God’s power

The Power of God

Peace in Adversity

God’s power possesses supernatural strength that brings hope, love, gratitude, and comfort in times we need it most. I am living proof that turning to God in faith during times of intense adversity will bring you strength, peace, joy, hope, love, and comfort. I was diagnosed with advanced stage cancer at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, after several surgeries and conventional treatments, I was in a panic, thinking the treatments were not going to work for me. I understood that I could not make it by the power of my own strength or wisdom. I had to surrender completely to God.

This revelation came to me in my first Freedom Prayer session at CrossBridge Community Church on November 7, 2022. I was at my lowest point. This prayer session crucified my old self and the spiritual lies I had been believing, and it resurrected me a new creation. I was no longer controlled by fear, anxiety, and anger because I completely surrendered everything to God. To trust God with everything, that is a path to experiencing God’s power. 

God Works through People 

The cancer treatments took a major toll on my gastrointestinal tract. In February of 2023, the immunotherapies caused an autoimmune disease called ulcerative colitis. I began to experience unbelievable pain, which lasted about eight weeks. My excruciating pain was from a gigantic duodenum ulcer caused by Cabometyx. The pain was so intense that it would radiate in my shoulder blades and chest. I was in so much pain I was pacing up and down the hallway of our house all day and night. My suffering was intense, but I was doing my best to put up a strong front for my family and friends. Then, I broke. 

On Thursday, March 23, 2023, I prayed desperately to God. I was angry with Him, and I let Him have it. “What the hell is this all about, God?” “What are you trying to teach me in all this suffering?” I curled up in a ball on my bed and cried out in surrender to God. I confessed that I couldn’t take the pain anymore; I couldn’t keep living in misery.

I shouted at God and demanded answers. He usually responds quickly, but this time, my mind’s eye was completely dark; my inner voice was completely silent. Then, about 18 hours later, I started vomiting large amounts of blood, and my wife called an ambulance. I was admitted to the hospital, and my initial endoscopy revealed the ulcer in my duodenum. 

While I was in the hospital, I remembered that God had spoken to me about stopping the chemo pill weeks ago, but I didn’t obey. As I lay in the hospital bed waiting for my procedure to stop the internal bleeding, I continued to wrestle with my failure to place my trust in God. I had many visitors spend time with me, including my friends Hans Huberland and Darrell Geisendorff. Immediately after they walked into the hospital room, Dr Rodriguez showed up.

Darrell and Hans left the room so I could talk with him, and he told me we had to stop chemo. We talked about a few other things, and then Dr. Rodriguez left. Darrell and Hans came back into the room, and I told them what the oncologist had just said to me. Darrell started to get choked up, and he pulled out his phone and called his wife, Courtney Darrell put the phone on speaker and asked her to tell me what God had shared with him as they were on a walk earlier that week.

Courtney said, “The Holy Spirit put it on Darrell’s heart that Justin needs to stop taking the chemo pill.” Darrell thanked her and hung up the phone, and then he confessed to me that when the Holy Spirit gave him that message, he asked God or a doctor to deliver it. Darrell told God it was not his place to deliver this kind of message.

And sure enough, at the exact time Darrell and Hans showed up to visit me in the hospital, Dr. Rodriguez arrived and delivered the news that Darrell asked God to deliver me. Dr. Rodriguez told me I had to stop taking the chemo for at least five weeks, and possibly forever. This was a convicting moment for me, but it encouraged me to simply pray and obey, and to expect for God’s power to be present in my life when I stay true to that simple formula. 

Randy Robinson also came to visit. Randy noticed when I was sharing my story about what brought me to the hospital, Jeanette (one of my nurses) was shaken. Randy asked Jeanette if there was anything we could pray for in her life. Jeanette began to cry and share with us that she lost her sister to internal bleeding when she was just a child.

Jeanette shared how she was carrying guilt from not being able to save her sister when she began to vomit blood. She also told us about having tension with her family because of it. Randy prayed for her, she began to cry, and a peace came over her. Jeanette exchanged guilt for spiritual truth from the God of goodness.

