It’s Okay To Trust In God: a testimony of faith and healing

My dad… he was a stoic man… a quiet man… a reserved, introverted man… a man of few words…

Okay, I have to stop. I can’t take it. None of these describe my Dad in any way, shape, or form.

Dad was energetic, fun, and NEVER stopped talking. And he was the greatest Dad I could have ever wished for.

Sure, he was annoying at times, like any other Dad. He would find someone to talk to, and an hour later, we’d still be waiting for him in the car. But most people adored their never-ending chats with Dad. He was a people-person to the umpteenth degree. (Wow, spell check did not try to correct that word. I’m in semi-shock.) He had a way of making every single person he ever came in contact with believe they were, always had been, and always would be, his best friend.

And he was a man of faith. DEEP faith. I grew up knowing only one mode of belief in God—COMPLETE belief. I’ve seen many miracles through his life. He once broke his thumb. It was nearly popping out of his skin, but instead of going to the hospital, he waited for church to begin and had the congregation pray for his healing. As he lifted his hand, I saw the bone snap back into place. He was healed of crippling arthritis at the age of 25. Once, an unexplainable cancerous tumor simply fell off his hand after a moment of prayer, and never returned.

When I was twelve, Dad tore his Achilles tendon. He was in extreme pain. He tried to get in for surgery several times, but every time something would happen and it would get cancelled. After two weeks, I came home from school one day to him and Mom sitting on the couch. Dad had a handsaw and he was…

SAWING OFF HIS FULL LEG CAST!

Mom was next to him saying, “Uhh, do you know what you’re doing?” But Dad had heard from God. He believed God was going to heal him, so the cast was coming off.

He wasn’t healed immediately, but we went to church that night and he again had the congregation, about 20 people, gather around him. He shared his belief of healing, and we all prayed. After a few moments, he started to put some weight on it. Then he began rocking back and forth. Pretty soon, he was pacing back and forth. The next week, he was jogging around the neighborhood. The doctors never could explain that one.

Then came cancer. The doctors found it when I was 17. Dad was in the final stage of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. They told him he had only months to live. But as he prayed, God told him something different. The doctor told him his only hope was chemotherapy, but Dad denied all treatment. He had seen God heal before, and he believed he would see it again. The doctor literally pointed a finger in Dad’s face and said, “The only miracle you’ll see is the miracle of chemotherapy.” But Dad didn’t waiver.

They monitored his blood work, and the cancer quickly began to regress! God was working immediately. A few years later, though, it came back with a vengeance. My brother and I were away at college and received a call late one night informing us that Dad had been rushed to the ER. Tumors had overtaken his body, and his lungs were filled with fluid. He had only hours to live unless they put him on a respirator.

We drove all night to get home, and walked into the hospital room with Dad on his respirator. The tube down his throat kept him from talking, but he was giving everyone a “V” sign with his fingers. It stood for “victory.” He still refused all treatment. He still believed God would complete the healing, as He had promised.

Over the next week his condition quickly worsened. Soon he could not communicate. His body filled with fluid till he was almost unrecognizable. It was literally seeping out of his pores. All the while, we stood in faith, denying all treatments offered by the doctors.

Then, one night, something broke.

In a matter of a few hours, his body drained every ounce of fluid. He went from 300 pounds to 130 overnight.  The nurse said he looked like roadkill, but in his roadkill appearance, we all noticed one thing—no more tumors! They were gone! The miracle had finally come.

A few years later, Dad was declared cancer free. Wow, this is my heritage. I still shake my head at the thought sometimes.

Then, in 2006, the Lord took Dad home. After being declared cancer free for several years, it returned, and finally, God came and, in his sleep, took him home. When Dad was healed, he felt God had told him that he would live to see his grandchildren (plural). He died two weeks after our twin daughters were born, fulfilling that promise fully.

Many people have questioned this ending. But I never have. God extended Dad’s life for 10 years from the time of his original diagnosis, and healed him completely. Dad always believed that if he had taken the treatment immediately, he would have died in the first bout. Thankfully, he trusted God instead, and God gave us 10 more years. I can’t thank God enough for those extra years.

I miss him… a lot. Particularly now as my son is struggling with some health issues that are greatly perplexing and troubling for me and my wife. He’s had two seizures in the past 7 months. I’d love to be able to sit down with Dad and ask him exactly how we go about trusting God amidst our difficult circumstances. I’d love to hear his advice.

But, when I think about it, I don’t really have to, because I know what he’d say. He’d say, “Darren, it’s okay to trust God. Don’t trust man. Listen to the doctors, but if their words go against God’s words, don’t trust them, either. Stand on God’s Word and God’s promises. God will not fail.” And his life proved this to be true over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.

That’s what he’d tell me. So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re believing my son is healed, because God has promised it. Whatever your struggle is, you can do the same. The message Dad always shared was this:

“IT’S OKAY TO TRUST IN GOD.”

Really, it is.

Miss you Dad. Thanks for being such a pillar of faith in life… and in death.

(left) me and Dad, (right) Dad and my son, Jake, after Dad was declared cancer free

For more on my Dad’s crazy antics, try this:
Predictably Unpredictable
 
Or, for more thoughts on faith, read this:
Words Fail, But Prayer Does Not (my son’s testimony of healing)
Did God Lie To Me?
When Faith Gets Messy
 

13 Replies to “It’s Okay To Trust In God: a testimony of faith and healing”

  1. Thanks Darren. What a wonderful man. I was at a meeting this morning with the head of Cancer Services of Midland. Your dad served on their board after he was healed of cancer. She saw my name tag and asked if I was related. She said he was one of the great men who ever walked on the earth and how much she learned from his experience. I have to agree! Sure miss him though.

  2. Hi Darren, I graduated from Northwest Bible College with your dad and have many great memories of our time together there. I never tire of great God stories and you wrote the story so well, having lived it with your dad! He definitely left footprints on my heart!!! Thanks so much for sharing this testimony of faith in God’s healing power!!!

  3. Darren, we enjoyed your article very much. It was a great pleasure to have had the opportunity to share in ministry with your dad. We love your family very much. We were at the hospital the day his kidney function came back….everytime they would empty “another bag” he could cover his face with his hand and pretend to be embarrassed but the truth of the matter was, it was very exciting to see what God was doing AGAIN!! Terry and Karin were an extraordinary couple, you were blessed to be their son. Nobody plays the piano like your mom! Mel & Lavina

  4. Darren, so many memories of your dad came flooding back starting with his being one of my students at Northwest and continuing on in his ministry. Appreciated the article and the memories.

  5. Pingback: Words Fail, But Prayer Does Not « Discipleship Ink

  6. As I began to read, the thought crossed my mind that the description was not one I had remembered or known, so I was glad you turned it around to share who and what he was a great man of faith and trust in a great God who was his and whose he was. Soon we will see him again, until remembering brings him near for a few moments. Thanks.

  7. Thanks for sharing Darren! What a privilege it was to pray & watch this amazing healing & example of faith from the sidelines. I remember the day he came into church after being healed…I have yet to experience anything as powerful…So honored to know Terry…<3

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*