Each one of us has a story to share and my story began twenty-eight years ago today. January 6, 1995 is a day that I will remember forever. It started out as any other Friday and ended with my car skidding on black ice and me hitting my head inside the car. At the time, I thought it was a simple bump on the head; however, as the days, weeks, and months progressed, my brain and body slowly began to slip away. Ten months later, I was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury and was told I had a permanent disability and would never live in “mainstream society” again. BUT GOD!

I remember when the doctor told me that according to my cognitive test scores, I fell below the 25 percentile and was declared legally disabled. My immediate response was, “That’s OK, I know God has a plan for me.” While I had no idea what the plan was, I knew that God was with me and would carry me through this challenge.

My challenge lasted 13 ½ years and unfortunately during that time, I had no idea that God wanted me well or that He had provided healing at the cross over 2,000 years ago. During those years, I searched for answers to why I was experiencing severe pain 24/7 and why my brain didn’t work correctly. Friends took me to several doctors in search of answers only to be told they had no answers or that I needed to accept the hand I was dealt. We also went from church to church only to hear, “Maybe God can heal you, but we don’t know if He heals everyone.” Each search left me defeated and emotionally drained; deep down I couldn’t believe that God wanted me to sit on the sofa staring out a window for the rest of my life.

We finally found the answer in the Lord Jesus Christ! He is found throughout the Old and New Testaments and everyone who came to Him in Biblical times was healed. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) and that means He is still in the healing business and that He wants us well and living a healed and whole life. Isaiah prophesized 400 years before Jesus came to earth that Jesus would die on the cross and the stripes on His back were for healing. Peter confirmed this as he saw the stripes on Jesus’ back and he saw Him die on the cross, be buried, and rise from the dead. Peter and the disciples also went out and laid hands on the sick and they were healed.

These scripture provide us with the revelation that God wants us to live and experience.

• Exodus 15:26: “For I am the Lord who heals you.”
• Psalm 107:20: “He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”
• Proverbs 4:20-22: “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” (NLT)
• Isaiah 53:4-5: “Surely, He has borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
• 1 Peter 2:24: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
• Mark 16:17-18: “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

When you are searching the Bible for answers, it’s important to dive deep into the meaning of the words. You might want to look up these scriptures in different Bible versions such as King James (KJV), New King James (NKJV), or the New Living Translation (NLT). The different versions help you to better understand. For example, the word “destruction” means the action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired. Sickness, pain, disability, and even poverty fit this definition and if you were to study Psalm 107 you’d see that the Israelites’ were living in a hopeless situation and God delivered them all from each of the destructions they were dealing with.

Understanding Isaiah 53 is what set me free from the bondage of the traumatic brain injury. A friend showed me that Jesus as He went to the cross, took those stripes on His back for the sickness and disability I had been diagnosed with so many years ago. As I saw it not only in the scriptures but saw it with my spiritual eyes/heart, that is when my brain and body woke up in an instant.

I received a revelation knowledge, a knowing without a shadow of a doubt, that when Jesus died on that cross, He died for my sins and the sins of the world which also included my sickness/disability and yours! Know without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus died so that you can live free from sickness and pain.

His story is your story too!

~Donna Jones