“GOD
Our Jehovah Rapha - The Healer!”
Continuing
from the trials that we faced as a family over
the past 1 ½ years after the victory from
GOD on the safe delivery of our daughter Eliana
in January 2006.
The next few months were a time
of soul searching and chastisement that I had
to personally endure. At that time without my
knowledge, GOD was actually working on my battered
spiritual condition. Allow me to share my story.
Between 2003 and 2005, my spiritual life was spiraling
downwards. I was walking away from GOD because
of many life distractions like work pressure,
mid life crisis, stress and friction with some
people (who had hurt and disappointed me). This
somehow led to frustration, unforgiveness, bitterness
and all the other fruits of the world (Fruits?
Papaya?) , which is not from the spirit.
It was this time that our dear
LORD, the chief physician, began the healing process
within me. It all began with me having the prompting
and conviction of the Holy Spirit, to pray and
meditate on GOD’s word and to worship him.
To those who know me, I am not very musically
inclined by nature but I began to appreciate worship
songs and allowed it to seep through my spirit
on a daily basis. There were days, I laid down
in bed while worshipping and waiting for GOD to
move within me. The irony was I had doubts when
the church was on the “move of soaking”
during the early part of 2003. I guess in GOD’s
timing, I had been convinced and converted in
this area. Occasionally, I began to feel warmness
and sensations in my body from time to time over
the next few months while soaking at home.
It was then that a sudden revelation
and total new experience told me that GOD’s
healing covered a much wider area than just physical
aspects alone. It covered internal healings like
psychological emotions including the spirit within
us. I began to shed tears and slowly the peace,
the joy and the love for GOD returned. It took
months for this process to develop. After months
of soaking, I began wanting to come to prayer
meetings in church, no longer being angry at certain
people (those whom I felt had transgressed me).
I became less judgmental; my personal walk with
GOD improved significantly as I gained back the
desire to read the word and the word became real
to me. (John 1:1-4)
Then became very real and a new revelation came
into me about the importance and paramount status
of the Word. Through the Word, I began to realize
that one needed GOD, one is dependable on GOD
and one has to cling on to GOD. Psalms
91 became the prayer and Word that I clung
dearly to everyday before leaving home with the
focus that GOD is my strength and fortress. I
am now praying hard that GOD will change my cynical
way of looking at the world. My personal prayers
are to ask GOD to touch me further by making me
have more compassion and love for lost souls.
To be truthful, I am struggling but believing
that in Jesus all things are possible. “He
must increase and I must decrease!”
As GOD dealt with my inner healings,
the physical healings followed suit in the next
few months, beginning in November 2005. Prior
to this, I had been suffering from a mysterious
stomach ailment for more than 6 months. There
were days I could not sit comfortably, especially
at night time and normally after meals. The excruciating
pain comes and the stomach feels acidic and churning.
There were nights when I kept throwing up. The
sickness became more rampant and signs were beginning
to indicate something more serious and chronic.
I had dark colored stools (occasionally) and felt
more discomfort with regular dizziness.
Subsequently, like men of little
faith, I began to confess negatively with worried
thoughts. What’s wrong with me? Am I going
to die? I am not ready and too young. It’s
not fair as I have 2 kids to look after with many
good years ahead with them. Depression began to
sip in. I went from consultation to consultation,
and tried one medication after another, alternating
between western against alternative medicine,
nothing seemed to work. Finally, the physician
told me to do a scopic test to see whether there
was any growth? The word “growth”
simply freaked me out.
Not only am I a man of little
faith but I am like the ungrateful Israelites
(during the wilderness days before entering the
promise land). I have just experienced GOD’s
miracle and him answering my prayer (about my
daughter, Eliana), but now I had forgotten all
that in such A short period of time. Luckily for
me, GOD’s grace and mercies was good to
me. I realized that it was time to call on GOD.
Jesus is the healer! Throughout his ministry on
earth, he was always delivering people from diseases
and healing the sick. If all hope is already lost
in the medical world then only Jesus can heal.
That message just came into my mind!
The Word of GOD began to set in
like those found in Philippians
4:6-7 and 2 Timothy
1:7 which prepared me mentally and spiritually
to fight the lies, doubts and threats of the devil.
