Page 49 - Evidence of Things Unseen

bones, so He gave you medical benefits for that child.” This, however, was not what I was
discerning in the spirit. I believed God had orchestrated this matter to demonstrate to me
that when we lean on the arm of man we will have to depend upon that which we place our
trust in. He was speaking to me that if I would cancel all SSI health benefits on my son that
He would become his source of health, and He would heal Josiah even as He had healed my
daughter.
Man offered no cure for this bone disease. All man could do was patch my son up
every time he hurt himself. I much preferred that God should heal Josiah, than that I should
receive free medical care every time he injured himself. To the natural mind what God was
asking us to do seemed like pure folly. Josiah was freshly out of a cast, and had experienced
two fractures that year. These government SSI benefits were hard to get, and many people
employed the use of lawyers to attain them. Yet we were to cancel our benefits on Josiah
and then trust God to heal him.
I knew this was the way God worked, for He had already revealed to me the principle
of placing your feet firmly in the water before seeing His provision. God gave us one more
encouragement in this matter. Our finances were fairly tight, and I would be losing about
$400 a month in income. At this time the ministers of Living Faith had come to me and said
that the Spirit had indicated that they were to ordain me as an elder and pastor among
them, and they offered to pay me $100 dollars a week.
I really did not struggle much in making this decision, for I had a strong witness of
what God had spoken to me. When I shared these things with Tony she also was willing, so
we took the step of calling the SSI offices and canceling Josiah’s benefits. The SSI staff could
not understand why we would turn down these coveted benefits, and they tried to talk Tony
and I into delaying our decision. We were adamant, however, knowing what God required
of us. We terminated benefits on our son.
When I was praying about this matter, the Lord told me that I would not need to baby
my son. I felt that I was to instruct Josiah to ride bikes, play on trampolines, roughhouse
with the boys, and play ball, while trusting God to protect him. I had to coax my wife some
in this, for she was still leery of his injuring himself, but I believed God would prove Himself
faithful in what He had spoken to me. I had asked Him to let my son play as other young
boys did, and I trusted Him to keep Josiah safe in all of these activities.
Josiah is now fourteen years old, and he has not broken another bone. Kristin also has
remained break free during this time. I have seen Josiah take some terrible spills on
bicycles, which would have certainly resulted in fractures before, but he has come away with
only scrapes and bruises. When I think of what God has done for my son my eyes well up
with tears. Our Father in heaven is so merciful and compassionate to us. When we ask for
bread, He will not give us a stone. When we ask for a fish, He will not give us a serpent.
God will ask us to do things that appear risky, or even downright foolish, to the
natural mind. He has always done so with His children. He requires faith to be manifested
on our part before He will reveal His provision. Great are the rewards for those who believe.
It was not to be long before God would lead us to a greater dependence upon Him in the
area of health, and we would once more see Him do awesome things.