'God has healed me from ME' by Emma Sweetman
I first had Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) also known as Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in 1993. Since then I have always had to be careful about everything that I do, monitoring energy levels and life activities with not getting ill.
Since I became a Christian 5 years ago I have been given pictures about being in a prison, being in a wheelchair and about being a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis beating its wings against it. It was struggling/pushing/fighting to get out and be free again but without this struggle the butterfly will die as its wings wouldn’t be strong enough to fly! Eventually the butterfly (who stops every now and then, gives up) breaks free and is off! I also had a picture of a skier, knees bent zooming down the mountain, God was the skier and I was on his knees. We would stay at the bottom of the mountain together until eventually a big truck came to pull us out of the hole. Gradually and slowly after a lot of tugging the truck begins to pull us out but it takes time and we come out of it together. This was God’s confirmation that he was with me.
Praise God for these aspects that have challenged me personally and deepened my faith and trust in God.
My faith and Love for Jesus has deepened and I know how to trust and ask God to provide oxygen and basic essentials for my every need. I needed to lose some of my perfectionism and to be able to accept that if things aren’t done then they will be done in God’s timing. God has been teaching me the ability to forgive; being able to release anger in a godly way; dealing with hate and frustrations; how to deal with other peoples misunderstandings; that God loves me; that he sees me as beautiful; that it’s okay to be vulnerable with God and people; to remove the walls to enable God to mould and perform the changes he needs for his ministry in me; patience; not to hold grievances; to love thy neighbour (even when they drive you nuts!); to accept being in a place I don’t want to be in and realising its actually where God wants me; that Jesus is the only person you can completely trust and rely on; that you can survive spiritually when you are weak, even if you can only read one piece of scripture or nothing. I have learnt obedience and my thinking has matured in a number of ways. I have lost a lot of pride, and learnt how to cope with humiliation and loneliness and learnt how to ask for help even when it was really hard and I did not want to. I have grown in compassion and being dependent on God and people. I have learnt it is okay to cry; the joy while being in pain; the ability to laugh at most circumstances; how hard it is to be still and to actually rest. I learnt the importance of rest, exercise, diet and that my body is God’s temple so to treat it properly to enable it to function and work the way God needs it to. I have learnt what it feels like to be in a wheelchair, how hard it is, how people view you, how their opinions change towards you and what it is like being trapped and confined to such a small space. Without being ill I would not have had these opportunities.
How was I healed?
The healing started to take place in September, the day we left to go away with my husband’s parents, I felt God say ‘Now is the time’, two friends confirmed that through text messages. Since then God has slowly been working in and through me. First, it started with a warm glow feeling over my spine and gradually things have been changing, most of them I have not recognised God dealing with them, but they have just disappeared. I then felt God say ‘I want Derek Brown to pray for you’ to which he did and from that moment on God completely removed my brain fog and lack of concentration. We then had another preacher visit, Tim Grant, and I was not sure if I should go up for prayer and said to Jonny (my hubby) you have to tell me if it is right to go up for prayer or he has to give me such a direct word that I know the time is right. And he did, he said someone with M.E. needs healing! My sigh of relief was immense; it really was the time to be healed completely and utterly from M.E. after 13 years! At the end I went up for prayer, and received a picture that I needed to run around the church, the lady praying for me then said the same thing and I replied, ‘I need to pray to make sure it is right’. Just then Tim Grant said exactly the same thing. So having been bed bound and housebound for a year not being able to walk I then proceed to run around the building and outside!
What has happened since that day?
The breathing problems that I have struggled with the most have completely vanished and I have been able to walk short distances without getting ill; I have managed to walk around Tesco once, to do washing up, to wash clothes, and to potter all day in the flat. I have had a couple of friends around and been able to cook. All of these things were impossible before that meeting with Tim.
So I would like to thank God and for how He has enabled me to grow, for God’s love and for all the people that have faithfully prayed for me during this last year. There are a couple of things that God still needs to sort but I am believing and trusting that God will fulfil his promise of complete healing.
Article Date: 27th June 2005 |
