Author: Editor, Kingdom Revelator

Jossy Ninan – shares how God helped her to achieve her dreams of working as a nurse in the UK.

Exciting Dreams

I was really happy when I moved to the UK to work as a nurse. I had exciting dreams for my future and was very enthusiastic. I believed in God but I did not have a close personal relationship with Him. I think that my faith was fairly weak at the time. I had always prayed since childhood but I had never surrendered myself to God. In fact I took Jesus for granted. I know that I kept repeating the same sins and was sorry for them, thinking that a loving God would forgive me each time, because I was not committing any big sins.

Failures

I was a trained nurse but to become a registered nurse in the UK I had to pass the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) exam. I did not consider it to be a difficult task and prepared well before taking the exam. I was shocked when my results came through because I had failed. I lost my confidence and became very anxious about my future. But this motivated me to try again and I worked harder for the second attempt and again I failed. This was totally unexpected and I was completely devastated. I couldn’t stop crying and lost all hope of ever passing the exam. I lacked faith but my loving God took care of me by giving me wonderful people to encourage me.

Fresh Hope

I started watching Abhishekagni, an Internet television program in Malayalam presented by Fr Xavier Khan Vattayil whenever I could. Hearing the Word of God preached so powerfully gave me strength and fresh hope. One day while watching it, the Holy Spirit touched me powerfully and I was filled with peace and happiness. I immediately surrendered myself completely to the Lord, vowing to give up all my bad habits and sinful activities. I humbled myself and stopped worrying about the future. Immediately I felt a change in me. “Do not fear Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words have been heard and I have come because of your words.”(Daniel 10:12)

More Problems

I had to wait six months before I could take the exam for a third time. The long wait was difficult but during that time God was slowly changing me to be a better person. I remembered the words of St Paul, “Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles and pray at all times.” (Romans 12:12) So I prayed and God gradually drew me closer to Him, ”By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) Another problem was that my visa expired after eight months but I managed to get a sixty day extension that allowed me to stay and take the exam a third time. There were many obstacles in my way but I held on to God’s merciful promise that He would go before me and level the mountains, He would break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron (Isaiah 45:2).

Lots Of Prayer

I worked hard, fasted, confessed and prayed. I became more confident knowing that the Lord could work through me. I believed that, “It depended not on human will or exertion, but on God who shows mercy.” (Romans 9:16) I knew that thousands of people were praying for me. The Kingdom Revelator prayer team promised to pray and the Sehion Ministries team from India and the UK interceded for me. Preparing for the exam was still very tough. One day I broke down in front of Jesus and I felt that He spoke to me through the words of Luke 11:9, “Ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” So I believed and prayed even harder. “I tell you whatever you ask for in prayer believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24

The Third Attempt

Finally, I took the exam for the third time. Praise be to God, I saw the result of all the prayers, this time I passed the OSCE exam. The rules say that we have to submit all our documents again before the third attempt in order to complete the registration process. I hadn’t done this but God worked miraculously again and I got my pin number without submitting any documents. And my visa was renewed without any problems as well. The Lord had arranged everything to work in my favour and I could feel His presence in everything that I did. He showed me that He loves me so much that He wants me to stay close to Him. He raised me up from the depth of my sorrow and His amazing grace saved me at His perfect time.

Never Give Up

So whatever problems you encounter, never give up. Turn to the Lord and trust in Him. Persevere in prayer then you will be transformed by the love of God and He will be able to act through you.

When Dayanand Edappally opened his heart to the Lord he experienced an instantaneous healing at a Catholic Convention.

HOW JESUS HEALED

Have you ever noticed how Jesus healed people? All the healings recorded in the Gospels took no time to take effect. He healed ailments and cured diseases instantaneously without the need of medicines or tablets. He healed with a touch, a look or a word. When Dayanand Edappally opened his heart to the Lord he experienced an instantaneous healing at a Catholic Convention. And power went out of Him every time he healed someone. Sometimes it was just one person like the Centurion’s Servant in Luke 7:1-10 and sometimes a great crowd as in Matthew 15:29-31 but He healed them all immediately. This is the wonderful thing about Jesus’ ministry. He had and still has the absolute power to heal without the medium of medicines or surgery. And He heals with only one condition – that you have faith in His healing power, which means the inner conviction that He is God Almighty.

INTELLECTUAL FAITH

In the past, I have attended several charismatic healing services but I always thought that it was a lot of mumbo jumbo and I never received any lasting healing for any of my ailments. After the services I returned to my daily life as if nothing had happened. My faith was very much at an intellectual level and it did not touch my heart. I believed the teachings of the Church as a set of doctrine and rules to be accepted and adhered to at the level of the mind. This dry, ‘antiseptic’ approach to religion kept me from noticing the promptings of the Holy Spirit in my heart. I often wondered why others received miraculous healings, but I was not getting any.

TIME FOR CHANGE

Then it dawned on me that I had to change my approach to God. I realised that God works at the level of the heart as well as the mind and emotions. He is waiting for us to welcome Him into our minds and hearts. “I am standing at the door, knocking. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me.” (Rev 3:20) Our hearts have to be open to his promptings. Only then will He be able to transform us, to change our way of thinking, and to change our approach to people and events.

LACK OF FAITH

During the Second Saturday Catholic Convention in September Fr Pat Collins, an Irish priest explained the difference between mere belief and deep faith. He explained that people fl ocked to listen to Jesus because they believed that He was a great prophet and a miracle worker who could do things for them. But did they have faith in Him as the Son of God? Jesus expressed sorrow at the lack of faith, even among His own apostles, who failed to believe in His divine power. When Peter walked on the water to reach Jesus, it was his faith in the power of the Lord that spurred him to undertake the risky venture. (Matthew 14:28- 31) But when the storm started blowing around him, his faith wavered and he began to sink until Jesus pulled him into the boat.

MY SHALLOW FAITH

As I listened to Fr Pat, I realized how shallow my faith was. The testimonies he shared with the congregation emphasised the need for strong faith for successful Christian living. As he wrote in his book, Guided by God, when God speaks to the heart, one should not doubt or hesitate to act on it. The promptings of the Holy Spirit must be listened to and acted upon in good faith. Fr Xavier Khan Vattayil (Director of Sehion Ministries) has also explained how, overwhelmed by his sense of unworthiness, he hesitated to act on the promptings of the Spirit during the early stages of his preaching and healing ministry. As a result he was humbled and surprised to see many people being healed through the prayer of his lay colleagues while he himself, because of his hesitation, failed to dispense God’s healing gifts to the people.

DOUBLE HEALINGS

During the healing service, Fr Pat announced that Jesus was healing someone who had difficulty swallowing food. I raised my hand with a few others as I had been suffering from this problem for several years. Fr Pat said Jesus was healing us at that very moment. I believed him and I was powerfully healed. Later he announced that Jesus was healing back-pain. I stood up to receive this healing because I had been troubled by lower back pain for several months. I felt the pain in my lower back as I stood up but then the pain disappeared in an instant. I had experienced an instantaneous, miraculous cure. And, thank God, I am now free from both problems.

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

These healings reminded me of my student days when philosophy taught me how God acts beyond the constraints of space and time. He is not bound by their laws because He made both of them! “For God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19: 26) And His providence is for everyone and everything that He has created. He who feeds the ravens of the air and clothes in glory the lilies of the field will certainly take care of all the needs of His countless millions of children. (Luke 12: 24- 27) So we don’t need to worry about the future, but we can say with all our hearts, “Your will be done, Lord!”