Some of my fondest memories as a child are of my grandparents and their farm in the Midwest.  My brother and I spent most of our childhood summers on their dairy farm, and the scenes of rolling green pasture land and endless rows of corn fields still flash across my mind to this day.  There was hardly a summer day that went by that we didn’t find some new adventure on that farm.

Our grandfather would occasionally interrupt our adventures and put us to work, believing that hard work was a great character builder.  Nothing like bailing hay for a few days to build some character, and some muscle too!  He was right, and I thank God for the interest that he showed in our lives.  Our grandmother was a gem, and she gave us such love and attention.  She kept us busy too, but like most grandmothers, she had that way of making you feel like royalty.  To this day there have been few I’ve met that could cook a meal like she could; I can still smell the roasted chicken and all the fixings even now!

The days of wandering through the farm on a sunny summer day have long since passed, but the memories haven’t faded at all.  It’s those loving relationships that we remember most, and what truly matters when our time here is finished.  Unfortunately, I began to learn this lesson all too soon with my grandmother.  By the time I was in high school, my grandmother had developed kidney disease, and within a few years passed into eternity at a young age.  Needless to say, we all felt a great loss but thanked God for the love and memories she shared with us.

One of the basic principles that I’ve learned since her death, is that God is always good and that nothing is impossible with God.  When difficult circumstances come in our lives, perhaps disease or death upon a loved one, we may begin to think that God doesn’t care.  We may even begin to think that God doesn’t love us, or this wouldn’t be happening.  This is simply untrue, for God is always good to us.

The reality is that we live in a fallen world, where bad things occasionally happen to people, no matter how they may be living their lives.  Perhaps you have just lost a loved one due to disease, or maybe you have a loved one who is terminally ill now.  I want to encourage you that the disease did not come from God; He loves you and your family.  Sin and sickness are the result of the fall of man, but the good news is that Jesus Christ came to redeem us from this fallen world.  So not only is God always good, but through Christ nothing is impossible with God.  That includes healing the sick and performing miracles today.

A few years ago, we had a woman come into our church to receive a food box for her family.  She began to share with my wife and another lady that she was having pain in her feet.  They asked her if they could pray for her feet, she agreed and they proceeded to pray for her.  After a couple of minutes, they asked the woman how her feet were doing, and she said that the pain was gone.  She was rather surprised, but this encouraged her, so she then asked the ladies to pray for her kidneys.

She explained to them how she was on dialysis for her kidneys. One of her kidneys was not working at all, and the other only 30%.  They began to pray for her again, commanding the kidneys to function normally in Jesus name.  After a few minutes, they asked her again how she was doing; she said “Fine.” and left.

A few weeks later, she came back to the church for another food box and on the way out she said, “Oh, by the way, I went to the doctor after you prayed for my kidneys and he was amazed.” He asked, “What kind of treatment did you receive for your kidneys?” She said, “None, I had the people at the church pray for me.”  He said, “Well, it is a miracle, both of your kidneys are functioning 100%!” Isn’t Jesus awesome!

Hebrews 13:8 says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”  He is still forgiving sin and healing disease today.  I’ve shared this testimony several times, and each time I have watched God heal people of kidney disorders after they receive prayer.  In fact, not long ago we had someone else healed in our church that needed dialysis after hearing this testimony and receiving prayer.  I may have lost my grandmother due to kidney disease, but now I have watched Jesus do the miraculous for others with similar conditions.  You see, God is always good, and nothing is impossible with Him!