INTRODUCTION
I had stopped believing in the existence of the devil and quickly suffered a life-threatening condition that sent me to the hospital, fighting for my life. I passed over into the spiritual realm, where I experienced the realities of the devil, hell, the Lake of Fire, and the Judgement Seat, where I stood before God with stains on my garments.
After promising God that I would change, I miraculously returned to the living that first night, but my troubles were far from over. As strange as this may sound, I paid no heed to the Judgment Day messages I experienced that first night in the hospital (MY DAY OF DEATH, When You Disbelieve The Devil’s Existence…, Entering The Spiritual Realm, MY JOURNEY TO SPIRITUAL GOLGOTHA, IN HELL – CONFRONTED BY THE DEVIL, SWIMMING IN THE LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE, Standing On The Seat Of Judgment Before God, MY EXPERIENCES IN HEAVEN AND HELL.)
Although I returned to life, the devil had me on the ropes, and although I did not know it, he was coming in to finish me off. He continued attacking me in the hospital as I fought for my life. In my previous two postings, he attempted to suffocate me (MY ABILITY TO BREATH IS ATTACKED) and starve me to death (UNABLE TO GET ENOUGH NUTRITION TO SURVIVE .) In this posting, he persuaded my doctors to get me to consent to a risky and unneeded operation. He repeatedly brought mayhem into my life with a relentless wave of events designed to abort my destiny and life purpose.
Somewhere along the way, I picked up a Bible, conceding that it may be an appropriate time to reach out to God. I began by reading the book of Matthew and finished the book by reading just a few chapters each day. However, the words it read didn’t resonate with me then. The book delivered a series of beautiful accounts of Jesus’ life, but I could not grasp their spiritual implications. I subsequently resumed my reading program by reading Mark, but after a while, I gave up. Little did I know, however, that God would reward my meager attempt to move closer to Him.
BAD NEWS COMES
After being in the hospital for two months, a staff surgeon came to discuss the results of my recent CAT scan. He said the test confirmed my pseudocysts were not reabsorbing into my pancreas as hoped. He also stated that leaving them in this condition would be risky. He then delivered a long list of the perils of avoiding this operation and strongly advised me to have it done.
I inquired about the risks of surgery and found that the operation required a fifteen-inch cut in my abdomen and the removal of my stomach, kidneys, and some intestines. These steps are performed to access the pancreas, which is positioned near the spine and is otherwise unreachable. The pseudocysts would then be lanced and sewn onto the inside wall of the intestines giving them a safe place to drain. Once completed, they would reinstate the removed organs and stitch me up. The physician felt the risk associated with the operation was justified because of the significant, possibly fatal, episodes that would occur without it.
But the complexity and risk of this procedure seemed unreasonable to me. After all, I felt from the first day that my body would heal and I would recover. I declined to let pessimistic sentiments from the physician change my mind regarding my outcome. It seemed to me that the operational risks were higher than the potential injury from a pancreas malfunction sometime in the future. I did not want to die on the operating table. This surgery seemed to be an intrinsically bad idea to me. It seemed wrong in my head and my gut.
A HEALING MIRACLE FOLLOWS UNWAVERING FAITH
Some in my family, nevertheless, felt differently. Of course, they knew much better than I, just how fortunate I was to be alive. After a discussion with them, I searched for the right decision for quite some time, eventually choosing to get a second opinion. So I contacted my family doctor to see if he could help. He investigated and found an experienced pancreatic specialist who worked in another hospital across town. So, I asked my family doctor to set things up for me.
Little did I know what a firestorm I started by bringing in a physician from another hospital. My view was that I wanted the best I could find and did not comprehend why anyone would do differently. I also knew a second opinion by another doctor in the same practice would have political implications, which could sway opinion toward their colleague’s original findings. I wanted a fresh set of eyes and an open and independent mind. Fortunately, my family doctor did an extraordinary job playing the middleman in making this transpire. He pulled all the strings required to get the second opinion set up.
