With God’s Grace, I Recovered From Gastric Cancer

By Liu Wending

When I was 16 years old, my mother was possessed by demons and went crazy. That was so horrible, and all my sisters dared not to approach her. Afterward, we heard that Lord Jesus can perform wonders and signs, heal the sick and cast out demons. So we laid hands on our mother and prayed for her; surprisingly, demons got out of her body and my mother recovered her senses. And that never happened again. After this event, people who lived nearby often came to ask me to heal their illness, and I prayed for them and made them healed. At that time, I was only a middle school student, but I was so enthusiastic in my belief. I never missed the gathering on Sundays and insisted on spreading the gospel at night with my brothers and sisters. Whether it was the bitter cold of winter, the intense heat of summer, or whether it was windy or rainy, I had been doing this without interruption. Meanwhile, my whole family received lots of grace from the Lord Jesus.

After I got married, worldly affairs entangled and constrained me, causing me to get busy earning money to support my family. Gradually, my heart strayed away from God. I even stopped praying, attending gatherings or working for the Lord outside. After some time, my stomach was upset, but I ignored it at the beginning. But after a while, the ache got worse and worse. It hurt so bad that I almost passed out. Brothers and sisters in the Lord visited me and said that my illness was caused by demons’ afflictions and suggested that I pray to the Lord sincerely. Their words reminded me that my heart had been far away from God, leading me to get sick. I promised that I would work for the Lord again. But unexpectedly, I became seriously ill, from peptic ulcer to gastric hemorrhage, causing black stool. During just two or three months, my weight quickly dropped to 55 kg from 75 kg. I was too weak to walk. I tried infusion, injection, Western drugs, Chinese medicine, but all of these didn’t work. I was getting sicker and sicker day by day. Whatever I ate, I just threw it up. I could only lay in bed and didn’t have any energy.

My husband was borrowing money everywhere for my treatment; we were not wealthy, and my illness had only exacerbated the already existing situation. My little children could only wear old and dirty clothes, I hadn’t remembered how many times I cried. I was in great pain and weakness. When there was no way to go, I remembered that my mother was cured by the Lord’s grace and some verses occurred to my mind, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:5-6). At that time, when the Lord Jesus came to work, He performed many wonders, enabling the blind see, the lame walk, the mute speak. What’s more, Lazarus stank because he had been dead for four days, but after the Lord Jesus said one sentence, he then came out of the grave. It could be seen that God’s words are authoritative and powerful; He is able to cause something to come from nothing, or something to become nothing. Since the Lord could perform so many wonders and sighs beyond man’s capacity, I believed that He could also cure my illness. My heart had strayed far from God, so I must confess my sins and repent to Him, entrust my illness to Him and look up to Him. Whether I could recover totally depended on the Lord Jesus. Therefore, lying in bed, I prayed to the Lord in tears time and time again, “My dear Lord, I believe that You possess great power. My life and death are controlled by You. I have gained so much grace from You, but my heart departs from You. I am so guilty of ingratitude. Dear God, I am willing to repent. Please forgive me and cure my illness.” That was so amazing: Whenever I prayed to God this way, I felt much more released and my stomach didn’t ache that much.

