Healed of Crohn's Disease

 by Andrew Remaly

First and foremost, I would like to give thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who without, none of this is possible. Secondly I want to thank all the prayers of the people who love and support me, especially my father, who knows the power behind prayer. And lastly from the deepest part of me, I want to thank everyone at Word of Life Church, who gave me such inspiration and encouragement for my healing. And I want to thank all of them for staying true to the written Word of God and all the materials and resources they provided for my healing. Thank you!

I was saved in 2011 at Green Pastures Community Church at the end of my senior year in high school. Everything changed after that. I became a new person with a new heart and love for people. I finally understood what they meant in "Amazing Grace" with the line, "was blind but now I see." I saw the error of my ways and for the most part really took great strides improving all areas of my life. However, being a young adult in this day was a struggle at first. Then college came around and I found myself caught up in a few sins that I had back in high school. I hated the decisions I made and came under great guilt and condemnation for my actions. I thought to myself "how in the world am I doing these things while I am saved?" Low and behold, I believe this attitude opened up a doorway for Satan to put a disease on me.

Later on in the spring during my second semester in college, I started having terrible stomach pains. I just thought they were kidney stones since my mother used to get them and I thought they would pass and the pain would go away. But the pain grew worse and I came down with a high fever and tried fighting it off for the next couple of days. I didn't get any better and didn't eat much, so the next morning my mother and I went to our family doctor. Things were going normal, he did a quick check up on me, said it was probably the flu, and prescribed me some medication to knock it right out. Then I began to explain to him the stomach pain and I reassured him that it was probably just kidney stones. However, the area where I was having this pain is exactly where my appendix is located. A look of worry ran across his face as he made me get a urine sample. As I walked back from the bathroom, my mother was standing with him and they were talking about me going to the hospital for a blood test. All of this talk and me feeling weak from not eating much caused me to faint right there in the doctor's office! It was just for a second but all of this information hit me so fast it was surreal. They called an ambulance and I was sent directly to the hospital from there, even though I felt good enough to go on my own power. However, that proved to be beneficial because I was able to get right in and they were able to start the testing.

I spent the next 3 days and nights in the hospital and hated every second of it. I had multiple test done to me with no conclusive results. I also had many doctors from all different specialties come talk to me trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with me. The last day I was there they finally confirmed that it was not my appendix and that it was most likely an IBD, (inflammatory bowel disease) related problem and I would need one more test done. But I was able to go home only to return in a few days for my last test. This test was a bit more complicated as I had to go under anesthesia. Thankfully everything went smoothly and I found myself back in the doctor's office, but this time I was waiting for results.

I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease at 19 years of age and my whole life flipped upside down. I made it through my first year of college and then it happened. I experienced the worst summer of life. I won't go into too much detail because I don't want to relive some of those moments. But over the next 3-4 months I lost 40 lbs and my diet was nothing more than crackers and apple sauce and maybe eggs if I was having an ok day. It was a struggle mentally going from a very healthy varsity athlete one year, to a physically weak person who was robbed of almost everything I loved to do. Every day tasks became difficult with the pain I was under and the heat from the summer only made things more challenging. Again, I made it through and year 2 of college was coming around.

What I needed most at that moment was a glimpse of hope as fear overtook me. I thought I was going to be this sick for the rest of my life. One day I had a really good talk with someone very close to me who gave me great advice and told me exactly what I needed to hear. Throughout this whole time I would not admit that I had Crohn's Disease. I simply could not accept that fact and tried everything in my own power to overcome it, but I couldn't. I would deny my symptoms (which is a good thing to do) but I was denying them based on my strength and not by God's strength. So the advice I received was to take authority over my disease. I first had to accept that I had it and begin to do certain things to improve my health. So I talked to a dietitian and got a very good list of the foods that I should and should not eat. This helped very much as my inflammation went down from better food choices. I became well enough to start my second semester of college and did just that. So right now, I just want to thank God for laying out the steps that I needed to take in order for me to get to a place where HE could operate. At this point I knew nothing about divine healing or the power that was behind the Name of Jesus. But I soon would.

As my semester progressed I went from being good the one week to having a "flare up" the next. After the first month I was in constant pain again. My medications were not doing the job and my doctor recommended that I should go on stronger medication. But one of the possible side effects was cancer! However, the medication was very effective and I was running out of options. As a desperation decision, I skipped class the one day and drove to this peaceful lake with just me, my bible, and this little book called, "The Healer's in Your House", by Kenneth W. Hagin. I was praying and reading trying to get a sign, or something, just anything that would help me. I knew school was not the answer because I saw no real future in the degree I was going for and I simply couldn't take another day sitting in class hunched over in pain. All of a sudden the wind blew open to the back of, "The Healer's in Your House" book and there was my answer. It was Rhema Bible Training College. I knew right then and there that was the best option for me. I made my decision to drop out of college and next year I would attend Rhema. I told my Dad the exciting news that Saturday morning on our way to a men's fellowship breakfast at Green Pastures Church. I thought if I told anyone I was dropping out of college they would be disappointed, but to my surprise, my dad was very pleased with my decision and that gave me a lot of peace!

The next few days my dad did some research and found out that the Pastor and his wife at Word of Life Church in Allentown graduated from Rhema. We decided that it would be a good idea if we went one Sunday. So we did and I have to admit I was a little hesitant at first as I walked down the steps into a basement of the building of the church. But as soon as I opened those doors I was greeted with the most compassionate, warm, good-hearted people I have ever met in my life! We told them about my situation and praise God they had an answer! I will never forget Pastor Tom asking me, "do you know the Scriptures 1 Peter 2:24, and Isaiah 53:4-5?" I said "no" and he quoted them with an emphasis on, "by HIS stripes you were healed." Finally I found my answer to healing. Each week I went they all encouraged me so much and I heard the Word being preached that it is God's will for me to be complete healthy and whole again. This is contrary to what the doctor told me as he said I would have to live with Crohn's the rest of my life. Then this wonderful and loving Godly woman, named Rhonda Butz, gave me many healing scriptures, tapes, books, websites, and any other resource you can think of concerning healing. I began to go over the Scriptures 4 or 5 times a day. And I constantly listened to healing tapes over, and over, and over, and over again. I finally reached a point where one Sunday Pastor Tom said, "Andrew it looks like you're ready for us to pray for you." So I went up front, was anointed with oil, laid hands on and really felt the anointing of God all over me. I improved so much after that. It took a couple more months to fully receive my healing. But thank God when I got it, I really got it! Every symptom left me and I knew I never was going to be sick again! I give all my thanks and praise to Jesus! Because the name, Crohn's Disease, is under the name of Jesus! Halleluiah!

I gained a good amount of my weight back and am now symptom free. I can go back to eating the foods I love to eat and I make better eating choices now that I have a little more information in that area. But none of this would be possible if it wasn't for Jesus. I just tell people all the time it's all because of Jesus. I also received a lot of other resources from Word of Life such as, Who I am in Christ, which has delivered me from all sin-consciousness and condemnation. I make it a daily routine now to read those and my healing scriptures to really build on those foundational teachings of the Bible. Now I see a major difference in my life as I put faith into God's word and allow it to just work in me. None of this could be possible without Jesus and all the great people of Word of Life Church. Thank you ALL and praise God because he is GOOD!

Andrew Remaly