Then came the Word of healing like Psalms
6:2; Psalms 103:3; Isaiah 53:5 etc. I began
to meditate upon the word and soak in worship
with songs like “You are GOD that health
me…”
The word also began to teach me
to confess about positive things. The bible says
that what comes out from your mouth can be life
and death. Confess all the good things about what
GOD can do. Proclaim the promises that He gave
us! Believe in him, have faith and trust him.
I began to proclaim by the words found in
Romans 10:17 (Faith comes by hearing and hearing
comes by the Word of GOD)
Not only was the “scopic”
results negative but the doctors could not find
anything wrong. The conclusion was some kind of
medical jargon. Immediately, I realized that I
had to trust GOD and let him be my healer. The
next few weeks, I received revelation and wisdom
that there was still bitterness and unforgiveness
in my life. One day at a time, GOD helped me to
search within myself and to let go some of it.
I thanked GOD for this as I believed at that point
I was set free and my spiritual life turned around.
Naturally, the physical healing took place as
I began to release all the hurts, bitterness and
feelings of unforgiveness. Jesus
said, come cast all your worries and problems
to me and I give you rest and peace. Not
only did I get that, I was actually healed!
The next 3 months between February
and April 2006, it was a time that GOD was building
up my faith level and also making me sensitive
to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The latter
aspect was something that I had to struggle with
for a long time as a Christian. I always had doubts
and questions on this topic of the Holy Spirit.
GOD however, was preparing me for something that
would change my entire life and probably save
THE life of a loved one.
Prior to April 26th 2006, I was making plans to
go to Singapore with a customer for a meeting
and trade show. Air tickets were purchased and
accommodations booked. I am the kind of person
who believes that once a promise is made, the
deed has to be done irregardless of a feeling
or even in this case, to use the correct word,
“Prompting of the Holy Spirit”. I
was to fly off to Singapore on the early morning
of 27th.
A week before that, I had begun
to feel restless and very troubled in the heart
for no apparent reason. I prayed about it and
yet, my feelings remained the same. Two days before
I was supposed to fly off, it troubled me so much
that I reluctantly cancelled the trip (knowing
very well that my client would be offended and
probably risked the consequence of losing a key
account of my company).
Early in the morning of 27th of
April 2006 (at approximately 6.30am), tragedy
struck! My mother woke me up to say that my father
was semi conscious and complaining that he was
semi paralyzed on the left part of his body. The
first thing that came to my mind was stroke because
of my father’s history of hypertension for
more than 20 years under medication.
We set off immediately from the
house heading towards medical help. I wasn’t
sure which hospital to go to. Rationally, it would
be to a hospital which was nearest to our temporary
home in Sg Ara. Again the “prompting”
came: “Don’t go! Drive! Next choice
was to General Hospital (because of my father’s
record there as a retiree). This time, it was
my mum’s wisdom which rejected it. I kept
on thinking that the long wait (indecision) would
probably cause my father’s death and as
I was driving we were all praying.
Despite the matter of emergency,
heavy traffic at Sg Ara and our indecisiveness,
I was calmed (which helped very much and was definitely
from GOD). I drove very fast but was highly alert.
Somehow, a thought just came of another hospital!
It took me only about 20 minutes and when I arrived
at hospital's ER it was approximately 7.05am.
This by itself is a miracle as normal traveling
takes about 40 minutes for the journey! I didn’t
know why I drove to that particular hospital as
none of my family members had any medical records
there but that answer would come later.
During the bustle of checking
into the hospital, I suddenly remembered that
I knew a brother who worked there. I called him
at 7.10am and even though he would normally not
answer his mobile that early, he actually did!
(he confirmed this with me later). Straight away
he called the neuro-surgeon and the heart specialist.
They both arrived within 20 minutes. The life
of my father was saved, first by GOD’s intervention
through the prompting of the Holy Spirit and secondly
by the fast actions of the doctors. This was further
confirmed when I found out that had I gone to
the one nearest to home, that hospital had no
MRI (brain scanning machine) equipment and their
surgeons stayed far away from the hospital. For
a person who had doubts and struggles about the
prompting of the “Holy Spirit”, GOD
was still merciful and gracious to me. Truly,
GOD is a Deliverer even in times of an emergency,
and as in this case a life and death situation.
