I still remember the agonizing six-hour road trip, clear as day, as my parents rushed me to Sunninghill Hospital from our holiday in St Lucia. I’d been in serious pain most of the week and the long trip up in the car and stops in dodgy bathrooms along the way had only served to make me more fearful and nervous.After I had been admitted to hospital the doctors performed all kinds of tests on me. (Including “home videos’’ - taken where no one should ever go). Finally, after all the poking and prodding, my doctor told me that I had Ulcerative Colitis. This is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks itself, thinking it is attacking something that is harming the body. In my case, my colon is attacking itself. My colon wall forms ulcers to try and contain the “attack” - this results in bleeding, pus and makes you really “regular” (gross I know!) Different things, from food to stress, can trigger the disease. He told us that it was a disease a person had for life and that there is no cure, only the symptoms could be treated and I would be put on chronic medication to try and improve my quality of life with this disease.

I don’t really remember thinking or feeling anything about the diagnosis in the days that followed. It was all mostly a blur as my body was so weak and I slept for hours. I think I lost about 11 kgs in a week (not good for a skinny boy!) I kept thinking that this was just like all the other times I was sick with flu and that I’d be OK soon, but after two weeks, reality began to set in (I was not a happy camper!)

When I was back at home my mom asked many people to come and pray for me. I remember in particular a prayer that an elder prayed for me, that God would be my strength during this time. At this very point I stopped feeling sorry for myself and remembered three short prophecies
that had been given to me during a leaders’ time away some months before. I was so amazed at how similar they were even though they were written by three completely different people. In one of them Manie Lombard wrote: “Your name means strong man but God wants to strengthen you in your full potential in Him in this coming time” along with a scripture: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Compassion and the God of all comfort, for who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God (2 Cor 1:3 ).

Now please don’t hear what I’m not saying- I don’t believe for a second that this sickness is from God! I know He is my Dad who loves me and wants the best for me. He has perfect health for me and was not taken by surprise when this all happened.He will use the plans of the enemy to glorify His name in spite of what has happened, like David who prayed that the enemy would fall into his own hole. I knew the word of God and held on to it and began fighting this squatter in my body (that actually isn’t mine anymore because it belongs to Jesus!). I have learnt to wage war with His Word, and it’s amazing how it shuts the enemy up.

Sometime last year I heard God say to me, “My boy, I want to change your name from “strong man” to “the Lord is my strength”. I realise now that God is using the very thing the enemy wanted to cripple me with, to refine my character and redefine me so I can walk into the calling He has over my life. A little while after this I had another curve ball thrown at me. My health started to slip again and after visiting the doctor I was told that in the next three years I might have to look at having the affected part of my colon removed or face the risk (50%) of cancer. During this period my body was sick for longer periods than usual and it was during this time I felt challenged by God when He asked me this, “Which throne are you sitting on?” Was I sitting on a porcelain one (a toilet) or His? At first I thought this was funny but He began to open this up to me. He showed me three thrones: A toilet, a drum throne (chair) and His throne.

With regards to the porcelain throne, He challenged me as to whether I had grown content sitting in sickness because I had just grown weary from fighting. With the drum throne, He showed me that I had sought performance instead of relationship. This was the place where I wanted to make myself shine instead of Him in me. You see, I am a drummer, and it’s easier for me to rely on my own talent and strengths rather than relying on God all of the time. God said that I needed to start putting my all into his hands and that this was a situation
that only He could get me out of. I can’t rely on myself on this one. And finally, His throne - He reminded me of Ephesians 2:6, “And raised us up with Him and seated us in the heavenly places

in Jesus Christ”. As well as Ephesians 1:20 - that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places. Now if Jesus is on His throne in Heaven and we are seated with Him, then we are on the same throne! And because all things are under his feet (Eph 1:22) we have authority because He lives within us (sickness is under our feet). We walk this earth but at the same time we are seated in Heaven and it’s from this place God was reminding me to live. In Heaven there is no sickness and my healing is there! We are shown by Jesus to pray that his Kingdom should come on earth as it is in Heaven (Matt 6:10) and can live it out here on earth because we have been seated with Jesus. Hebrews 4:14 -16 reminds us that Jesus sympathises with our weaknesses and encourages us to draw near and find grace in our time of need. It’s also interesting to note we find this grace at His throne, again everything thing I need to let me thrive through and conquer this is in Heaven and I need to live it out on earth!

I am so thankful and excited that God has a plan for me. He has not forgotten about me and is more committed to seeing that I become like His Son than I am. I may not have received my healing yet, but it hasn’t stopped me praying for people. I know my God is a God who heals and that this illness is not His plan for me. He will heal me in spite of it and glorify His name through it! And so I want to encourage you to run your race strong and hold fast to God , He is the greatest thing any man can live for and those who know Him will carry out great exploits (Dan 11:32)! I don’t have all the answers but I have come to know more and more who my God is and I will trust in Him.