Best Wishes and Unexpected Answers 

January 1, 2016. I was with the other church members at the very first service of the year. We gathered the day before, to spend the crossover night in prayers. As usual, before we parted ways, each of us was to take a random Bible verse from a basket filled with small printed papers. This would be our verse for the year.  

Plunging my hand into the basket, I raised a silent prayer: “Lord, please, speak to me through this verse. You know my needs.” I returned to my seat before reading it, out of sight, as if it were the results of an exam.   

" He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases (Psalm 103:3). "  

Healing! God heard my prayer! I had been suffering from abdominal pain and bleeding for over a year and the doctor had recommended surgery. But my family and I did not agree, for lack of means but also for fear of the consequences. So, since the diagnosis, I was following traditional treatment, praying that God would heal me. It was such a relief to receive this promise of healing at the beginning of the year. I immediately went to tell my doctor that I was healed, and no longer needed a surgery.  

      

All went well for a while. But around March, the symptoms came back strongly. I was desperate and I cried to God. His response was totally unexpected. I started receiving financial support from family and friends. It was obvious that my healing had to come through the hospital. I was grateful for the donations but saddened to have to go through this. I took a break from my studies and my work, not knowing when or in what condition I would return. I was frightened.        

But I was far from imagining how the Lord would glorify His name in that situation.  

 

An unexpected blood donation

Prior to the surgery, I was asked to provide two blood bags in case I need a transfusion. There was no blood bank at the hospital. I had to check several hospitals to find compatible blood. Thank God, the surgery went quite well and I didn't need a transfusion. I was recovering on my bed when the door opened and nurses hurriedly carried to the next bed an unconscious woman, with her eyes rolled back. Her loincloth was bloody. Very quickly, they placed a bag of blood, then a second. They said she was bleeding from a miscarriage, and luckily there was compatible blood available. That’s when I looked up at the blood bags and recognized with amazement the ones I had brought the day before!

 

An inspired financial donation

As the woman was slowly coming back to life, the doctor gave her husband the list of required products. The poor man seemed frozen at the sight of the invoice amount. He begged them to keep taking care of her while he would go out and make phone calls to try to raise money. When they were all out of the room, I heard a voice saying to me:        

"Give them the money that's in your wallet."  

What?! I was taken aback and tried to convince myself that it was not God speaking to me. I had already paid all my expenses and there was a surplus, as donors were very generous. But I already had plans on that surplus. Finally, I said: "Ok, I'll give them one third, I keep the rest for me. We never know."                    

"Give them everything in your wallet."  

The order was clear. I couldn’t continue to turn a deaf ear. I turned to my neighbor, and not knowing how she would react, I told her: "Madam, God asks me to give you this money." I had to repeat it three times before she believed. Her face lit up and she called her husband right away.

 

Divine financial redistribution

After a touching moment of euphoria and exchange of thanks, I was trying to hide the pride which was starting to fill my heart, when my doctor walked in and approached me with an envelope: “I am coming to give you back the money for the products that were not used during your operation."          

To my surprise, the amount in the envelope was about the same as the amount in my wallet, which the Lord had asked me to give to the young couple. I was speechless. The Lord made it clear that He alone had provided for that couple, just as He had provided for me. Glory be to God! When the woman felt better, I shared my faith with her and her husband. I had brought an English bible for my stay, which was good because they spoke English. I didn't have someone from my family to assist me. So, when I had to leave, it was this couple who helped me carry my things and find a taxi.   

I was edified to see how the Lord was present during hard times. And the young couple, too, was touched by the presence of God.

I had received a promise, but I thought I could know how God was going to fulfill it. Through this experience, God taught me to trust Him in the ways He answers my prayers. I had received a new verse for that year, and for all the others.

 " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord (Isaiah 55: 8).”  

Ivanova N. Fotso