A Touch of His Greatness!

This might be a long post but I encourage you to read through the whole thing. I write this to give glory to God and also to encourage you.

Some of you know that my grandfather is not in very good health. In fact he has been in and out of hospital the past year. 3 days ago, he was admitted to SGH ICU again as he was not eating well and was coughing badly.

On Wednesday night, at about 1.45am, while I was watching “Heroes” on Star World (cable tv), my mum came and asked me to pray with her for my grandfather. As usual, I was irritated because I felt she was disturbing me when the show was just starting. I asked her why must pray now and she replied that she just felt led to pray then. I was very tempted to tell her to pray herself first then after the show I will pray. (Ha ha, I am still very human and just want to be real with you all). However, before I said it out, I was reminded about how God was teaching me to be Christ-like, esp at home. I was convicted that this was important and wanted to obey God. So I switched off the TV and decided to spend time to pray with my mum.

Around 2.45am, my mum received a phone call from her brother saying that the doctor wanted to talk to the family urgently and that it was something important. It was later clarified that my grandfather needed an operation due to a hole in his stomach. (This is a critical situation as the stuff that spill out from the hole can cause internal infection and spread to the rest of the body, weakening him and even becoming fatal!) However, he was insistent not to have an operation as he was afraid and was worried that it was too dangerous. (Now I know why we had to pray!)

When I saw my mum get dressed and was preparing to go out, I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to go and be with her. I considered the fact that I will be totally stoned the next day due to lack of sleep and probably would have difficulty working on my project but felt the Holy Spirit say, “Your mum needs your support. And your love. GO!” Some more, pastor has been emphasizing so much recently on loving and bringing unity to the family. I decided that showing love to my mother by being there with her was more important than my sleep and project, so I got changed and went with her.

While in the car to the hospital, I felt a stirring up of supernatural faith and courage within me. I knew my mum and uncles were going to have a hard time convincing my grandfather. This wasn’t the first time it has happened. The last time my grandfather needed an operation, he got very frustrated and even depressed. I started to imagine what would happen in the hospital later. I saw my mum and uncles trying to convince my granddad to go for the op but to little success. However, I felt the Holy Spirit inspire me on to see how I could make a difference.

I began to see in my mind this picture. I saw myself asking everyone to leave the room and then I held my grandfather’s hands and spoke with him alone. (Yah… very drama mama… ha ha.) Somehow what I spoke to him gave him peace and allowed him to feel the love and trust of the family and finally he agreed to go for the op. I then imagined myself telling my mum to ask him again whether he believed in Jesus and then somehow, managed to baptize him on the spot. (My imagination very powerful one…) As I set in the car, I was thinking to myself, this all sounds so elaborate and orchestrated. Could it be for real? Is that what I should really do? More importantly, will I have the guts to do it???!

When we reached the hospital, as expected, my grandfather was very insistent on not going for the op. My mum and 2 uncles talked to him for about 30 min but it he was still very adamant. He insisted that all he needed to do was to take the medicine and then that was enough. He even went so far to say that he felt better already and that the pain had subsided. (Seeing how he flinched whether he moved a little in bed, I knew it was not true.) I could see that my mum and uncles were quite desperate and frustrated. It looked like it was going to be a long night.

At that moment, the nurses came to take a chest x-ray for my granddad and so all of us were asked to leave the room. By this time, my uncles were starting to ask the doctor what could be done if my granddad did not agree to the op. I think they were quite pessimistic that he would agree to it at all and wanted to make alternative arrangements if necessary.

As they were talking, I crept back to the room after the chest x-ray was done. Ha ha… I knew this was my chance! Everyone else was outside talking to the doctor. It was exactly like how I had seen it, except that I did not have to act hero and ask everyone to leave. (God always has a way with me so that attention is not drawn to my self.) I knew 2 things. One, my granddad did not need all the complicated explanations why the operation was better. He needed to know that he was loved and that he could trust in our decision. Two, old people liked to be touched. Touch is a way of affirmation that they can depend on us. It is also a way which love and concern is communicated.

