One Girl’s True Story
DISCOVERING THAT EVEN SICKNESS CAN BE USED BY GOD
This testimony is from Atheena, a member of Street Level Ministries in Cebu City, Philippines.
When I was younger, I was always afraid that at any moment I would end up lying in a hospital bed again. I have a low immune system, so I easily got coughs and colds. I also have asthma, and it triggered my gastritis to the point that my parents would bring me to the hospital maybe two or three times a year. It caused me to question why I had to go through this pain all the time.
As a child, my mother always reminded me to have time with God and pray, and my father would drag me out of bed to go to church. In grade school, I was taught Christian values, and I kept being reminded that God plays a big part in our lives. However, my relationship with Him was so unsteady. I knew God existed, but that was it. I did not truly believe in Him. God always reached out to me, extending His help, but I did not respond because I doubted Him a lot and kept complaining about the state of my life.
When I was 15, I was really sick and in deep pain, and the doctor told my parents that I should just stay at home. When I got back from the doctor’s office, I found myself crying aloud to God because I was at the lowest point I had ever been. Then suddenly I heard my mother sing like she always does whenever I am sick, singing her heart out praising God. I had a different feeling this time, as if God was talking to me through those songs. She sang, “God will make a way where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see. He will make a way for me…” and “Heal me, oh Lord, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved…” Those lines hit me deeply. It was very comforting and overwhelming. I stopped whining and started talking; I opened up to Him and described how I felt. I continued crying that night and felt something was holding me tight. It was so amazingly indescribable.
All this time I thought I was just physically ill and didn’t realize that I was also spiritually ill. The moment I let God into my life and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior, everything went upside down. My ailing soul was longing for Him, and I found that in Christ Jesus I am healed. He might do things in a painful way from the human perspective, but it is one of the ways He shows me that I need Him and should rely on Him. And when I did, I was finally assured that I am not forsaken; He always has my back.
It’s amazing how things changed from the moment I put my faith in Him. Since then, I am healthier physically and spiritually, and I no longer need to go the hospital routinely. Though I still get sick easily, I am not the same, frail person anymore. I used to get anxious easily whenever I faced problems, mainly when things wouldn’t turn out the way I expected them to. For example, during my third year of college studying architecture, things were getting out of hand. Even though I worked hard to finish my schoolwork before the deadlines, my grades were still not good, and I received discouraging comments from my instructors. God’s word in Philippians 4:6 helped me through this time: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (NIV). Instead of being crushed by it, I asked for God’s help and leaned on Him to guide me through it.
Today I am 21 years old preparing for an apprenticeship after graduation. I am so grateful for everything that has happened, including the trials, because I worry less now that I have witnessed how God works through things when you just ask Him and let Him be in control of your life. I am still working on my relationship with God and praying that I will always consistently seek Him.
– Atheena