Looking back, I know GOD knows that I would never
have forgiven myself if I had made the trip to
Singapore. GOD made sure that I was the driver
and that my mother- would act as the prayer warrior
throughout the journey. I would like to think
that that was the divine plan drawn up by GOD
for the partnership of that fateful day.
The next 1 ½ months, we
were devastated to see my dad lose half his limbs
to paralysis. Believe me, it was a traumatic and
devastating experience! The physiotherapy sessions
were painful for everybody when we looked at dad
struggling to walk, picking up marbles and his
loss of basic motor skills which we had taken
for granted.
During this time the call of GOD
came again. I began to question “Why GOD?”,
“What went wrong?” Typical isn’t
it? Immediately, GOD came and spoke “I
am who I am!” At first I was confused,
“What do you mean, GOD?” The revelation
came to me later, “I
am the Creator, The Lord your GOD, A Sovereign
GOD and lastly I am Jehovah Rapha (The Healer!)
The following is my understanding
on this revelation. GOD was saying “Stop
asking me why when bad things happen. I am the
Creator that has the ability to perform miracles.
I am GOD that does things without relying on conditions
like bleak medical reports and diagnosis. The
most powerful of all, I am The Healer! With those
assurances came the verse… all things happen
for good to those that believe and call upon his
name!
Today (August 10th 2006), my father
walks with only a slight limp and is able to do
his morning and evening walks without any assistance.
He drives the car, carries my little girl and
much more. The doctor has declared my dad on medical
grounds that he is 75% of his normal self. It
is a miracle! GOD is real and a Healer! You have
to believe me because I have seen it!
Like the verse which says all
things happen for good…., as a family we
became much closer, we changed our diet to much
healthier ones. For those who know me, I was a
glutton and in need of deliverance from the love
of food! Today I have lost weight quite significantly.
More good news! , I am made more aware about life
being vulnerable and fragile and I have learned
to not take things for granted anymore. I do not
easily feel worked up and excited (I will admit
that I am still struggling in this area but slowly
improving by the grace of GOD). Glory to his name,
Our Jehovah Rapha!
P/S Thank you for all the
prayers from family members, friends, members
of FAOG and HCC throughout the ordeal. Another
testimony coming out!
Alex Yeoh
3rd September 2006
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GOD
Answers Prayers!
Over the last 1 ½ years,
my family and I was put through numerous tests
and trials. It was through such experiences that
our faith in GOD had been strengthened. It was
to be a long journey of testing of our faith and
teachings but GOD brought us safely through.
It began in May 2005 when we received
news that Karen was blessed with another baby.
As we were settling down with the excitement of
a new baby, the devil began its quest to cause
havoc to our lives, with the theme that he comes
to kill, steal and destroy.
The first shocking news we received
was of our trusted and good gynecologist who had
met with a serious accident and pronounced with
a permanent disability in his spinal chord. This
meant that he could no longer practice medicine
and we would have to search for a replacement.
Weeks later we have found a new
doctor and the first prognosis of the baby was
disturbing. It seemed that the growth of the baby
had stopped at the second trimester. Each week,
we grew more anxious as we were told that the
baby was either not growing or only at a very
slow rate. In medical terms, this was not a good
sign.
My wife was put through a number
of tests but none of the tests gave any concrete
results. Finally, the doctor told us that there
was a very high possibility that the baby would
be born abnormal with birth defects. To determine
this, we were advised to go through a foetal ampniosis
test. Upon hearing this news we were both devastated.
We knew GOD has blessed us with a baby girl (which
we have prayed for prior to her being conceived).
Questions ran through our fevered
minds: How can this happen to us? What went wrong?
And more importantly, what are we going to do?
However, by the grace of GOD we were given the
courage through the wisdom of GOD found in Philippians
4: 6-7 which states: “Be
anxious for nothing, in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known unto GOD. And the peace of GOD which
surpass all understanding, shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.”
When the word of GOD came, we
just stood up with courage and great faith that
the Lord hears our “cries of anxieties”.
We decided not to take the test. The results of
the test, if it were to be bad news, would probably
lead us into an act of murder (abortion). The
Devil always comes to steal, kill and destroy!
