Al Gibson shares a testimony of healing from fruitlessness to fruitfulness. How illness can lead to pruning in preparation for God’s positioning.
For the past four years I have struggled with a rare disease that has hidden deep inside my body causing havoc. I have had ongoing flu-like symptoms, low-grade fever, brain fog and malaise. Worse of all has been the secondary infections this has caused which have meant being on various antibiotics for months at a time and not able to work properly.
The mental confusion has made running a business very difficult. A writer needs a clear mind to communicate effectively and yet I would often find myself staring blankly into my computer screen. It has probably been the most difficult ordeal I’ve had to endure. Especially as a Bible-believing Christian who has experienced God’s power to deliver His people from all kinds of struggles, time and time again.
I am of course aware that there are those who suffer with terminal conditions and are in terrible pain and my condition pales in comparison. However we all face challenges and have our own unique story. I share this in the hope that it will encourage you in your walk with God and your own testimony of healing.
It got worse before it got better
After four years of recurring infections I was at my wits end. I had to provide many different urine and blood, samples which revealed secondary infections but hid the underlying condition. This led to all kinds of tests including sonar examinations, clinical measurements, and CT and MRI scans. Finally, Microbiology performed a bespoke test that revealed ‘mixed anaerobes’. This sort of bacteria die when exposed to oxygen and are only revealed when a culture is grown in a vacuum. Thankfully, this led to a diagnosis of chronic aneorobic bacterial infection.
I thought this was a real miracle. My wife and I and many others had been praying for a clear diagnosis so we knew what we were dealing with and God had come through for us. I expected that I would be fine once the new antibiotic kicked in, as is usually the case but it actually made me feel a lot worse. I was supposed to be on Metronidazole for three weeks, but they increased this to six and I had to stop after five as I couldn’t take the side effects anymore. It seems this drug is well known for doing more harm than good after a certain point and recovery once you are off it can take many weeks.
In my darkest hour, I had such a feeling of despair, like I would never recover. But I also knew all the things God had called me to do and how I wouldn’t be able to accomplish any of these without a full recovery. Finally there is hope for that and yet, I still wonder why I had to go through all of this. You may be wondering why you are struggling so much in your unique set of circumstances.
I guess it was to get me to the point where I had to put my complete trust in Jesus. When things are going well we don’t have to exercise our faith so much and we tend to get complacent. In my case I think God wanted to give me a wake up call. Only it took me a long time to wake up.
I have always been a bit of a workaholic and I guess that is a pattern He wanted to break in my life.
This chronic infection meant that I lost my ability to work around the clock and be super productive. I also had to be very careful about what I ate or drank and even normal marital relations had to be suspended due to the urological nature of the infection.
So I had to let go of all the things that may have previously offered some semblance of comfort. Worse of all, I felt so unwell, I could only function normally for a few hours a day. The Bible says that we should redeem the time for the days are evil. Yet all I could do was lie on the couch watching TV or distract myself scrolling on my phone. I was at a very low point, helpless and unproductive… But God…
Those two words again, that always make such a huge difference. But God can turn even the most impossible situations around. Jesus is our Healer and our Great Deliverer. And ultimately He came through for me as I always knew He would.
A pruning and a stripping
Suffering is not something many Christians understand. There are arguments for and against and theological arguments focusing on the Book of Job. I have always believed God want us to live an abundant life. As Jesus says in John 10:10. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” However this is preceeded by “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”
It seems that for a period of time I opened myself up to be stolen from, with a disease that was killing my business and seeking to destroy my marriage and I was too weak to do anything about it. It was only when I started to walk in repentance and stand on God’s Word and declare His promises that I really started to see things start to turn around.
I don’t believe people necessarily get sick because they are sinful or that suffering is always a result of sin in one’s life, however I can see a clear parallel to sin being like a hidden infection lurking in dark places causing a ripple effect of devastation. Sin separates us from God, whether it’s because we do wrong things or omit to do the things that are right.
However God loves us with an everlasting love and He is full of grace, forgiveness and compassion wherever we find ourselves. And, He always has a greater plan in mind for us that we could imagine and is working behind the scenes to prepare us for what is next to come in our lives.
I am also reminded that Jesus told us that we would have tribulation in this world, but we should be of good cheer in the knowlege that He has overcome the world.
A testimony of healing from fruitlessness to fruitfulness
As Jesus says in John 15:1–2: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” And then in John 15:5 He says: “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
In my case, hitting rock bottom showed me how reliant I need to be on God for everything and how pointless it is to try and do things in one’s own strength. I came out of the experience feeling like I had been pruned and stripped of things in my life that needed to be removed. But more importantly I am positioned for fruitfulness. This ordeal has shown me that pruning isn’t punishment. It’s purposeful. The cutting back is what allows real growth and lasting fruit.
Of course, God can heal us instantaneously and sometimes He does, but I have found His steadfast Hand upon our lives brings gradual improvement that not only provides recovery from medical conditions but full deliverance in every areas of our lives.
If you are feeling low today, maybe you think you have been tossed aside and nobody really cares and you just don’t have the strength to go on. Perhaps you realise that you too have been through a pruning process and you feel like you have been punished. Remember that God causes all things to work for good for them that love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Know that God sees you where you are at, that Jesus is your ever present friend in time of trouble and may you sense the presence of the Holy Spirit surrounding you. No matter how bad you feel, there is hope in Jesus. He wants to restore you to that abundant life. He wants you to walk in the fullness of your calling. Yes you may have to go through some pruning but it will be well worthwhile.
You will look back from a place of abundance, from the place of fruitfullness He has for each one of us in the right time and season. So do not be weary, you will reap in due course if you faint not. Trust in the Lord and the power of His Might. He is the Great Healer, Deliverer and Restorer. And what he has done to give me a testimony of healing, He can do for you too.
Al Gibson
Wordsmith, overcomer and exhorter. Al has a degree in Journalism and Media Studies and years of communications experience in Africa, the UK, Israel and USA. He left South Africa in 2001 and worked for GOD TV in England for 18 years. He now heads up Countdown Creative, a content creation business in Exeter. Al is the author of three biographies. Blogs he writes for include GODTV.com; International Christian and UK and US Christian.
