Say The Word

   This has been my prayer to God for the past two years. For those of you who don't know my story, two years ago I was diagnosed with ITP; a blood disorder where essentially my blood platelet count is really low and that means if I get injured then I could internally bleed and it could even be fatal. Since I love sports and just generally being athletic, it has really been hard on me. The ITP lead to other issues like small hemoglobin and that's what carries oxygen throughout your body and thus making it really hard for me to breathe. Even the simplest tasks were hard on me. An average person has 120,000 platelets (per milliliter.) The lowest my platelets got were 7,000. I was never treated because I wasn't showing any symptoms; something I am incredibly grateful for. I should have been having random nose bleeds and lots of bruising and dots in my mouth.

   That picture is of a sign in my doctors office and the minute I saw it I loved it. I knew that if God would just say the word, I would be healed. It was just a matter of time. I trusted God's power and knew what He was capable of. But as time went on I began to get discouraged. I blogged about it many times as well. I was waiting for a miracle yet all the odds were stacked high against me ever getting better. When my doctor finally told me it was chronic, that hit me hard. Chronic. That's the word no one wants to here. It's basically shutting down all hope you have of ever getting better. It's throwing the label "Impossible" onto your dreams of getting healed. Lucky enough, I have a God who specializes in doing the impossible. My doctor told me that she would be blown away if I ever got to 20,000 platelets in my lifetime. 

   In 2012 I tried a gluten free diet and it was during that time my platelets went up to 50,000 which surprised my doctor immensely. I was praising the Lord for doing something so incredible. Eventually they went back down to 20,000 and that's where they had remained for months. I hadn't been praying for healing as much and had accepted that it was chronic. But God hadn't.

   See, we label things "Impossible" and say things can never be done. One of my favorite verses that has really stuck by me has been Luke 8:50. "Only believe and she will be made well." God showed me this verse and it was a constant reminder to me during the past two years of dealing with a blood sickness. 

   Today I got to know the meaning of that verse. I went to the doctor because I have been having a lot of joint pain and random swelling and I thought it was related to my ITP and I was really worried. Honestly I thought they were going to hospitalize me tonight or start treating me. I got my blood drawn and talked to the doctor and he was looking over my file on the computer. He said "Would you believe me if I told you that your platelets were at 150,000?" I almost cried. My heart jumped. But I almost didn't believe him. Apparently he didn't even believe what the data on the screen was telling him because he shot up off his chair and started asking questions. "Your name is Faith right? This is you? Who drew your blood? Was it Frankie? Frankie!" He began calling the nurse and making his way down the hall to find her. He had her run the tests again and even took another sample. 

   Sure enough my platelets were perfectly fine. In fact, they were at 161,000. I was above average. God healed my ITP.

   The doctor was perplexed. He asked me what magic I used to get rid of it. He looked me in the eye and I could see his confusion. I only smiled. I had been waiting for God to pull through with His big miracle; and He did, just not in the time frame I wanted Him to. He had His own plans and they were so much greater than my own. Sure they involved me waiting and oftentimes crying over still being sick, but He knew what He was doing, and there wasn't a step of the way where He wasn't in control.

   So what does this mean for you? If you're fighting a sickness, a battle; if there is something you've been praying for and it seems that God is just not listening, I want you to keep praying. I want you to actually believe that God needs only to say the word and it shall come about. That's what faith is. There is nothing too big for God. How much do we actually believe that? Maybe it seems that everyone else has gotten a miracle, and you're still praying and you're still hurting. But He hasn't forgotten about you. God is glorified in healings and even more so He is glorified when we remain faithful in our afflictions. So I encourage you to keep praying and keep sticking with Him and continue striving towards Him. Never lose faith. Not only can He heal, but He can heal abundantly more than we ever thought possible. Don't be afraid to ask for big things because He wants to give you big things; it brings glory to Him.

   Today I have just been in awe. It made me wonder about all the other things I've been stressing out over lately. Ever heard of a fortiori logic? Let me use an example to demonstrate this logic. It basically states that if I can lift 100 pounds, I can obviously lift 50; as well as everything leading up to 100. It's basic logic. If I can do this really big thing then clearly I can do little things. The same is true for God. If God can supernaturally take away all of my blood problems, He can help me restore a friendship, He can help me with my ministry, He can give me courage when I need it; He can do these little things. I can be assured of that. And so can you. Heck, Jesus died on the cross to take away all your sins; He conquered death and darkness; He is big enough to handle your problems. I promise.

   God is so good. I am so blessed to have seen a miracle this morning. I pray that it gives Him glory and that I can be a testament to how amazing He is. 

   God needs only to say the word, and you shall be healed. Have faith.