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Joshua Isaac was just starting his adult life when a severe back injury threatened all hopes for the future. Doctors advised against surgery, telling him that he would have to endure the pain for the rest of his life. Lye Huixian recounts his five-year journey to God’s miraculous healing.

Joshua Isaac was just starting his adult life when a severe back injury threatened all hopes for the future. Doctors advised against surgery, telling him that he would have to endure the pain for the rest of his life. Lye Huixian recounts his five-year journey to God’s miraculous healing.
 

During my National Service (NS) in 2012, I was posted to the prestigious but famously-demanding Naval Diving Unit (NDU).

The problem? I had a fear of water.

Through months of hard work, I overcame that fear and started putting my all into the grueling combat diver course – pushing my body with runs, swims, and weight- training on off-days. Even when I injured my knee, I pressed on despite the pain. That led to an injury that could be heard every time I walked.

I enjoyed the rigorous training and even considered signing on after NS, putting aside the dreams of entrepreneurship that God had already placed in my heart. However, all hopes of a Naval career were dashed after a few months.

During a training session in May 2012, I felt a sharp pain shoot through my back. Hoping that it was just a back sprain, I tried to force my body to continue on. An MRI scan showed a prolapsed, herniated disc at the L4-L5 spinal segment.

At 23, it felt like a death sentence.

Permanently downgraded to a non- combat vocational training position, reduced to pushing buttons as a systems operator, all my hard work was for nothing. Faced with another setback in life, I felt like a complete failure.

Over time, the spinal injury got worse. Instead of carrying a backpack, I was forced to use a small suitcase to carry things around. Sometimes during carecell when the pain was unbearable, I was the only one sitting on a chair while everyone sat on the floor. During service, I couldn’t stand up without holding on to the seats. I was so embarrassed about my physical limitation.

The pain affected my sleep as well. It was difficult to find a comfortable position. Even after I fell asleep, the pain often jolted me awake. I would wake up with a stiff back each morning. Train rides were also challenging. Every abrupt jerk would send pain shooting through my back.

Desperate to get out of this misery, I sought the best doctors for a cure. To my disappointment, the two orthopedic specialists I consulted advised against spinal fusion surgery. It was extremely risky and there was only a 60 percent chance of success. Their conclusion: learn to live with the pain for the rest of my life.

Anxious for exercise, I modified my routine and went as often as I could. Benching, squatting, and any overhead pressing movements were now off limits and I was forced to use machines. Instead of the usual 20 kilogram plates, I was reduced
to “baby weights” – dumbbells that weighed less than 1 kilogram. Unable to exercise as rigorously as before, my weight started to increase. This was another huge blow to my self-esteem.

Just before turning operationally ready (ORD) in January 2014, I started thinking about life after NS.
My passion was building design. However, during the God Encounter Meetings of 2013, He called me to leave that dream behind. It was time to prepare for the entrepreneurial life by pursuing a business degree.

With the encouragement of my family, I pursued my entrepreneurial calling in 2014, an endeavor that required constant travel to India. Though the six- hour flights were difficult, rickety trains, rickshaws, and sleeper buses were worse. Every bump and pothole sent pain shooting through my spine. I had to grit my teeth and keep moving forward.

The travel took a huge toll on my back. In October 2016, I found myself unable to move. The pain was so bad that even the smallest steps were excruciating. As I lay bedridden for the next four days, I recalled Isaiah 53:4-5.

“Surely He took up our painand bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

Claiming that promise, I cried out to God for healing over the next few months and went down for every altar call to seek healing. “I know you can heal me,” I told God with an expectant heart. But as the pain continued, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

In these moments of doubt, I am thankful that my carecell and church friends were always there to support me. When I messaged about episodes of pain, they would respond with words of encouragement. During altar calls, I could feel them laying hands on me as they prayed. Their Audacious Fervor helped me press on in claiming my miracle.
 

HEALING, GOD’S WAY

In March 2017, friends shared that Nathan Morris, a well-known healing evangelist, would be leading a nighttime rally during the World Assemblies of God Congress 2017 (WAGC 2017). Moreover, though I had not intended to go for the Day Conference, someone from my section blessed me with his congress package – there were last-minute changes in his schedule and he couldn’t make it.

The Day Conference was a time where God really strengthened my faith, so much so that on the night of Pastor Nathan’s Power Rally (March 31),  I forsook dinner to join the already- snaking line forming at Trinity’s lobby. I was determined to sit in the front rows and run down during the altar call, ready to claim my miracle.

After lining up for almost two hours, I could only get a seat at the mezzanine of the Sanctuary. Pastor Nathan was so far away and though I was hopeful to see him when he moved from place to place, he never came upstairs to us. Though disappointed, I willed myself to remember that God was with me. Then, Pastor Nathan Morris shared these words with the congregation, “I am just a man.
You have got to believe in Jesus and not me. Don’t focus on the man but focus on Jesus!”

At that moment, I started calling on the name of Jesus. The peace of God filled my heart. I did not have to strive for my healing, I could just receive it!

When Pastor Nathan asked us to test out our healing, specifically mentioning spinal problems, I twisted and felt that familiar, shooting pain. Though I didn’t receive my healing at the Power Rally, I continued to claim it, repeating it over and over again in my head. The peace of God was so strong that I knew I couldn’t give in to doubt.

The claims of healing continued to play in my head as I stepped into the shower. As the hot water hit my back, I suddenly realized something was different – there was no pain!

I was in disbelief. It felt too good to be true. Surely I would wake up to the usual morning back stiffness. Again, no pain. Could this really be happening?

I had to test out my healing again, this time with a run. Instead of wearing the usual double-layered shoes, I wore the thinnest soled- shoes and headed out. Expecting the familiar back pain, the only pain felt was from underused leg muscles. I started to praise God, knowing that I had been miraculously healed.

That weekend, I carried all the bottled drinks for our carecell outing. Again, no pain! A follow-up MRI confirmed that there were no longer issues with my back. The same doctor who saw me writhing in pain a few months ago could no longer detect problems with my spine.

Now charged up with faith, I started praying for healing in my clicking knee. That click was silenced. I received healing in my knee as well!

As I reflect on my five-year journey to healing, I recognize that God had to bring me to a place where I could no longer rely on the strength of man. It was only when I relied on the strength of God, putting my faith in His Word, that I saw the miraculous hand of God at work.

Praise God for my real life miracle!

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This testimony was first published in the Trinitarian Magazine, Issue 2/2017.