About 3 years ago, I woke up barely able to see a thing. There was a sliver of light coming in from my left eye, and nothing through the right eye.
The blood vessels in both my eyes had burst that night, a sudden culmination of the ravages of a lifetime of dealing with diabetes. I was hurried to a doctor, who diagnosed that I had suffered a very serious blood haemorrhage in my right eye.
I was admitted into the hospital and the doctor told me that I needed to do an eye surgery as soon as possible or risk going blind. I was shocked.
After the surgery, my vision was very minimal, and I could only dimly make out very bright lights. I was told by the doctor that it would take some time for me to regain my vision completely. I was devastated. I kept asking God, “When? When will I be able to see again?”
It was as if I was imprisoned; I was completely unable to do the things that I used to take for granted that I could do. I couldn’t see anything, I couldn’t read the Bible, I couldn’t see what I was eating, I couldn’t watch where I was going, I couldn’t even look at my beautiful twins.
In that time of waiting, I listened to the audio Bible everyday. Every day, I asked God to heal my eyes, but to no avail.
My Senior Pastor called me on the phone every other day and he prayed with me for my healing. Each time, I would break down and cry. I went to Kingdom Invasion hoping that one of the speakers would randomly call out my name or my eye condition, but no one did.
About a month passed and nothing had changed. My vision was not restored. I started to wonder if God had really heard my prayers.
One day, I lay in bed listening to the audio Bible, and I listened to Acts 16. Paul and Silas had been thrown in prison, but even being in chains and stocks didn’t stop their worship.
At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. (Acts 16:25-26)
Paul and Silas understood the power of worship. They understood that their circumstances didn’t change the purpose nor the power of worship. They understood that if they wanted to change their atmosphere they had to worship.
At that moment, I decided that I would worship God in spite of my circumstances. I started singing.
I am a worship leader; I have led thousands in worship. But at that moment, I had just one person in the congregation: I was leading myself to worship God. It was my most intimate worship experience. No one was watching except God.
In that intentional act of worship, I felt liberated, and peace came upon my heart. After my worship session, I just prayed a very simple prayer.
“God, there is nothing too difficult for You. You have blessed me with children when doctors said I couldn’t have. This blindness means nothing to You. All I am asking is for You to heal me because I want to read the Bible with my own eyes again.”
I fell asleep. When I woke up the next day, my vision was completely restored! I could see!
Do you feel like you’re trapped in a painful situation? Don’t give up! Don’t stop believing! Stay full of hope and expectation. God’s power is limitless, and He’ll break through for you. Our act of faith is to wait patiently and expectantly on God in the midst of difficult circumstances.
Like Paul and Silas, we are given a choice: To complain or to sing songs of trust through life’s darkest nights. If you’re facing a difficult time, pick a song of worship. And offer God the sacrifice of praise.
