:24 NKJV). This means believing that what's already accomplished in the Spirit realm will eventually manifest itself in the physical realm. From God's perspective, your healing is bought and paid for.