I took a deep breath and knelt beside my granddad's bed and began to talk to him. (You must understand that I have never spoken this way to my grandfather
before. In fact, I hardly speak much to him! In that sense, we don't have a very
close relationship. But at that moment, I was filled with a love and compassion
that was so overwhelming it was the most natural thing to do!)

I asked him to hold my hand and I held his firmly yet gently. With my other hand on this shoulder, I asked him how he was feeling and assured him that we wanted him to be well. I knew he thought highly of me. He always said I had the look of a successful businessman. So I asked him if he thought I was smart and that I was good at my studies. Saying those things somehow made him very happy and he kept saying yes, and that I was number one. (Not to boast of myself, but this was my strategy which I felt the Holy Spirit gave me in the car.) I told him that if he knew I was smart then would he trust me that I wanted the best for him? I kept reaffirming the fact that we wanted to see him live many more days and that we wanted to see him well again.

As I spoke with him, I could see that there was a supernatural peace that came over him. I could see his heart was softening and that there was this comfort that came over him. Finally, when I asked him if he would go for the op, he said he wanted to see what my mum and 2 uncles suggested. But this time round, there was a certain calmness in his voice.

When my mum and 2 uncles came back, I knew the victory had been won! While previously, he did not even bother to listen to the reasons why the doctor needed to operate, the questions my granddad asked now were different than before. Now, he was asking whether he would feel anything when he was being operated on. He was asking his sons if they felt that was the best for him. I felt it was a 180 degrees turn from before! He just needed assurance that he would be alright. Within 15 min, we managed to get him to sign the form to carry on with the operation. Hallelujah! This was a miracle! Just before, the doctor had spent 2 hours trying to convince him but to no avail!

I am incredibly excited even as I type this. I knew it was God’s kairos moment for me to go and speak to my granddad. I knew somehow that my mum and uncles were not going to be able to convince my granddad to go for the op. I’m really not sure what would have happened if I did not obey the Holy Spirit’s prompting and stayed home. The best thing was, my granddad agree to go for the op being convinced that it was the best cause of action. He was not angry that we were forcing him or frustrated that he was doing something that he was uncomfortable doing. I knew it was the peace of God and the perfect love of God which casts out all fear that was at work!

My encouragement to all of you?

NEVER ignore the kairos moment of God for your life. NEVER!!! When you feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit to do something, DO NOT sit on it.

Secondly, God’s love REALLY CONQUERS ALL! Do not be afraid to demonstrate His love through you even in what you think are difficult situations. The reality of God’s love is often demonstrated through our practical love to the people around us!

I pray that as you read this testimony, that God will open your hearts and your spiritual senses to be attuned to His voice. You know what the icing on the cake is? My mum later shared that she felt that this time round, my granddad HAD to go for the operation. That was what she sensed the Holy Spirit telling her. I could not affirm that more. I was really encouraged that we heard the same thing! This whole episode was orchestrated by the Holy Spirit and it turned out miraculously because we obeyed.

My granddad has since completed the operation and is right now in ICU at SGH. Please pray for no complications or infection and the he will have a quick and good recovery. (He has risks of heart attack, infection, he is diabetic and 83 years old etc.) Pray also that he will be decisive in his wanting to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour and finally that he will agree to be baptized. (So far, he always changes his mind after he is feeling better.)

I have always asked the Lord for opportunities to see Him at work in miraculous ways. Each time I hear testimonies of other people's lives, I tell God that I want them too! I want my life to be filled with numerous testimonies of His goodness and His greatness! I believe that is what we signed up for when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour! It happened for me, it can happen much more for you! How?!

Hear and obey.

Know God. Know His voice. Act on it.

That’s all liao. I know it’s a long post but I hope you have been encouraged. I know I have been.


Joshua Teo