She left feeling proud of how she was living out her sister’s legacy. Jeanette shared with us how much better she felt after Randy prayed for her. It was truly an amazing experience to watch the power of God at work from my hospital bed—the Holy Spirit used Randy to heal Jeanette from what appeared to be years of spiritual and emotional trauma. 

The Holy Spirit Heals 

God’s power after a few days of waiting in the hospital, I was scheduled for the procedure to stop the internal bleeding. It took place on March 28, 2023. In this procedure, the doctor hit a main artery. This is when I had the near-death experience that I described in the near death experience blog. After all the dust settled, I was alive and stable in ICU.

Berphy later shared with me a prophetic image that she was given while I was in the critical stages of the emergency. It was an image of Jesus standing over my body and using his hands to apply pressure and stop the bleeding. While I was in recovery in ICU, my friend Duane Schlottke came by to visit and pray with me.

He shared a prophetic vision the Holy Spirit had given him. Duane saw Jesus take me from death to life, and he felt the emotions of everyone that was in the room saving my life. Duane teared up as he explained what the Holy Spirit had revealed to him. This prophetic ministry brought me strength, comfort, and encouragement when I needed it most. 

On March 31, 2023, the Holy Spirit led my friend Hans Huberland to share a Scripture with Berphy and me. It was the story of the woman with the bleeding issue in Mark 5. Like me, she had been seen by many doctors who could not heal her, and she had suffered greatly. She was healed the instant she touched Jesus’s clothes.

Jesus told her that it was her faith that healed her, to go in peace, and to have no fear. Hans encouraged me to continue to expect for God’s power to be present in my life. 

As I was confined to the hospital bed with a breathing tube down my throat, I was encouraged to obey God like never before. I spent much of this time praying for the same power that raised Christ from the dead to be present in my life. I closed my eyes and asked God to show me how He saw me. Then, I waited for Him to give me something. He gave me a vision. I saw myself walking out of the hospital, playing baseball with my boys, and taking a stroll with Blake and Berphy.

I envisioned myself living the healthy life that I was praying for. This stirred my heart with gratitude and courage. I was discharged from the hospital on April 2nd, and I embraced life with a much deeper passion. 

Faith Brings Supernatural Strength

Two months after my discharge from the hospital, the cancer came back again.  Before I discovered Freedom Prayer, I struggled a lot when receiving bad news regarding my health. After I discovered Freedom Prayer, I learned that I could meet with the God who holds the entire Universe in perfect harmony, I also learned that I could access God’s power any time I choose. I learned that those meetings are where God’s power will give your heart everything it needs to face whatever is in front of you.

When Dr. Rodriguez called me to deliver the news, I couldn’t believe that I was five times sicker than I ever had been. However, I was not consumed with fear, anxiety, or hopelessness.

Freedom Prayer had taught me how to cut through all the darkness and maintain a strong connection with God’s power. After Dr. Rodriguez called to deliver this news, I hung up the phone and went into my room. I closed the door and sat in silence just meeting with God. I asked Him to reveal Himself to me.

I closed my eyes and waited on Him to communicate something to me. He gave me an image of Jesus holding me like a loving father holds His precious child. It was filled with an “I’ve got this” kind of a feeling that comforted my heart and mind. God assured me that He was in control, that all I needed to do was pray, wait for Him to speak, and then obey. 

Freedom Prayer freed me from the boundaries of the flesh, and it allowed me to experience the power of God in the form of supernatural strength. As I prayed, I asked God to show me what he wanted me to know. God gave me an image of Jesus and I strolling down a trail together at my aunt and uncle’s ranch.

We were smiling and laughing, just strolling along talking and not worrying about anything. It reminded me that my strength comes from trusting Him, faith in God’s power is a path to the power of God. 

Freedom Prayer has the power to breath the power of God’s power back into American culture. 

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