The Marathoner and Jesus

I once heard a man I really respect talking about how we’ve ruined the word “awesome.” We’ve so integrated the word into daily language that we’ve actually given it a value opposite to its original definition. The truth is, that casserole from the other night wasn’t really “awesome,” despite how delicious it was. Especially when held in comparison to the mind-shattering goodness of the Lord. (No offense to your, or anyone’s, casseroles.)

Besides all that, tonight I find myself particularly floored by how “awesome” God is.

It’s hard to explain the feeling of being entirely unraveled in awe, but I do have a few keys that help me to stay in, or get back to, that place. One of those very keys is surrounding oneself with testimonies. Testimonies offer the opportunity to reset our focus on what the Lord is doing, or has done, and allow us in response to marvel at just how good He is. An instant recipe for success!

One of the things that I’m most excited about with our blog is the chance to capture what we’ve seen the Lord do around us, and then sharing that with all of you! To kick that off, let me tell you about the other weekend…

On November 27th at 8:15AM, in a bitter 43 degrees Fahrenheit, the Seattle Marathon kicked off. A good friend of ours not only ran in it, but performed amazingly, placing 5th overall of out 1,478 runners! Wow!

In the hours after finishing, our friend said he “felt like he had been hit by a truck.” His body was just shutting down. Though it wasn’t “a new or unexpected consequence,”  as he’s “done similar things in the past few years that have had similar physical repercussions.” To my amazement, four hours later, there he was at church. He later explained that he almost “didn’t go to church in favor of sleeping.” Who could have blamed him? But, he felt the nudge to go and he did.

After saying ‘Hi’ he told me he was headed straight for the floor for the rest of worship. It’s not abnormal in many places to just lay on the ground and “soak” during worship, so he looked the part. Worship started, and the band hadn’t made it past the first song before I clearly heard the Lord say “John 5:8.” So, I whipped out my bible and what does the verse say?…

“Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” John 5:8 NIV

This was one of those moments where it didn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out what God was wanting to do. My “crippled” friend was laid-out only 10 feet from me, so I began formulating my plan. I have really high value for the fact that God invites us into encounters with Him, never forcing His hand. The concept blows me away sometime, but I love how He does it. That said, just minutes before my friend was telling me how much pain he was in and that he just wanted to lay down and I wanted to respect him. The solution was simple, tell my friend what the Lord told me and leave the rest up to him. I went over to him and did just that; instantly he was on-board. (That guy, talk about faith! #friendbrag)

I reached out my hand to help him up, saying “Stand up and walk in the name of Jesus!”

In his words, here’s what happened next:

“As I got up I noticed I had much less difficulty getting back to my feet than I expected. As I tested out my various sore limbs, I found myself having nearly full mobility and no pain in ANY of my joints! Ankles, knees, hips – all fine. My back actually felt better than it did before the run. My muscles were still sore, but not so sore I had trouble walking or was in pain standing. I ended up staying happily on my feet for most of worship! For the rest of the evening I was tired, but more than able to function normally which was such a gift!”

The day after, which he says is “typically the most painful” he woke “feeling as though I had done a normal, hard workout.”

Wow…

I’ve been checking in with this friend regularly, even again while writing this, asking how it’s been. I’m happy to report this wasn’t some fluke, but a very, very noticeable difference. (side note: Miracles are super fun! Accountability and follow-up make them even better!)

There are a few things that I love about this particular testimony:

• It happened to my friend, not someone removed from my daily life. Celebrating with a friend is that much sweeter.
• It wasn’t an illness or disease that was healed. Though God loves healing those, I think it’s easy to disqualify the Lord healing our bodies for something like running a marathon. He doesn’t seem to think that way.
• My friend acted on faith, choosing to leave that comfortable spot on the ground, and with it came physical healing. It’s said our breakthrough is often on the other side of convenience… selah…
• There was no prayer! A simple, quick declaration brought healing, the same way Jesus did it!

I hope in reading this story you’ve reached a level of “awe” towards God.

If you need healing in your body, take this as a chance to ask God for it! I’ve heard many testimonies of people getting healed just reading about others getting healed. So, however makes sense to you, say something like “God, you healed people 2000 years ago, and you’re still doing it now. You know what needs to happen in my body, and Jesus already paid the price to have it happen. I take this testimony for myself!” After praying, check it out! Test what can be tested, looking with expectation that somethings changed.

Thanks for reading!

Love you all!

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