Surround Yourself with Faith Builders

“What an amazing celebration service that was this morning,” my wife and I commented excitedly to Stuart and Irene Bell. The Bells are friends of ours in Lincoln, England, where they pastor a large church and oversee a network of churches in that region. We had just sat down for lunch following their Sunday morning service, where they had announced their son, David, had received a “cancer-free, clean bill of health” report from the doctors.

“We are so thankful for God’s goodness and faithfulness to us and to David, and we are glad that you could be here with us to share in our joy,” Stuart graciously responded. It was one year earlier that David, at age 16, had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor behind his right eye.

Later, a biopsy was scheduled, and the tumor was discovered to be cancerous. This diagnosis was followed by a series of nine chemotherapy treatments, which David came through amazingly well. Then radiation treatment was scheduled, which had a number of possible side effects including permanent damage to the tear duct, a cataract, permanent loss of eyebrow and lashes, damage to the pituitary gland and possible bone deformation. Stuart and Irene relayed to us that God had spoken to them that David would go through the “murky waters of chemotherapy”, and he would come up well. Then when the radiation was scheduled, they were similarly impressed that he would go through the fire of radiation and not be burned.

Just the week prior to this celebration service the doctors had given David a clean bill of health. He has no trace of cancer and the tumor is gone! His sight is good and he has strong eyebrows and eyelashes. There is no deformity of David’s face and his tear ducts produce tears. Praise God!

Now you understand why this Sunday morning celebration service was so special. During lunch Stuart and Irene discussed with us the process that God led them through to receive David’s healing. What struck my wife and me was the number of similarities between how God led us to receive healing for myself and Michael several years before and how He led them with regard to David. They were faithful to follow the steps God led them through instead of following someone else’s faith. They were confident Jesus provided healing for David by His atonement. They were secure in God’s love for them. They were aggressive in their faith and exalted the truth above the facts. In fact, this discussion with the Bells has been a major impetus for this book.

One of the major points we talked about at lunch that day was the subject of this chapter: Surround yourself with faith builders. We talked about the importance of being around people of faith and constantly hearing words of faith, especially during times of crisis. Irene shared with us that while David was in the hospital receiving treatments she and Stuart made it their focus to keep David’s spirit and faith built up.

Later, Stuart shared some insights with me that God had shown him about this principle that I would like to share with you:

Jesus certainly knew the importance of this. On one occasion he put people out of the room when, instead of believing for healing, they were happier with the “ministry of wailing”. There are far too many people who see the darker side of life. For some there is almost an unhealthy desire to talk about ailments and aches and pains. We are far more likely to hear people say, “I think I’m catching a cold” rather than, “I think I’m catching a healing!” For some, negative confession becomes second nature. The last thing people who are under pressure want to hear is a story of someone who died of the same disease they are facing. King David encountered this problem in Psalm 41:7 where he says, ‘All my enemies whispered together against me; they imagine the worst for me saying, “A vile disease has beset him; he will never get up from the place where he lies.”’ With friends like that, who needs enemies?

Human sympathy always leads to despair, while Godly compassion brings hope! Limit the amount of time you spend with those who leave you emotionally drained and discouraged. In fact, it’s best to remove yourself from that environment altogether, as much as possible. You should spend time with people who help to strengthen your faith, encourage you, and leave you with hope—especially in the midst of a crisis. Stuart shares the following testimony about how God led him and Irene to surround themselves with “Faith Builders” during their crisis with David:

“As a church leader with responsibility for a growing local church and network of churches, I felt an enormous weight descend upon me when we heard the news that David had a cancerous tumor behind his eye. There was now a huge expectancy upon me to deliver the goods and see my son healed, but this mountain seemed too high for me.

“Alongside this sense of inadequacy however came a sense of strategic direction. One morning I awoke with the phrase, ‘Call David’s mighty men.’ I instinctively thought of the mighty men who fought for the well-being of King David and so I began to call people who were friends or prayer warriors to stand with us each day throughout the week until we received the prognosis we desired. We chose people who were willing to stand with our focus, which was to see David delivered, set free, and healed. On our first prayer meeting I gave a clear ultimatum. I said, ‘The only people we want to be involved are those who will stand with us for David’s full healing…’ The people who gathered around us really did become ‘David’s mighty men.’ Each of them carried weight in the battle. We felt our arms were consistently being lifted up.

 “Not only did these mighty men and women pray, they also prophesied… I am now in a position to remember with thanks two of the first verses God gave me from Psalms: ‘The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness,’ and ‘We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.’ — Psalm. 41:3, (NKJV); Psalm 124:7, (NKJV). GOD HAS ANSWERED ALL OF OUR PRAYERS!”

What a powerful testimony of the power of agreement and the results of being surrounded by men and women of faith. Now, I don’t suggest that you do exactly what Stuart and Irene did. Remember what we learned in a previous blog: it’s according to your faith. They did what God led them to do in gathering people of faith around them. This is what I am encouraging you to do: Find people of faith who will help you stay focused and in faith during a crisis and spend time with them.

Adapted from Greg Mohr’s book, Your Healing Door.