Stories of healing abound at All Saints Dallas. Tumors have shrunk, backs have straightened, and relationships have mended. While these stories of immediate, visible restoration are worth sharing, today I want to share a testimony of someone who wasn't healed. 

I have a friend who lives with chronic pain; I'll call her Sarah. While Sarah pursued any number of therapeutic remedies for her discomfort, she never asked God for healing. Doing so was totally beyond her expectations of how God acts in the world.

At an ASD healing service, like the one we'll have this Sunday, Sarah did something outside of her comfort zone: she raised her hand and asked to receive healing prayer. Not only did Sarah raise her hand, but in that moment she did something she'd never done before: she expected God to show up. 

While I know God will heal Sarah one day, He didn't that day—and still hasn't. But something did happen to Sarah. The Monday following the healing service, a thought came into Sarah's head that she could only describe as being "from God." It was an encouraging message she understood she needed to deliver to her friend. The following week she had a similar experience, but this time she received a word of knowledge for a stranger at the grocery store. Since the healing service, Sarah's prophetic gift has continued to blossom.

After she shared all this with me, I asked her why she thought God was speaking to her in this new way. She told me that, before the healing service, she didn't expect much from God. She never heard from Him because she didn't listen, and she didn't listen because she didn't expect Him to involve Himself in her life.

That all changed at the healing service. Since that day, Sarah has lived a life of expectation. Her prayers have stopped being monologues. She'll often sit in silence, waiting, expecting God to show up. Sarah's body stayed the same after the healing service, but her life changed.

At our healing service this Sunday, I have no idea what will happen. Perhaps God will heal everyone immediately, or maybe He won't. For who can know the mind of the Lord? What I do know with every fiber of my being is that God will show up: He will act, He will speak, He will heal. The question is, will we show up? Will we come as children, ready to receive bread from a good Father? 

Here is the lesson we can all take from Sarah's testimony: When we expect nothing from God, we often have our expectations met. But when we expect great things from God, those expectations are exceeded. He doesn't always show up in the way we expect, but show up He does!