CHAPTER 20

Trampoline

Several years ago, my son Daniel was jumping on the trampoline with my daughter, Ocean. I was in the lounge, having tea with my wife, when we heard a high-pitched scream from outside. I ran out the front door and looked in the direction of the wailing. I spotted my children about eighty meters away, in the neighbor’s yard, where they sometimes jumped trampoline. I dashed across our patio toward them.

While running across the lawn, I felt the spontaneous anointing of the Holy Spirit—amazing peace and bountiful joy filled me. After roughly another twenty meters, words arose and—while running—I called out to the Lord: “Lord, please rise up with healing in Your wings.” Although they came from my mouth, they were not my words; I had just prayed God’s will. His joy in me blossomed into exuberance, making me laugh while running toward my children. Instead of feeling panic, I felt like a superhero flying courageously to someone’s aid.

I met a weeping Daniel and his sombre sister making their way back home. Daniel was walking in a slow, stiff, upright manner. A miraculous healing was about to unfold.

As I reach them, they stop walking. Although my soul brims excitedly with God’s joy, my outward laughter ceases, now inappropriate given the anguish of my children. Daniel sobs as Ocean explains in earnest what had happened. While on the trampoline together, she had boosted Daniel. Trampoline jumpers should be familiar with this action: two jumpers hit the mat fairly close together, one timed slightly earlier in order to boost the other to a greater altitude than they can reach on their own. We also loved doing that as children. When all goes well, it’s a fantastic thrill. However, based on their report, it seems both Daniel’s timing and balance were off, causing injury. Instead of propelling his body upward, the boosting force rammed into Daniel’s back from below.

While hearing this, the likelihood of permanent back injury registers in my mind. Even so, that fear merely flutters by and vanishes. I ask Daniel to stop crying. Instead of taking my cue from the obvious injury before me, I turn my heart to God and await Word from Him. I’m highly charged with faith for this specific situation, since His incredible presence already expressed His willingness to heal.

After a moment of waiting on God, the Holy Spirit instructs me to ask Daniel to forgive Ocean. Daniel willingly forgives his sister. I quietly ask God if the forgiveness is complete and He confirms it is. Ocean’s grave expression reveals her concern for her brother’s condition. I send her home so that I may pray for her brother.

While standing, we bow our heads and pray a simple prayer, thanking God for being with us and asking Him for His Word. After the prayer we are quiet, waiting on God. A moment later the Lord speaks to me: “Wait on Me. I will tell you exactly what to do.”

After a short wait, His gentle answer comes: “Tell Daniel to bend.” After hearing the instruction, Daniel tries to bend forward but cannot. Backwards—nothing. Sideways—no. Just incredible pain when he tries bending in any direction. All he can do is stand up straight as a pole. Fear attacks me again. Again I turn to God, quietly thank Him in faith, and wait.

I hear Him say: “Slam him on the back!”

Now, that’s not even something I’d do to a healthy, able person, much less a person with a back injury, and it’s surely not something a person with severe back pain wants to hear. On top of all that, I’m not a guy who hits people—I steer clear of violent confrontations and prefer peace. So this command from God is far outside my comfort zone. God could have commanded anything, but He specifically said this. It was an obvious test of my faith: a peace-loving adult man having to hit an injured teenage boy.

I tell Daniel that God will heal him, that I was instructed to slam him on his back, and I ask if he will trust God with me. Without any detectable hesitation, Daniel affirms he’s ready. I marvel at his faith, which must have come as a divine gift from God, since it couldn’t possibly be from natural reason.

I question God about where, how, and how hard to hit my son’s back. Instantly knowledge arrives from beyond me: on his lower back with my hand flat. How hard to hit my son is to be a measure of my faith. I resolve to slam Daniel as hard as I possibly can, placing my full trust in God for the outcome. The fear of causing further injury to my son tempts me to stop, but I remain convinced of God’s healing and totally determined to proceed.

While standing behind my upright son, I place my left hand firmly on his left shoulder to prevent him from flying forward from the anticipated force. I then pull my right arm as far back as I can and swing with all my might in order to satisfy God’s evaluation of my faith. My right palm strikes Daniel’s lower back so hard that my hand is on fire with stinging pain.

“Now ask him to bend,” says the Lord. Daniel can now bend forwards, but not in any of the other three directions. Again fear rises up as my mind considers the incomplete healing.

I hear God say: “Now wait on Me and do exactly as I say.” I wait, banishing all doubts and affirming God.

God says: “Slam him again.” Daniel agrees and I hit him again—mighty hard. Again my right hand erupts with excruciating pain. We test him and now Daniel can also bend fully sideways, left and right. God’s healing work is advancing.

With my hand still stinging, my concern turns to Daniel’s back where I’ve been hitting him. I ask him to lift his shirt. My red handprint is clearly visible on his skin. I ask him if he was hurt when I hit him. He says he didn’t feel a thing either time.

Daniel still can’t bend backwards. I wait on God and see a vision of what to do. Is Daniel willing to do it? Yes!

I stand with my back against his back and instruct him to lift his arms straight up. I reach overhead and backward to grab his extended hands with my hands. I pull his arms up and bend over forward. The action lifts Daniel up onto my back, with his back now lying on mine. I bend over parallel to the ground and hold him there. As I reach that position, the virtue of God pours over us and I start quietly weeping at the magnificence of God’s presence. Wave after wave of divine virtue flows through us. My legs feel like jelly from God’s goodness, but we hold the position. The Lord tells me to not set Daniel down yet but to wait until He commands it. I keep Daniel on my back while His virtue still flows. After about a minute, I hear the Lord say: “Now set him down.” The two of us come upright.

“Ask him to bend.” Daniel thoroughly tests his bending ability in all directions. The results are perfectly positive. With the healing complete, he starts running off. “Hey, come back here!” He returns for me to tell him: “First thank God for what He has done for you.” My son thanks God with a verbal prayer and walks off.

Later that afternoon, Daniel was jumping on the trampoline again.

All glory to God my Father in Heaven!

God healed my son perfectly within ten minutes. If I didn’t have God, or had God but didn’t obey, or had God but was filled with fear, or Daniel lacked faith, this could have been a hospital case; X-rays and perhaps permanent damage to his back. This accident and miracle happened many years ago. Today, Daniel is an athletic young man without recurring back problems since.

If Daniel was unwilling to forgive his sister that day, I would have begged him to do so. If he still refused, I’m quite certain God’s healing for him would not have flowed.

I can say with certainty that God helped Daniel to forgive and gave him the faith required to believe and follow His instructions, no matter how crazy they may have sounded. For us, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, God’s instructions were acceptable. And so too were the results of His wonderful healing.