By Victoria Ostrosky
I remember coming across a statement by a preacher who lived in the last century. He was expressing his position on prayer for healing. He believed it was detrimental to the sick person to pray for their healing because their suffering and pain were more important to their spiritual growth than God healing them would be. That was a different perspective for sure.
When you think about it, hasn’t God used our most painful and excruciating moments to teach us important spiritual truths? Spiritual truths of eternal significance. When we’re at our lowest and most dependent on our Heavenly Father, we’re in a prime position to listen. He’s been known to whisper some of the most amazing revelations to the hurting.
Bill McKissick, owner of Legendary Marina, moved to the area from New Orleans in 1996. Bill doesn’t leave God at home when he leaves for work. Prayers are offered up in their meetings and they occasionally have Bible studies available.
Bill says he starts every morning thanking God for loving him and asking God to help him show love to others. It wasn’t always like this, though. Some years ago, Bill graduated from religion to relationship. “I had to learn how to love God. Now that’s what I live and work for. God has brought great peace and joy into my life. Faith is what guides me through each day.”
Bill has life-threatening kidney issues. He’s currently on dialysis and needs a kidney transplant. On the surface that sounds quite discouraging and stressful, but not for Bill. “I have faith in God. Maybe I’ll get a kidney, and maybe I won’t. It’s okay whatever God decides.”
You may wonder how Bill maintains his faith. He says that with God’s love comes faith and there’s nothing that can remove that. “God has me in His hands. I talk to Him all day, and the beauty is that I’ve learned to listen. There’s really nothing to it – just listen.”
As Bill says, you have a choice to make every morning. When you spend your time thinking about and trusting your Heavenly Father, there is no room for worry.
Because of his health issues, Bill has plenty of opportunities to share his faith. He gets to tell others about the Gospel all the time. “Indirectly, it’s a blessing having the health problems.”
He recalls one time when he was watching a video while sitting in dialysis, and he was getting emotional. The tech guy asked him if he was alright, which gave Bill the perfect opening to share his faith. “When they start asking me questions, God speaks through me.”
Out of His steadfast love and compassion for His children, God heals. He relieves pain and fixes what is broken. He dries tears and calms fears. And out of that same steadfast love and compassion for His children, God chooses not to heal. At least in this life. Our purpose in remaining here on earth is to be salt and light. As Jesus said – the fields are ripe for harvest. Pray that God will send out workers into His harvest field.
And we also know that God delights in using the weak things of the world to accomplish His purposes and plans. He always sees us. He always understands what we’re going through. And our ultimate healing will be when we finally get to see Him face-to-face.
So, whether God’s purpose for your life is to heal you or to shower you with grace during your trial, continue to keep your eyes on Jesus. “I work as hard as I can, then God will take it the rest of the way. God has done unbelievable things.”
You can hear Bill McKissick’s entire story and listen to many other incredible interviews on the weekly Road to Redemption radio show and podcast at www.rtrdestiny.com
Author: Sowal Editor
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