Do I Believe . . .

When the men had come to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?' "  And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.   Luke 7:20-22

In the video series “The Truth Project”, a question is posed to the class by Dr. Del Tackett:  “Do you believe that what you believe is really real?”  The quick and easy answer to this is “Yes, I do”.  The honest answer, however, only comes when faced with a situation that so challenges your faith that you find no easy answer. 

In each of the trips I’ve taken to Uganda, I have faced situations that were so challenging, that I was forced to confront the depth and strength of my faith.  Do I really believe that what I believe is really real?

In 2012, one such moment came as we were handing out mosquito nets in the village.  I found myself standing in front of a mud hut in the middle of a banana field talking & praying with some of the wonderful people living there.  As we were preparing to leave their home, one of the women stopped me, unwrapped a small baby that was strapped to her back and held her up in front of me.  Through my interpreter, Onesimus, this mother asked me to pray for her baby because she was very sick.  I remember standing in that place with my hands on the baby’s face looking at the completely foreign surroundings, wondering if my prayers would make any difference.  I had never truly felt that the only hope for healing was in God – I have always turned to doctors & hospitals first in such situations.  Praying humbly, I asked God not to let my little faith stand in the way of His healing this precious baby. 

Over the past month, I have been reading the Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus as well as the book of Acts where many stories of miraculous healing are described.  In each case, it is clear that ONLY God could have performed the healing miracles.  God received glory, people’s hearts were changed and the Kingdom of God was advanced. I remembered how God formed Adam from dust and Eve from the rib of Adam.  God also took a valley of bones, re-assembled them and added sinew, flesh and skin to regenerate men from dry bones – and breathed the breath of life into them.

But do I really believe that God can re-form flesh?  This is just one question I faced during this trip, but one that has caused me to look more deeply (and honestly) at my faith. 

One thing I have learned in my time in Uganda is to expect the unexpected and allow God to manage the situations I can not – which is most of them.  Here are just a couple of examples . . .

At the medical clinic held at the church, I was part of one of three teams praying for people coming who wanted prayer.  A rather stoic woman in a yellow and black striped blouse sat down in front of me and had her hand wrapped in a white cloth.  After she settled into the plastic chair, she unwrapped her hand to reveal a horribly damaged thumb.  The skin and flesh on the back of her thumb were completely gone and the rest of the thumb and nearby flesh was obviously infected & discolored.

She proceeded to tell us that a witch doctor had poisoned her teeth and bitten her thumb.  The witch doctor did this as a means to control not only her, but others in the village in which she lived – a kind of spiritual terrorism.  We prayed that her thumb would be healed and we also prayed against the evil that the witch doctor was inflicting on those in her village.  Once again, I found myself in a situation that was so far out of my comfort zone that I could only turn to God.

The doctors told her that they could not treat her here, and that the only medical treatment possible was to travel to the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala and have the thumb amputated.  Faith told me that while the surgery would be free, it would cost the woman about $40 to travel to Kampala and stay for a week to receive the surgery.  We tried to find her to ask if she had the resources to get there, but she had already left the area and nobody was quite sure where she had come from.

I continue to pray that God will restore the bone, reconstruct the flesh and heal her thumb completely.  Do I really believe that God can do this?  Yes, I do.  Would I have been surprised if He would have chosen that moment when we prayed in Kacungwa to heal her thumb and display His great power to the people there?  Maybe. 

In another case, a young girl was brought in to the clinic by some friends.  She was having serious abdominal pain.  A quick look by the doctor revealed severe scarring on her stomach that was the result of a botched surgery many years before.  In addition to the scars, there was an opening in her flesh where internal organs were pressing outward.

 

All of the prayer teams went into the office where she was laid on the floor and we all prayed for this young girl.  She was in horrible pain and could barely stand as they tried to get her to the van – she couldn’t even walk to the door before collapsing.  We were able to get her loaded in the van (no ambulances here) and the driver took her to Wentz Clinic in Ggaba where she was treated for the pain, stabilized and later transferred to a hospital.  Doctors were unsure of what they would be able to do for her due to the extent of the damage already done.

While I do believe God has the power and there are countless examples of Him doing such miraculous healings, I still struggle with trying to understand why He doesn’t in times like these.  It is hard to come to grips with the suffering that takes place in the world, particularly when praying for God to heal a woman and a young girl, each in such dire circumstances with little hope other than God. 

From the time of Adam & Eve, the enemy has been dedicated to destroying the image-bearer’s of God.  He wants to destroy hope, faith and steer us away from the Truth.  In the midst of all of the suffering the gospel was preached and many gave their lives to Jesus Christ – hundreds more heard the gospel and seeds were planted.  Healing of the spirit and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ is, after all, why Jesus came, died and rose from the grave.

God is an awesome God and I admit that the more of Him I begin to understand, the less I realize I truly know about Him.  I love the journey of increasing faith, even though it takes me to some very challenging places.  I believe, Lord help my unbelief…

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.   Hebrews 11:1