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My journey with the Lord
began approximately 20 years ago. I was in St. Vincent Hospital with
liver failure due to alcohol abuse. I had just lost my job as a senior
manager and my wife and two children had left me.
On the wall at the end of
the ward was a large cross with a statue of our Lord. I kept being
attracted to the cross more and more each day, until one day I sat up in
the bed and concentrated on the cross and said, “I have had enough of
this world. I am at the end of the road– I am sorry for my stupidity –
are you really there Lord and will you help me?”
My mind received an
immediate reply which was a great revelation. “Yes, I am here I have
been waiting for you to call.” Over the next few weeks I began to read
the Bible for the first time and began to pray to the Lord. My liver
condition improved and the doctors were amazed and encouraged at the
rapid repair of the liver cells to the extent I was discharged but with
strict instructions never to drink alcohol again.
I then made a covenant
with my Lord Jesus to give up alcohol and to give him the life He had
given me back to do with as He saw fit. Three months later my wife and
children returned home. Twelve months later I started a new job and
within five years the Lord gave me back a senior management position.
Praise God. I suppose it would have been nice for the story to end on
that note, but, as I was to find out “the hard way” it was only the
beginning. I had repented, believed, but did not persevere with the
most important aspect of the trilogy, obedience. Due to work related
stress I then suffered a nervous breakdown. The Lord had once again
brought me to the end of my tether, for His glory and my further
learning. It was at this time, Praise God; I heard of the Healing
Ministry at St. Andrew’s and began attending on a regular basis. In a
matter of four weeks I was recovered and back at work some weeks later
and was promoted to number two in the Company later in the year.
Then the Lord tested me
again. This time however, Praise God, through what I had learnt
through the Healing Ministry, I was as ready as I could be for the next
hurdle of my journey with Jesus.
A routine check-up
revealed a dark mole at the base of my neck which turned out to be a
“spreading malignant melanoma”. In view of this I was booked into St.
Vincent Hospital for further surgery to see how far the thing had gone
into the system.
The first person I spoke
to about the cancer, apart from the doctors, was a lady at the Healing
Ministry and with her prayers and very positive attitude I again called
on the Lord for help – and with no great surprise to me He replied, “I
am always here to help you, you only have to ask.” And, Praise God, of
course He did. The next operation could find no sign of any cancer
which had reached to within one sixteenth of a centimetre of my
lymphatic system.
The Lord again greatly
blessed me in 1996 when the Company’s CEO left and the position was
advertised overseas and Australia wide. Many interviews ensued, and it
was the recommendation of the recruiting consultant that I remain as the
Administration Manager due to superior qualifications of an interstate
applicant. However the Lord had other plans for me. I had learnt at the
Healing Ministry, to rest in the Lord – thanked Him for all the
blessings in my life and stated in prayer “Lord if you want me to get
the CEO’s position you will give it to me and I will do it with all my
might to the glory of the Lord who gives it to me!” Praise God I was
appointed as CEO in December 1996 until my retirement in December 2004
being the longest serving CEO of the Company.
There are many challenges
still ahead and I look forward to meeting each one with the Lord Jesus
to always help me through.
Tony |
