Jehova Rapha: The God Who Heals

Today I met a wonderful man with a wonderful testimony of God's healing power.

Meet Hannes Pelser, a 51-year-old man from the Free State in South Africa.  He shared his story with us at lunch, and happily agreed to let me share it with you now.

It all started in 1993.  Hannes was on the brink of divorce due to his alcoholism and unmanageable anger.  Hannes relates how, on June 8th, he accepted the Lord and became a believer.  He started to live for God, but his life was threatened when, exactly one year later, on June 8th of 1994, he was diagnosed with severe cancer.  They found it in his lymph, and it riddled the bone of his neck.  He also had a brain tumor the size of a pigeon's egg.

After learning of his condition, Hannes went inside the hospital chapel, got on his knees, and prayed, "Lord, heal me to be a witness for you."

The doctors told Hannes' wife that he had 2 weeks to live, at most, 6 months.  They sent him home, and his health rapidly declined.  Even his vision began to dim.  Finally, when Hannes felt his life draining away, he felt God put 3 scriptures on his heart:

• Matthew 19:26, "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"
• Matthew 21:22, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
• James 5:14, "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord."

James especially stood out to him one day, and he called one of his former drinking buddies.  He left a message asking him to come over.  His friend happened to be in the neighborhood and had stopped by later that day by chance.  (Or was it?)

That's when James 5:14 again came to mind, and Hannes asked his friend to anoint and pray for him to be healed.  Though his friend was not a believer, once he was done asking for healing, Hannes said that all pain was gone.  This same friend, 5 years later, became a believer.

Meanwhile, Hannes continued to gain strength and to pray that if God would heal him, he would be a witness for God.  A return check-up at the hospital in December of 1995 revealed that all cancer had completely disappeared from his body.  Even the original x-rays which showed his brain tumor had been cleaned!  No trace of a tumor remained.  It was as if it had never existed.

He had even been healed of his epilepsy! 

True to his word, Hannes has been going on missions for the past 15 years, spreading the good news that God heals, and praying for people to believe and follow the Lord.  Which is why we ran into him here in Kiev.

Hannes' story reminds us of what a completely surrendered life looks like.  "Wherever and however you want me to serve you, Lord, use me to testify of your mercy and miracle-working power."

We may suffer--Hannes suffered, as did the woman who had bled for 12 years before she touched Jesus' cloak and was healed--yet the God Who Heals specializes in turning pain into possibility, and misery into miracles.  Our God is a god who heals!