My name is Annie and I am a Cancer survivor, healed by the Lord.
In 2008 I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Ca. I completed my treatment in 2009 and was then in remission. Ever since I accepted Jesus into my life as a teenager, I’ve always wanted to give my life wholly to Him and to serve Him but somehow there was always something else that needs to be seen to in every stage of my life.
Towards the 2nd half of 2014 I felt God moving in my life but again I told the Lord I would give my life to Him only when I retire. And I was also experiencing a very bad back and almost every night I would get up in the middle of the night to sleep on the floor . I had to take pain killers to be able to sleep at night. I think I was in denial then as I would pacify myself that it was just a bad back ache that would go away.
In November 2014 when Pastor Julius Suubipreached during a Sunday service, at the end there was an altar call for those who needed healing. I came out here and asked for healing for my back ache. When I stretched up my hands, I felt a warm sensation in my spine. I believe healing started then but God still had in His plans to let me learn how to trust Him completely.
In February 2015, I had a bone scan. To my horror, hotspots were detected and on the same day I had a 3D CT scan done. Both scans showed clearly that my Cancer had come back and was now in my back bone. I was told that that made me a Stage 4 Capatient. I was advised to be prepared to start radiotherapy immediately, to be followed by chemo and other necessary treatment including injecting a kind of cement to prevent the back bones from collapsing.
Sometimes people ask what’s it’s like to receive such bad news. The prognosis for me was bleak. 18 -24 months with the median being 20 months. So the question I asked myself was what do I do now?
In my desperation, I went on my knees and cried out to the Lord. I asked for forgiveness that I have never surrendered my life fully to Him, for forgiveness because like the Israelites who have seen and tasted of God’s goodness I remained a ‘stiff necked’ person. I asked for another chance, and I asked that my life would not be destroyed by Cancer. And as I prayed and worshiped the Lord beside my bed several times daily, very often the room would be filled with His presence. God revealed several things to me. He guided me on what and how to pray. He showed me in Exodus chapter 32 that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and He has bound himself with an oath to His people. So, I learnt to pray Gods word back to Him. I told the Lord that I’m not a Jew. I don’t have Jewish blood in me. But when I accepted Jesus into my life I’ve been adopted into this big family of God. So the promise made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob belongs to me too. And therefore I too should not be destroyed.
The scan report stated clearly that there’s Cancer in my back bone and I would have to start radiotherapy. However I sensed in my spirit that God was not done with me yet. I insisted on a third scan. While waiting to do the PET Scan, I reminded the LORD of His covenant to save me.. And all praise and glory to God, the hotspots that appeared in both bone and CT scan earlier now appeared as only ‘mild spots’.Based on what the specialist saw in the scan, he says it’s unlikely that I have Cancer in my back bone anymore.
I don’t know what happened between the first two scans and the third scan. But for me it’s a miracle. In 20 days scan results changed. Although my Oncologist in UMMC stand by their first two scans and still consider me a Stage 4 patient, they decided to defer treatment except for daily oral drugs. And best of all I do not even need painkillers anymore.I havelearnt to rebuke the disease and proclaim that the God I serve is a God of covenant and He’s a God who heals.
In July 2015 I attended Rev John Ng’s healing service in CGBC. When he asked if there’s anyone who needs healing for back pain, I went up. And when he prayed for me God even revealed to him accurately that I was having pain in my left knee, neck and left abdomen. This shows that regardless of how bad our circumstances are, God is always in control and He knows and feels our pain.
How has my life changed?
It has been a big turning point in my life because it brought me to my knees literally and figuratively. When everything was hopeless, God gave me hope. All I needed to do was to honour Him, listen to His voice and to be obedient to Him. I learned to pray healing scriptures back to Him. In my pursuit of Him, I attended healing services whenever there was one .Truly our God is a God of second chances. A god of boundless love and mercy.
Each day I wake up I give thanks that I’m still alive and well. I have also experienced the power of His word. Whenever I feel pain in my back I would rebuke it in Jesus name. And all praise be to God, I have experienced instant relief when I lay hands on my own back and rebuke the pain and claim healing in His name. I am still learning to trust with unwavering faith. And to know He is a God who does not change regardless of what I feel in the natural. Most importantly in my battle against Cancer, I fight from a point of victory because by His stripes I’ve already been healed.
Maybe today some of us may have aches or may be ill. I want you to know that the God we serve is Yahweh God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He’s a God of covenant who changes not. Reach out and touch His heart.And he will touch yours . There is power in His blood and in His Word. I pray that what I have gone through will encourage you. God turned my test results around , from a death sentence to one of hope because of His grace and mercy. No matter how bad our situation may be, God the healer does not change. All Praise and Glory to His name. I am healed because our God is a great God.