Categories: Shuzia Magazine,

By Omini Godwin

I must admit that I'm not the first to write about the miraculous things God has done through, and in, His servants. Many who have gone before me have written more excellent and notable works. One such person happens to be the great apostle John. When he attempted to write a thorough biography of the life of Jesus Christ, he testified in the end, "And there are also many other things that Jesus did which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the whole world would not contain the books that would be written" (Jn. 21:25).

The author of the book of Hebrews also tried to perform this sacred task. After writing brief biographies of about nine men of faith, he realized that "Time shall fail me to mention Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah...and the prophets" (Heb. 11:32). The testimonies of these biblical writers prove that no amount of time or space will be sufficient to declare all that God has done through the saints! It is for this reason that in this piece I'll briefly tell the miraculous stories of a few Christian heroes.

JONATHAN GOFORTH

When it came to learning languages, many missionaries were geniuses but Jonathan Goforth was not one of them. For him, the Chinese language was just impossible.

Oftentimes, when he preached in the chapel, the men would point to McGillivray, his co-worker, saying, “You speak to us; we don’t understand him!” This setback threatened to sidetrack Jonathan from his work. Before leaving for a scheduled preaching assignment one day, he confessed to his wife, “If the Lord does not work a miracle for me with this language, I fear I will be an utter failure as a missionary!” Picking up his Chinese Bible, he left troubled but returned two hours later bursting with joy. "When I began to speak," he said, "those phrases and idioms that always eluded me came readily. The men understood me so well that they asked me to go on, though McGillivray had risen to speak. I know the backbone of the language is broken! Praise the Lord!” Years later, a Chinese language specialist asked Jonathan, “Wherever did you get your style of speaking? Whatever you do, don’t change it! You can be understood over a wider area in China than anyone I know!” God's miraculous answer to Jonathan’s prayer lasted a lifetime!

AIMEE SEMPLE MCPHERSON

The story is told of how a lamp once exploded in Aimee's face while preaching to a remarkably large audience. She instinctively plunged her head into a bucket of water, but not before blisters developed on her neck and face.

To make matters worse, all of this happened as hecklers were taunting and jeering. The tent was full the night this occurred, so she exited behind it, still suffering great pain. One of the hecklers jumped on the platform and said, "The lady who preaches divine healing has been hurt. She burnt her face, so there will be no meeting tonight." When Aimee heard what he'd said, she rushed in furiously through the tent flaps and leapt on the platform. She was in agony, but she managed to sit down at the piano and cry out, "I praise the Lord who heals me and takes all the pain away!" Two or three stanzas later, the crowd witnessed how Aimee's lobster-red face changed to the colour of normal flesh!

APOSTLE PAUL

A great deal of Paul’s ministry describes how he cheated death countless times. From Antioch to Lystra, Iconium to Thessalonica, angry mobs searched for Paul, opposed him violently, took him captive, and dragged him through their cities threatening his life. In Lystra, the Jews “having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead” (Acts 14:19). Plans were made to stone him in Iconium but he fled the city at the last moment (Acts 14:5–7); in Philippi, he and Silas were stripped, beaten, and imprisoned before being miraculously set free (Acts 16:22–24).

In Thessalonica, it was said he was one of those men “who had turned the world upside down” barely escaping the plot against him in the dead of night (Acts 17:6, 10). He testified later that "Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and day in open sea…I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers…I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked…" (2 Cor. 11:25-27). God’s grace so worked in him to endure such brutality that, in any city where he faced death, he always got up in renewed strength to preach the message of eternal salvation in Jesus Christ.

MARIA WOODWORTH-ETTER

At the age of forty Maria was already a national phenomenon. She had so great a power with God that, because of one meeting she held in 1885, the police reported that they'd never seen their city experience such change before. They had nothing to do because the city was crime-free! Another meeting planned by a young pastor, F.F Bosworth, in Dallas, Texas, was so spectacular that it lasted from July through December. As a result, Dallas became the hub of Pentecostal revival.

In fact, during her meetings in the Iowa community, the people there admitted that it was the first time they could remember a religious gathering "driving out a good show." People from the opera house came over to the camp meetings to see what had taken their crowds! One of Sister Etter's miraculous tales involves the healing of a young boy who had tuberculosis and had developed a tumor the size of a fist. When the boy was brought to her by his mother she said, "We'll just cut it out with the Sword of the Spirit." With that, Sister Etter took out her Bible and "smacked" him on the neck, and he was healed.

There are many more tales of Saintly superheroes who have graced this world. Perhaps we will get another opportunity soon to talk about a few more?