The Withered Leg

THE WITHERED LEG

 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them… Matthew 11:4-5

.…another true-life illustration of Scriptural truth… a modern-day light-bulb moment!

The scene: a makeshift shelter in the middle of a rice field in the Pugol area, Ifugao Province, Philippines. No electricity, no water, no facilities. Just one kerosene lantern, some benches, a table and wooden lecturn. A place for believers to come together and celebrate Jesus. The Freeman family of 5 from America are here to make a Gospel presentation with music, drama, mime, teaching, and God’s ministry of healing and salvation. It is 1986.

We emerge from the jeepney in the blackness of night, and walk the final quarter mile on the dikes surrounding a rice field to the shelter. We follow the lady with the flashlight. We are traversing a narrow raised dike above the rice in the mud below us. It’s very hard to see; the rest of us don’t have flashlights.

As the lady jumps to an adjacent dike wall, I attempt to follow, misjudge the distance—landing awkardly. My foot is buried in 8 inches of mud! I’m fortunate not lose my balance totally and fall flat! As it is, I manage to extricate my right foot, leaving my buried shoe behind.

Someone loans me some “flip-flops” while my shoe is being cleaned… and so begins a delightful evening of another adventure with God!

Among the attendees are a grandmother with her daughter and granddaughter. The little girl’s right leg is “withered,” that tiny foot dangling helplessly next to her left knee. She has to walk with a stick to keep her balance.

As the evening’s ministry presentation develops, an atmosphere of expectancy pervades our space. The Presence of the Lord is here… lovingly touching a number of people with His healing power. Also, several people respond to the Gospel message of new life in Jesus, including the grandmother.

The grandmother and a few others are awakened to new life in Christ. For them the atmosphere is suddenly alive with His Presence. She can understand that this is a moment for her granddaughter to experience a miracle. We have seen God “lengthen legs” dramatically before, but nothing like this challenge.

As we pray for her, it only takes about 10 minutes for that leg to “grow” to match her left leg, including the lengthening of her right foot to match the larger left foot. It’s the kind of amazing event that leaves you wondering later: “Did I really see that?” But we saw it. We were there!

God still loves people and meets us at our point of need. Nothing is impossible with God.