When I was sixteen, a doctor told me I would never run again. After tearing all the tendons in my left ankle, the bone twisted 90 degrees in the wrong direction. The best case scenario given to me prior to my operation was that I would walk with a limp after placing a screw to hold this bone in place. Despite the obstacles I faced, the prayers of the saints gave me the faith to move on.
And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; Mark 16:17.
By the time I reached my 21st birthday, stuttering was the next trial standing in my way of expressing myself verbally. Attacks would come out of no where, causing me to lose my breath and confidence to speak. One evening, a college roommate named Mike had a vision as I walked into our apartment. Hanging out with a few believers from church, a circle engulfed me as these men began to lay hands on me. The prayers proclaimed pleaded with God to free me permanently from stuttering. Subsequently, God gave me the will to persevere.
“While you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus,” Acts 4:30.
My latest dilemma may be my greatest to date, a bout with glaucoma. Once again, the odds are not on my side nor is science in my favor. Yet, I serve a God who has raised the dead, cured the sick and given sight to the blind. The mystery of the unknown will be tough to handle. Nonetheless, I trust in a living God who has performed miracles in the past. Therefore, I stand in awe, leaning on God’s grace who provides the will to move on.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 