Johann Quisumbing

By JQuisumbing

It was Thursday morning, the second week of October 2015, when the ambulance arrived at my apartment building. From the window by my bed, I was relieved to hear its arrival some 30 storeys below just as I was getting another wave of burning pain pulsing down my waist to my toes. Interestingly enough, though, as the two EMTs¹ plus two others (from our building’s security) lifted and more or less jostled me onto the awaiting gurney, I experienced no pain. When we got to the lobby of our building, there were several people there, mostly neighbors and building staff. The lobby staff knew me well enough and I can see that their faces showed concern. The other folks, I surmised, hung around to see who was being hauled out to the waiting ambulance right out front. Now, I don’t know exactly what they were thinking, but when I think about it, I have to wonder whether some of them may have asked themselves…

What did I do to deserve my fate? 

Okay, okay… I confess. I planted that question above as a ploy. Haha! I was trying to think of a clever way of steering my story to a Bible story that molded my outlook in life. That story is found in the Book of John, the 9th chapter. When I read it, I was compelled to stop and reread it again; not just twice but several times. It was the story about Jesus healing a young man who was born blind.  Now, from the other Gospels, Jesus healed the blindness of other men by just telling them that they can see, but in John 9, it was different. 

Jesus was in Jerusalem for one of those annual Jewish festivals. At the end of the week-long celebration, Jesus was strolling along with his disciples when he and the disciples came upon a young man begging for alms. He was born blind. One of the disciples asked Jesus, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” ^{(John 9:2 NLT)}

Does this sound familiar? Well, it should. For the disciples displayed the same viewpoint towards the disabled as the old lady that wanted to pray over me. They basically have it in their mindset that we, that is, anyone in an abnormal state, were living a cursed life. But our Lord Jesus saw something else. 

“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”   ^{(John 9:3 NLT)}

Then Jesus spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him to go to the nearby ‘pool of Siloam’ and wash the mud away, which he did and then he could see. ^{(John 9:7)}

Something clicked inside me. I felt that God was speaking to me. At first, what raced through my mind was a question: Was God going to heal me? I don’t mind admitting that the thought excited me, at least, for a little while. But then like a light bulb turning on in my head, I realized the true lesson for me in John 9.

I need to make something clear. There is no indication in John 9 of any universal promise that God would heal me or anyone else. In fact, the healing of that young man, though fantastic & extraordinary as it was, was not the core of what Jesus meant when He declared, “…so the power of God could be seen in him.”

As I pondered on His words some more, a relevant Bible verse popped into my mind. (By the way, this happens to me quite often especially when I meditate in God’s words. I believe it is the Holy Spirit in me.) That verse is that…

…God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. (1 Corinthians 1:27 NLT)

How does this passage connect to John 9? Well, the story of that young man did not end with Jesus healing his eyes. As soon as he could see for the very first time in his life, he was summoned to appear before the religious leaders. The scene was like a David & Goliath confrontation minus the blood, of course. Can you imagine a court of 40 or so Pharisees, all richly robed, sitting so high and mighty looking down at a young scrawny man still in his dirty beggars’ garb but with a big smile on his face? Their purpose was to bully him into submission admitting that Jesus was a fraud. But he stood there, unafraid because the TRUTH sustained him. Even when he was expelled from the Synagogue, he was not phased. Jesus’ words came true. God chose this young man to shame the Pharisees and they were shamed by him so much so that they had to cast him out from their presence. God’s will was done.

The truth of Jesus’ word was very much forefront in my heart as that ambulance with its whirling red lights and sirens blaring until we came to the hospital. For weeks before then, I had been wondering how I would serve the Lord when I was mostly bedridden racked with pulsating pain. And I still so wanted to serve Him. But as I was wheeled into that ER, I really thought that I would breathe my last in that place.  And if that is so, I prayed that I could display the power of God in me by fulfilling His words that I must not worry and fear. And I did not. In fact, I was quite joyful but that was not from me. That is the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells in me².  I was content and waited for the Lord’s will to be done. 

But the Lord was not done with me yet. I’ll pause the story here with this… 

TO BE CONTINUED

In my next posting, I shall relay how the Lord sustained me during my time in the hospital.

Footnote: [1] Emergency Medical Technician; [2] Indwelling Spirit – 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19 

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