God of My Deliverance

At the age of 16, and newly saved, God planted me into a Bible based church. Little did I know, He was preparing me for the first of many storms to come in my life.

At 18, I became physically sick; doctors could not find what was wrong with me. I withdrew from school due to ill-health and as time progressed, I almost became a shell of myself, wondering ‘what would become of me?’.

My family were not believers and, even though my parents sought help from every place they knew how, including witch doctors; they were met with no success.

On the 27th of January 1992, God did the unusual. Through a word of knowledge given by two separate individuals in one day, God revealed to me that I was going through a spiritual attack.

F.F Bosworth once said, “Faith begins where the will of God is known.”

The next day, I told my parents that I was going back to school, and that all was well with me, even though my outward appearance, and how I felt told a different story. Within me, a holy anger had risen because of what the enemy had subjected me to; I settled in my heart that enough was enough.

As a young Christian, I had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit. My pastors told me “We are not always going to be there for you, and so you need to learn to stand on your own; pray and believe God for yourself”. They prayed with me and sent me off with Psalm 91.

I knew nothing about spiritual warfare; Psalm 91 is all I had. I stood on the word, believed God, resisted the enemy, and God delivered me. In fact, God didn’t just deliver me; He set me on a journey of praying for my family, and I saw Him save, heal, and deliver them all.

Looking back, I sincerely believe the things God wanted me to learn, and what He was calling me to were greater than the storms I faced.
1 Corinthians 12:1 Paul urges us to have clear knowledge about spiritual gifts. In vs 31 Paul encourages us to earnestly desire them (bearing in mind that without love we are nothing) as per 1 Corinthians Chapter 13.

Had God not brought the word of knowledge to reveal what was happening with me, I could have probably continued to pray amiss (for physical healing). I would not have known to believe God for my deliverance. He was kind enough to direct me and lead me to victory, even in a difficult season. He is truly, the God who delivers.

Reflection: Romans 8:15 says, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
God in scripture repeatedly says “Do not fear”; you cannot stand in faith when in fear, and without faith it is impossible to please God. And I believe our actions/efforts outside of faith do not please God.