Update Your Faith to Navigate the Unexpected
Many have heard the Biblical stories of Jesus’ healing. He healed people on the spot of various ailments including leprosy and paralysis, released demons, and even revived a few from death. However, do we believe God can still do this today? The Bible tells us Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). In fact, this verse holds these identical words in every translation I’ve ever looked at. I don’t think we can see this as anything other than what it is: truth. We know the Bible stories, we watch the Christian movies, we even pray for healing. BUT, do we BELIEVE he still does this in the 21st century?
Most of us reading this blog post are fortunate enough to have access to some of the most top notch medical care in the world. It is truly a blessing that God has granted many physicians the talents He has. But what if we lived in an area where we didn’t have that? Somewhere we could not access medical technology or if we could, we did not have the financial means to afford it? For a large portion of the world, this is the reality. How would our faith grow differently if we had to rely on the healing of Jesus like in Biblical times? What if He were our only hope? I’m pretty sure we would approach healing in a completely different way than many of us do now.
When I was first introduced to Delphine Kirkland, I was amazed by her story. Delphine had made an oath to allow God to heal her of her leprosy many years ago. This oath committed her healing into God’s hands. It took her through a three year journey of suffering and isolation… BUT GOD! Although my faith journey was not one of physical healing, her words really resonated and encouraged me. You can read about her faith and healing journey in her book, Just Jesus and Me. Delphine’s testimony and resultant ministry has grown from her faith during that time. Only God can take terrible suffering and turn it into something wonderful that we later praise Him for. What a beautiful thing.
Friends, please don’t hear what we are not saying. As you read Delphine’s story of updating her faith, please don’t hear that you should not seek medical attention or use the resources God has provided. It’s an encouragement to turn to God remembering He is our most powerful line of defense for any situation. I encourage you to dig deep and ask yourself, “What if He was all we had?” Would we believe He was enough? That’s what faith really is… believing He is enough. This is Delphine’s story of growing her faith in the unexpected. I pray it blesses anyone who may be in a season of struggle for either physical or emotional healing and we may understand all healing comes through Him.
Update Your Faith
By Delphine Kirkland
You should not be afraid of the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day. Psalms 91:5 NKJV
“What’s up with this shortness of breath and back pain,” I asked God? For a few weeks, shortness of breath occupied my nights and started to affect my days. After a while, I began to experience minor back pains.
Although God had divinely healed me from leprosy, I will tell you I am not hasty in seeking medical treatment. I will seek the Lord. Don’t misinterpret my reason or rationale. I am not against doctors or medical assistance. Instead, I seek first the Kingdom and ask God to heal my body. In 1998, I fell down in a friend’s front yard and broke my left ankle in four places. I gazed at my twisted joint barely holding my foot straight and I felt excruciating pain. I knew in that moment my faith was not strong to receive a healing.
As the woman with the issue of blood received her healing, Jesus told her, “Daughter, be encouraged, your faith has made you whole” (Matthew 9:20-22). I knew my faith had not reached that level. My faith level was at the level of the father who asked Jesus to heal his son who suffered from seizures. His poor son suffered miserably as he often fell into the fire and water. Jesus told the boy’s father if he could believe, all things would be made possible to him who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-25). I was honest with God about my faith level. I knew doubt and fear had gripped my heart when I saw my broken ankle, so I told my friend to drive me to the hospital where I had emergency surgery.
I knew this shortness of breath wasn’t asthma as God had healed me of that years ago. I googled my symptoms only to find the cause of my shortness of breath could be related to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). I was not a smoker. I had not been exposed to any harmful gases or severe allergies. After dealing with the shortness of breath off and on for about a month and watching my husband and the elders of the church faithfully pray for me, I was determined that I would fight this sickness. At first, I showed no signs of improvement. Out of concern my nephew, Mikel, suggested I use his son’s nebulizer. Maybe it would be of help. I immediately rejected it, but my husband nearly begged me to use it. Why did I reject it? I experienced a divine healing several years ago. I expected to see it happen again. Because I wanted to please my husband and not have him worry, I did the breathing treatment and instantly felt stability return to my breathing. Slowly, the pain in my back ceased and I felt good. I did about four treatments that week and returned the nebulizer. However, discomfort came over me. I felt uncomfortable using the nebulizer because my witness to others did not match the testimony of God’s divine healing. I must admit, it felt uncanny.
A week later, the shortness of breath reoccurred and it came back with a vengeance. It disrupted how and where I slept. A good night’s rest laying in my bed was replaced with a restless slumber in the recliner and my husband’s frequent trips to our car day and night checking on me because I couldn’t breathe inside of our home. That next day, my husband went to retrieve the nebulizer again. To his surprise, I told him I was not going to use it. Whether this was temporary or permanent, I chose not to live like this. Yes, my response caused my husband concern, but I had been talking to God about the shortness of breath. I realized the spiritual battle. I was fighting the terrors by night like I did several years ago. One thing I noticed in particular about that spirit of sickness: when I would prepare for the women’s jail services, it fought me with a vengeance, but once I arrived at the destination, I was fine. But no sooner than we journeyed home, the spirit would attack me again.