Another month passed. Crops were ripe, but I was still unable to care for myself. My husband had to bear the burdens of harvest and children care alone. So he asked his sister to take care of me. My condition was aggravated, so I underwent a diagnostic gastroscopy in the hospital. The doctor didn’t explain the examination results or even say anything about my condition. He just gave me some medicine and asked me to recuperate at home. Seeing the sadness of my sister-in-law, I didn’t ask her about my illness. I thought to myself, “My illness almost has cost all the savings of my family. We cannot afford hospitalization. It’s fine to go home. Besides, I am a believer in the Lord Jesus, and He is my reliance and will surely protect me.” However, I didn’t know why my two children often cried in front of me, and my sister-in-law also looked at them tearfully. I was so curious, “I am just sick. Why are they crying so much.” I asked my mother-in-law, but she just put me off by saying it was because the children had a fight. I still felt that something was going wrong, and directly asked my sister-in-law, she told me frankly, “The examination test showed that you got gastric cancer and that there was no treatment at this point. The children cried because they were afraid.” Hearing what she said, I just felt like being sentenced to death. I listened with my heart in my throat. I went limp and felt the tears streaming down my face. “Cancer? A life-threatening illness? It is even inoperable. Even if my stomach is removed, I will only have a couple years to live on, and I will lose everything. I am so young. Why have I got this illness? How about my little two children? How poor will they be if they lose their mom? How will my husband move on with two little children?” The more I thought, the more I felt sad. All I could do was pray to the Lord tearfully and beg Him to forgive my sin and cure my illness. The Lord Jesus’ words occurred to me, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick” (Mark 2:17). His words backed me up. That’s right. Healthy people didn’t need physicians, and only sick people needed the treatment of the Lord Jesus. The Lord is truthful and everything He says will definitely be fulfilled. I had exhausted the money we had; doctors were unable to cure me; my husband, my loved ones all had no way to save me. Only the Lord Jesus could do it. He is the Savior, has great power and authority. He is my buttress. As long as I relied on Jesus Christ, He would fulfill His words and heal me. I firmly believed that.

Pondering the Lord Jesus’ words, I got great strength. I didn’t stop praying to the Lord in tears, “O Lord. You are capable of forgiving people’s sins, curing the illnesses of all humans. You are the unique Lord Jesus Christ. All things were created by You, and everything that breath is controlled by You. People’s life and death, vagaries of man’s fortune are all ruled by You. The Bible says that Moses led the Israelites to cross the Red Sea by relying on faith; David defeated Goliath by faith; Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days, but You restored him to life with just one sentence. My Lord, I believe that You are so powerful and authoritative, so I am praying for my illness. I truly believe that as long as I depend on You, I will be cured by You.” After praying, I felt much more relaxed, and it also helped me with the pain and sobered me. I even felt I was not that sick anymore. That was an unfamiliar feeling since I got sick. I realized that God heard my prayers.

Thereafter, I continued to pray, and entrust my illness to the Lord. After less than a month, my condition improved, and I could eat food normally, and there was luster on my dull face. I could feel that I was slowly recovering, and I confirmed in my heart that it was God who removed cancer from me. Later, I went to the hospital for a diagnostic gastroscopy again. The doctor was surprised to see the result, and he said, “Cancel cells don’t spread. Everything is good. I have never seen such a miracle before.” Hearing what the doctor said, I sincerely thanked and praised the Lord in my heart, and couldn’t help but blurt out, “Thanks be to the Lord. Thank the Lord for His love for me.” After returning home, I once again fell down before the Lord and offered my prayer of thanks, “Dear Lord, my Lord. It is You who saved me. I am a sinner, but You raised me from the dead. Lord, Your grace is so great. I cannot finish telling of Your love and mercy for me. Dear Lord, this illness allowed me to see Your truthfulness. I am resolved to follow You wholeheartedly from now on.”

From then on, I was completely recovered and there was no recurrence thereafter. During the experience, I truly felt that when I really confess my sin and repent to the Lord, and hand my illness over to Him and look up to Him, my gastric cancer, that was incurable to the hospital, was cured by the Lord. I truly appreciated that the Lord Jesus is possessed of power and authority, so my faith in Him has been strengthened. I was recovering quickly. All my family and friends who knew my experience witnessed God’s great power from me. My sister and sister-in-law also became believers in the Lord.

I will always keep the Lord’s salvation in mind. Many years have passed, but whenever I think of the great miracle the Lord Jesus performed on me, and His care and mercy for me, I will have greater faith in following Him. God’s care and protection are much more precious than worldly possessions. Thank God for His mercy and salvation for me. I will make every effort to spread the gospel during the rest of my life, to repay His love. All the glory be to the Lord. Amen.