By Zhengni
Time flies. In the blink of an eye, I have been following the Lord for decades. Whenever I quiet my heart and think of what happened after I believed in the Lord, I strongly feel the Lord’s kindness: If not for the Lord’s mighty hand, I am afraid that I would have long died.
One day in the spring of 1979, I suddenly got a severe pain in my belly, so I rushed to a clinic nearby for medicine. The doctor there pressed on my stomach and said, “There is a mass in your belly, which is quite unusual. You should hurry to get it checked at a major hospital.” Therefore, on the early morning of the next day, I went to a big hospital. After a checkup, the doctor told me that I needed surgery as soon as possible. Hearing this news, I felt flustered and thought: “It seems to be serious. If a surgery is all it takes to cure the pain, then I should just have the surgery.” Seven days after the surgery, I got back home with my family to get some rest on the doctor’s advice.
After we got home, my husband had a worried look on his face and said, “The mass is still in your stomach. The doctor said if they removed it, you would probably die on the table. So they had no choice other than to leave it in you. The doctor also said that what you have is lymph node tuberculosis, which is incurable, and he told us to prepare for your passing.” Hearing this, I felt so dizzy and my tears started streaming down my face. Looking at my husband and six-month-old baby, my heart was filled with anguish as if stabbed by a dagger, and I finally broke down in tears. I thought: “My baby is still so little. What would happen to him if I died? We are so poor that we cannot even feed ourselves. How could we possibly afford my treatment? My baby needs me. I really don’t want to die. I want to live. God! Who can save me!”
In the following days, I went everywhere looking for a cure. Every time a relative or friend recommended a good doctor, I would go to see that doctor right away. During that time, I ate so much Chinese traditional medicine and western medicine that my stomach was damaged, yet I still didn’t get any better. I lost around 10 kilos and weighed only about 43 kilos. I could barely walk or eat, and still, sometimes I had to face the cold face and ridicule of my father-in-law. I was already pained and helpless due to the torture of illness, yet the coldness of my family was even more hurtful. Thinking of my future, I felt utterly discouraged and desperate. Countless times, I screamed in silence: “I am only 28 years old! And yet my life is about to end like this? I’m unwilling to accept it.” When I was extremely miserable and helpless, Lord Jesus’ gospel came upon me.
One day, after hearing of my illness, a distant relative of mine said to me with concern, “Kid, you should believe in Lord Jesus, because He is authoritative and powerful. He has performed so many signs and wonders such as making the paralyzed walk, the blind see and the dead live. As long as you truly believe in the Lord, He will surely bestow mercy on you. …” Hearing these words, I seemed to have clutched at a straw, and I gladly accepted the gospel. On the next Sunday, I dragged myself to the church. At the sight of me, the brothers and sisters there enthusiastically greeted me and asked about my condition, which brought me the warmth that I hadn’t enjoyed for a long time. When they learned about my sickness, they prayed for me with love, and I too prayed to God in my heart: “Lord, I beg you to save me.” After the prayer, the brothers and sisters read to me some Bible verses to encourage me, and they told me to rely on the Lord more. I realized from their fellowship that the Lord is my only reliance, which made me feel very much at peace and assured. On my way home, I felt full of strength. The pain in my stomach faded, and even walking was no longer tiring for me. I was very happy, because I knew the Lord listened to my prayer and thus eased my pain. Afterward, I read a story in the Bible: “And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned Him about, and when He saw her, He said, Daughter, be of good comfort; your faith has made you whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour” (Matthew 9:20–22). I pondered these verses over and over in my heart: This woman with a blood issue for 12 years was cured by touching the hem of the Lord’s garment, all because of her faith. Indeed, God created heaven and earth and all things, and man’s breath is given by God, so, isn’t my illness too in the Lord’s hand? I should also have faith in the Lord and trust that He can cure me.
Once I had an unbearable stomach ache. I prayed and called out to the Lord in pain. I thought: “Lazarus in the Bible, who died for 4 days, was still raised by Lord Jesus. Isn’t my illness also in the Lord’s hands? I cannot complain about Him or lose faith in Him.” Therefore, I came before the Lord immediately and prayed to Him, committing my illness to Him. After praying, I could feel that my stomach hurt much less: Once again, I saw the Lord’s mighty hand, and thus my faith in Him grew. Since then, I more diligently read the Bible, sang hymns and attended service regularly. My condition gradually became better and better; my stomach no longer hurt, and my face started to look ruddy. Witnessing the significant improvement of my health, my husband also saw the Lord’s mightiness and believed that only Lord Jesus could heal me. I knew that all this was the Lord’s mercy, and my heart was filled with gratitude to Him.
The villagers were all surprised to see my recovery, and they said, “The God she believes in must be the true God, which is why she got cured from such a serious illness.” Besides, several of them were willing to believe in the Lord with me after witnessing me regain health. The doctor who operated on me found my recovery unbelievable and said to my father-in-law, “Your daughter-in-law had a terminal disease, but how come she got cured? I thought she had long passed away.” Facing all this, I knew deep within that no one except God could heal me, and that it was all His wondrous deed. Later, I went to the hospital for reexamination, the result of which showed that I was miraculously fully healed. At that moment, words failed to express how grateful I was to God, and all I could do was to thank God unceasingly in my heart. I knew that it was the Lord’s grace that cured me, which allowed me to have a deeper understanding of the Lord’s words “Said I not to you, that, if you would believe, you should see the glory of God?” (John 11:40). The Lord holds sovereignty over all things, and our life and death is in His hands; as long as we have true faith in God, we will see His deeds.
Thank the Lord. This experience of getting healed from incurable disease gave me the chance to see the Lord’s mightiness and great deed. Now 40 years later, each time I recall this experience, I am very grateful to God for His mercy and grace. It is God that has cured my terminal illness and given me a second life. Thanks and praise be to the Lord! Amen!