Satan fights against man with sickness. I repented for my doubt and unbelief. God taught me well how to fight the good fight of faith, but sometimes you can experience things in the unexpected that can shiver and shake your faith. I lost levels in my faith from that divine healing and I was determined to get it back. My pastor revealed to me that it was a spirit that I had to overcome and kept praying for me. With that small fraction of wisdom I received from her, I knew what I had to do.
I entered into my prayer room and had a heart to heart talk with the Lord. I confessed to Him those things that had shaken my faith. I once found that faith in Him and I needed Him to forgive me for losing it. I asked for restoration of the faith and for strength to fight this spirit of sickness. I reminded Him how He held my hands as I laid on my bed of affliction years ago and I am reaching out to Him to guide me through this infirmity too.
I’m a preacher, I told God, who reminds people there’s nothing too hard for Him. I remind people to trust and have faith in God and here I am using a nebulizer. God, your healing hasn’t changed; I have and my faith has. Although the people don’t see me using the nebulizer, I know what’s going on behind closed doors and I will not preach in hypocrisy. I was not pleased how I was walking on this journey so I asked Him to redirect me on the path of healing to ultimately defeat this spirit of sickness. I left the prayer room ready to fight the good fight.
Always maintain what God gives you. Like muscle mass, if you don’t exercise your faith, your talents or gifts, you will lose it.
God taught me how to fight for my healing and I had to regroup and get ready for battle. Every day I told Satan, I shall live and not die. I said it repeatedly until it saturated my soul. I prayed and sang songs to God. Although it was a struggle, I walked out of the flesh and began to walk in the Spirit of God. As I diligently kept this up for a month, my deliverance went unrealized by me. In fact, it was my husband who first noticed I had been sleeping peacefully for two weeks.
Once again, I was made whole! What did I learn from this walk of faith? If you have faith as small as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto a mountain, remove and it shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you (Matthew 17:20). If I can tell leprosy to remove, I can tell COPD, cancer, diabetes, lupus or anything else to remove if I have the faith in God and it’s in His will. And nothing shall be impossible unto me. The Bible tells us, “without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). If God healed you one time, He can heal you forever. Update your faith.
Feature Photo by Kreated Media on Unsplash
Delphine Paige Kirkland is a Bible teacher, Christian blogger, Christian vlogger, speaker, and author. Delphine has served in the Women’s Jail Ministry for over 25 years sharing the love of Jesus. Her dream was to become a successful opera singer, but God had other plans. Although her dreams and goals were interrupted, she doesn’t feel life treated her unfairly. She strongly believes it was the will of God and doesn’t regret one moment that her dreams and goals were shattered, because she found a Savior in a way she would never have known.
Now, Delphine’s goals in life are to keep teaching about Jesus through writing books to encourage. She hopes to help those who are struggling on their Christian journey and win souls for Christ. She is eager to share with the world her story of how she met a God of power and miracles.
Delphine is happily married. She and her husband, Ben, reside in Sweet Water, AL where she cares for her sweet elderly mother.
Delphine Kirkland has authored two books to encourage others in their faith. Just Jesus and Me: A Three Year Journey to Divine Healing and Salvation and most recently released, Hiding God’s Word in My Heart. Both have inspired me to trust God more deeply and I encourage you to read them for yourself. Both are now available on Amazon.
Stand up, shake off the dust, straighten your crown, and walk forward confidently grounded in truth.
Straighten Your Crown is a place to find encouragement grounded in Biblical truth to navigate the challenging circumstances we encounter in a broken world by responding in faithful obedience to the Word of God.
3 Comments
Camille
This was wonderful, Heather and Delphine! Just excellent. Amen and Amen, sisters! 🙌🏼
Heather Jeffery
Camille, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Sister Delphine’s words are always steeped in truth and powerful.
Jen Roland
This is an amazing story of restoration and healing. I do believe God can heal, but there are examples in the Bible where God chose not to heal, and that was His will. Consider Paul, who asked God to remove the thorn in his flesh three times, but God left it there because he knew it would cultivate in Paul a greater dependence on Him. It was through God’s strength and Paul’s sufficiency in Christ that his ministry was able to flourish and God was further glorified. Sometimes, Jesus chooses to heal our physical bodies, and other times he is healing our hearts, relationships, or souls. Healing has many different forms, and I believe we can pray for healing while also expressing gratitude for the gift of (and accessibility to) modern medicine.