I had an MRI recently which revealed that I have “shrinkage of both globes (aka the eyes). The MRI was done in order to evaluate potential causes of chronic headaches. The internnist does not believe the eye problem is responsible for the headaches; however, as a person who lives with a condition that often results in this complication, I am quite aware that it can be extremely painful. I am also aware that I, personally, have eyes which are very damaged; and my MRIs have been misinterpreted in the past–this damage has been interpreted as active when it is not.
If someone misinterpreted my MRI, and I never had the problem that was first interpreted on imaging, this doesn’t mean that God healed me. It is still a blessing–just a different type of blessing. I have had an experience in my life that speaks to the power of God to intervene miraculously; and that is why I believe in healing. It is, I think, an important issue in the church: not to deny the power of God but very much to be able to recognize it correctly. If we don’t, we rob God of His awesomeness. We insist that God’s miracles become an everyday occurrence, that God’s wondrous acts become explainable and present every day, because we cannot exist in the pain, because we cannot allow Him to be wondrous, because we cannot learn to trust Him to be our ever present help, even when He is not doing wondrous things.
If I do any ministry that arises because of my blindness, this is what it is. But it really ties together all the aspects of my life… The wondrous event in my life–it must be called wondrous because it was a one-time thing–it involved restoration of my sight. The growth events in my life have involved God’s presence throughout my struggles with everything else: the chronic pain, the struggle to breathe, the struggle to form the right words… These are times when I needed God most, and I have learned to depend on Him when He was not doing wondrous things.
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