On the morning the second opinion exam was scheduled, I was sitting in bed, listening to the nurses and the doctors talking in the hallway about the outrage of having an outsider evaluate me. It seemed like everyone in the building was talking about this issue. They were insulted that such a thing could occur. With all the fuss they were generating, you would have thought that someone had robbed a bank, and maybe, that is what it was all about.
In any case, the doctor showed up and did an excellent job. He asked me multiple questions, examined me, reviewed my records, and ordered another battery of tests, including CAT scans, X-rays, and blood tests.
A few weeks later, he reported his findings, and their consequences were surprising. He conveyed that by comparing the most recent CAT scan with the previous one, he discovered that my pseudocysts were shrinking! They were being reabsorbed back into my pancreas, and he forecasted they would vanish within three to six months. My body was healing! What great news!
Looking back on it now, it is apparent that something transpired between my first and second series of examinations. That something was that I had desired to find God by picking up a Bible and reading it. Regardless of how feeble my effort was, God responded with a healing miracle! Yes, that is right. When I thought about it, the physicians could do nothing but offer a risky surgery, resulting in a patch job while causing much damage to my body and organs. On the other hand, God gave me a genuine healing that returned my body and organs to their original state without damage or risk.
My faith that I would be healthy without the surgery is something God put in me that first night in the hospital. God honored my attempt to find Him, and it did not matter that I found the experience lacking. It was as if God was responding to me, “Okay, son; you took one step in My direction, and you thought nothing would come of it. But you have My heart. I am going to show you that I am real. I desire that you live.”
As it was communicated in all the other incidents I have reported in this blog, God was there for me again. He continued watching over and protecting me, even though I did not know it. I often wonder why the Lord would have loved me so. After all, He saved me from the lake of fire (SWIMMING IN THE LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE) and brimstone, the pit of hell, and the devil’s savagery (MY EXPERIENCES IN HEAVEN AND HELL). He has given me life even though I stood before Him on Judgment Day with the stains of sin on my garments. Nothing could be more significant than being saved from these things. Then later, He also healed me when I attempted to find Him by reading the Bible.
Sweet God in heaven, I praise Your holy and sacred name. I praise You for loving someone unworthy of Your love, who could not have changed the error of his ways without your loving care.
The truth is that God was willing to develop a closer relationship with me then, but I was not ready. I still had not recognized that He was my protection and healer. I, therefore, did not give Him the praise he deserved for doing so. However, by not giving credit to God for my healing, and since I had not renounced my disbelief in the devil’s existence, my penalty would be that the spiritual warfare over me would continue.
DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT THE GOOD NEWS
When the hospital staff acquired the second opinion report, I expected they would oppose it. I expected the hospital surgeons’ warnings that I would encounter severe consequences without the surgery. I remember thinking, “After all, a surgeon only makes big money when they operate, right?” But the surgeon was not the only one encouraging me to go ahead and have the surgery. Members of my family also tried to persuade me to have the procedure. After all, I understand that they were afraid of losing me.
I, therefore, abandoned the risky surgery and accepted the path of natural recovery because I believed in a good report even before there was one to contemplate. I knew I did not need the operation, and I told my hospital doctors and everyone else of this belief. Many people tried to change my mind, but I declined them all.
The hospital physicians tried several strategies to get me to recant about having the operation. I, however, was always unwavering and to the point. Eventually, they pressed me so hard that I had to rudely tell them this was the end of the line. There would be no more discussions about an operation.
Interestingly enough, I encountered the top surgeon who recommended the operation while on an airport shuttle bus several years later. I was in much better health by then, and he may not have recognized me, so I reintroduced myself. Would you believe that he started preaching to me about the operation again? I guess he did not get the message. He refused to accept the test results that confirmed that the pseudocysts had disappeared and that there was nothing on which to operate!
In my next posting you will learn about my insurance company blocking my ability to go on home care despite my doctors recommendations. After being in the hospital for almost 3 months and even though they would save tons of money doing so, they persistantly blocked my ability to go home.
SEEKING JESUS 