The word of GOD gave us the strength
to overcome this first hurdle. We decided to trust
GOD and not do the test. However, the devil continued
to taunt and disturb our thoughts in the coming
months. There were times I felt that the devil
visited me especially during the nights and instilled
my mind with doubts, fear and confusion. This
continued for the next 4 months.
GOD is good and GOD is real!
John 1:1-6. The
verses say that in the
beginning was the Word. And the word was with
GOD, and the word was GOD. All
things were made by him and without him was not
anything made that was made. This verse
was like an eye opener for me to launch myself
into bible studies and to use verses to fight
my fear (2 Timothy 1:7-The
Lord does not give us the spirit of fear but of
power, and of love, and of sound mind),
to enhance my faith (Romans
10:17-faith comes from hearing and hearing comes
from the word of GOD) and to take comfort
(The Lord is my strength
and my fortress-Psalm 91)
The 3 verses mentioned
above became like a lifeline for me to cling on.
I began to pray earnestly. My prayer life began
to change in the direction of me being dependent
on GOD, I became more disciplined i.e. I became
more focused during my prayers and I prayed more
often. I allowed GOD to speak to me during devotion
time. I believe GOD was preparing me for a final
showdown of faith with the devil to change the
destiny of my child.
During the 36th week of pregnancy,
I heard a tape message (from Pastor Prince of
New Creation Church in Singapore). His message
was talking about Jesus dying on the cross and
the victory we have. It was a message which I
have heard many times over the years of being
a Christian. However, a new revelation was given
to me when Pastor Prince said that when Jesus
died on the cross, victory was already ours. As
such, we fight from the position of a victor and
not for victory. In short victory is already ours,
we must change our mindset and to tell the devil
and remind him that he will loose and he will
be burnt in the lake of fire eternally. In other
words, our prayers should be on the offensive
and not defensive. Talk to any military personnel,
you will understand that fighting from victory
is like occupying a position on a hill overlooking
your enemies and shooting down on them. It is
A strategic position! Whereas, fighting for victory
is a struggle and like climbing up the hill trying
to hit your enemies who are firmly entrenched
at the top of a hill. If you do so, you are caught
in a very vulnerable position!
This new revelation was the turning
point in my spiritual warfare with the devil.
At week 38 of the pregnancy, the doctor told us
that she did not want to take risks anymore and
wanted to do a Caesarian, as the baby’s
condition remained stagnant. We prayed hard and
2 other medical opinions confirmed that this was
the best we could do for our baby girl. The night
before we went for caesarian, the devil confronted
me once again by reminding me that he is here
to kill, steal and destroy. It was an intense
spiritual fight as I prayed (first time in my
life, I had sweated while praying and crying all
out to GOD). GOD came to visit me by reminding
me of all his promises through the verses I have
read over the last few months.
The final countdown was the
word stating that we fight from victory (a strategic
position). That moment I knew that GOD was a wholesome
GOD, a perfect GOD in perfect timing. I had the
courage to confront the devil with these words,
“You take my baby girl, I will take more souls
then you can ever imagine in my entire life. I was
angry and determined to fight from victory! Either
way, devil you loose. In the name of Jesus, leave
me alone!
The morning of 4th January 2006,
Pastor Felix came to Karen’s bedside (just
before she was wheeled into the operating theater).
He prayed and I quoted my favorite verse in Joshua
1:9- “Have I not commanded you, be strong
and of good courage, do not be afraid nor dismay
for the Lord your GOD is with you wherever you
go (This was the assurance to Joshua to
lead the Israelites into the Promised Land with
battles and obstacles that lay ahead)
Just before noon, our baby girl
was delivered in perfect condition without any
complications. All this while I knew, deep inside,
that GOD will answer my prayers. He didn’t
answer immediately but only after months of perseverance,
faith and trust in him on my part. I was depending
on his word and relying on him as our Jehovah.
All glory and honor unto his name! We named our
baby girl Eliana which in Hebrew stands for GOD
answers our prayer.
Today, our baby girl (8 months
old) is progressing well in every aspect; physically,
motor skills etc are fine. Do not let anybody,
even a doctor (specialist) to decide or determine
the fate of your child. Trust GOD to be the Creator,
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
(For another GREAT
testimony CONCERNING MY family, PLEASE refer to
the title heading GOD our Jehovah Rapha).
Alex Yeoh
3rd September 2006
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