It
was the summer of 1991 I had a hard day at work and as I was passing
by my neighbor's house up the street from me, I had noticed that once
again, he was lounging around in the entrance of his garage. He would
usually be sitting there each day when I got home from work. Mixed feelings
went surging through my body as I called to my son Isaac, who at that
time was 6 years old. I said to Isaac... "let's go see why the
man up the street is always sitting in the entrance to his garage."
So we took a walk up the street to see the neighbor.
Well,
as we approached our neighbor I said straight out... "how come
you're always sitting out here every day?" and he replied... "I
can't walk and can barely get around due to a serious medical condition
I have and my wife has to help me get dressed and then help me get down
here so that I can just sit here the rest of the day." My heart
sunk! I had no idea that he had been living with such a serious medical
condition that would not allow him to get around as he desired. So I
took Isaac by the hand and said, let's pray for him. So at that moment
we prayed for the man to be healed from his long term illness, said
goodbye and went back down the street to our house.
A
couple of months had passed and I took notice that the man hadn't been
sitting in the entry of his garage as he always did. I went up the street
and inquired of another neighbor and he told me what had happened...
"about a month ago, he went out and bought himself an extension
ladder and painted the front of his house." The other neighbor
also told me that the man's wife and a couple of other people were out
in front telling the man to get down off the ladder before he falls
and hurts himself. The man had finally been healed from this long-term
illness that plagued him for so many years which kept him from realizing
his dream. He had been wanting to retire somewhere in the country up
north an was never able to do so due to the fact that his medical condition
would not allow him to. He figured that he was better off staying in
the city where he would be closer to a medical facility if needed.
Well,
his long-lost dream had finally come true. He was not only able to paint
the front of his house but he then quickly packed up all his belongings
and he and his wife moved away. God had met this man right where he
was and it only took the effort on my part to follow through with what
I now believe was a divine appointment from God. Don't pass up an opportunity
to minister to someone because we never know what the end result might
be!
"By
faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made
strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that
has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see." Acts
3:16