Recently, I experienced something very scary: I had to spend a month hospitalized dua a liver malfunction. I will spare you the details of how the problem was discovered; however, needless to say, when the doctor saw my blood test, they decided to hospitalize me as soon as possible. I confess I was scared when I heard the news. First, because I was not expecting something so severe; second, because I am still learning to speak Japanese, meaning that I was afraid of not being able to communicate well with doctors and nurses all by myself. Third, I did not want to be without my husband in an unknown place. Overall, it was a completely unexpected situation that was unfolding right in front of me and, for a moment, when I received the news, I almost felt I had no control over what was happening.
I was hospitalized on the morning of January 14th, Friday. As soon as we arrived at the hospital, I was set apart from Jefter. And that is when my journey began. I did not know exactly how many days I would have to spend in the hospital, nor what procedures they would. I just knew I was there, physically by myself, but with the Holy Spirit inside of me. While I was already in my room, waiting for what would happen, Jefter was talking to the doctor and taking care of all the procedures concerning my hospitalization. Later that day, when we spoke on the phone, he told me exactly what the doctor had told him, and, to be honest, the news was also scary. Basically, the doctor had told him that they would do everything possible to restore my liver, but, if it did not work, I might need a new liver. This is not the kind of news you want to hear, right?
However, when faced with a situation like this, if you are a Christian, you have two options: either accept the diagnosis as your fate and give up, or you decide to stand firm on the Word of God. Clearly speaking, there are just two options when confronted with a bad situation. And you have to choose a side. And you have to choose wisely. I chose to stand in faith. I knew I had a problem in my liver, but I refused to accept the possibility of a transplant. The Bible says, in Isaiah 53:4 that Jesus “took up our pain and bore our suffering”. Galatians 3:13 says that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us”. Illness was included in the curse of the law. Therefore, considering those verses, I was already made free from the bondage of illness by Jesus Christ. That was a reality already. It was not something that would happen in the future, but a consumed fact – those verses were even written in the past tense, to show an action that had already occurred.
Therefore, I already had the promise of abundant health. I just had to act my faith upon it. Some people think that faith is just believing that something is true. For example, they may think that they believe in God by just believing He is real. However, simply believing is not enough. Faith requires action. If you have faith in God, you do not just believe He exists; you build a relationship with Him. You communicate with Him; you share your heart and let Him share His desires with you. Take salvation, for example. Romans 10:10 says: “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved“. In order to be saved, believing in your heart is just one of the steps; you are born again after confessing with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Two steps are required. And this principle is the same for the rest of your faith walk.
If you have faith in His promises, you do not just believe they are true, but you declare them over your life. You take possession of them. This is action, because faith is believing with your heart and confessing with your mouth. And that is what I decided to do. I filled myself with Bible verses that testified that I already had God’s healing and, together with them, I also declared that the Holy Spirit was living inside of me, purifying my entire body and all of my organs. I declared those statements and verses every day, as soon as I woke up – some days, before going to sleep too. That worked as a reminder for me of who I was and who is living inside of me, regardless the circumstances. Faith does not ignore the circumstances. I, for instance, was not ignoring the fact that I was in the hospital due to a liver problem; however, faith acts beyond the circumstances. I knew I had God’s promises and His word to face that situation.
I confess that there were some days in which my body did not want to declare anything. Days in which I just wanted to cry, because I was by myself in the hospital and I did not know when I would be released. However, that is the beauty of our faith walk with God: even on the days you feel you are starting to slide on your faith, you can be assured that God’s love is still there. During those crying moments, I could clearly perceive His love for me. I could perceive His peace bringing me tranquility and peace of mind. I could perceive His care on every little thing and detail. And that just contributed to build up my faith even more and to have strength to keep going, standing firm on the positive outcome.
In fact, praising God is the language of faith, because praising Him before seeing the natural manifestation of the answer is, actually, faith in action. As it is written in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”. We declare victory before its manifestation in the natural dimension, because we know who our God (and Father) is. Therefore, a life of worship is a life of faith. When we praise God, we recognize His power and His glory. As His children, we cannot be guided by circumstances or by our natural senses; we are guided by the Spirit of God connected to our spirit; worshiping God relates to the spiritual realm, meaning that we are ready to receive His blessings and promises by faith, regardless of what the circumstances around us may seem.
I know that, if you are not used to the faith language, all of this may seem a little weird or nonsensical to you. However, believe me: this is faith. There is no such thing as “rational faith”. You do not need a logical reason to have faith; if logic was connected to faith, you would have to be guided by the natural and exterior dimension. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17) – that is its only source. If you accept His Word with an open heart, you are open to walk by faith. You are open to stand firm upon His promises. First, you need to dedicate time of your life to have a relationship with God and His Word. Second, you start praising God, because you truly love Him and have confidence that He is with you and He is listening to you.
Some people think that, during the darkest moments of their lives, they have to pray to God over and over again, exposing their problems until the result comes. However, that is just wrong! First, if you truly believe that God is hearing you, why would you need to repeat the same thing over and over again as if He was deaf? To be honest, nobody likes someone repeating the same thing constantly, right? Not even God! You just need to expose the problem once, praying for the solution. God already heard you.
Afterwards, instead of repeating the same prayer over again, start declaring that you already possess the answer in the name of Jesus. Search for Bible verses that can support your prayers and to build up your faith. If you are praying for healing, start declaring verses that show that, by Jesus’ stripes, you were already healed (Isaiah 53:5). You are praying for financial breakthrough, base your declarations on verses that show that God is prosperous, ready to supply all of your needs (Philippians 4:19). All of those verses are in the Bible, but, first, you have to read and meditate on them; let them speak to your heart. Let those truths dwell inside of you and fixate in your heart. Let your confidence and faith be boosted by the Word of God.
There will be moments in which thoughts full of doubts will come to attack your mind. I experienced those moments during my time in the hospital, even after declaring the Word and praising God daily. However, you choose if you are going to let those thoughts dwell inside of your heart. They will come to you, but, when you are strong in faith, they cannot harm you. When those thoughts came to my mind and I started feeling tired, I would declare the Word to myself and praise God, remembering myself how mighty was the One standing by my side. Praising God acts as a remembrance for yourselves of the amazingness of our Father, such as it is written in 1 John 4:4, “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”. By praising God we put our focus on God instead of on the problem. We adjust our perspective.
I am not writing this to show how good I am for keeping my faith while in the hospital. I am writing this as a way to help you to overcome the dark moments that may appear in your life, the same way it happened to me. Most times, those dark times come without previous notice; however, when we have the right weapon – that is faith – we can find a way to stand still even in the midst of chaos. I am alive. I am out of the hospital. And my liver works perfectly now. You can also be out of the darkest valley you may be seeing yourself into. Decide to praise God. Choose faith. Praising Him is a position of faith. Decide to hold firm to the promises God already made you. Decide to see yourself the way God sees you. Praise Him genuinely, from your heart, thanking Him for His amazing love and grace for you. When we praise Him with a sincere heart, He listens.