'Keep Your House In Order'

By Wilfred Marimuthu, Subang Jaya USJ 1 (Summit) Chapter

In my early days, I had served as a church leader in Kuching and led a cell group in my house. I co-founded theFGBMF Kuching Chapter and was active organizing the FGBMF weekly meetings and monthly luncheons.

As my work and church activities and commitment increased, my quiet time with God decreased. I did not seek God to be convicted by His Words. I was merely God’s social worker doing His community service. I also spent less time with my wife. Soon my marriage began to suffer. Likewise, my ministry began to run dry.

One thing led to another and soon I drifted away and backslided into the world of ungodliness, idolatry, disobedience and immorality. I know God and had tasted His sweetness and yet I had turned away from Him.

I began to build my plans without God. Jesus was not within me, neither was He before me to guide me nor behind me to guard me. He was not even beside me to be a part of my life. I let Jesus to stand aside as I decided my own future.

However, in early 2003, God held me captive and gave me another chance. The cardiologist did an angiogram and found that I had two 100% blocked arteries on the posterior and another artery badly blocked. He was surprised that with the extensive blockage I did not suffer even a mild heart attack. As I was on blood thinning medication I could not be operated upon immediately. During the three weeks before my surgery I went back to work not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to climb the corporate ladder.

I was wheeled into the operating theatre at 8am on March 25, and after ten hours I was wheeled out with five bypasses done. For a while everything was fine and then I began to find it difficult to breathe and felt drowsy. After a while I felt very light and floated towards the ceiling. When I looked down I could see a body on the bed and realized that it was mine. Thinking it was a dream I stretched out my hand to touch but felt nothing.

Suddenly fear overwhelmed me. My spirit and body were separated. Although I could see and feel my body all around, my spirit was in darkness. There were many evil eyes looking at me and I could smell the foul air of rotting flesh. I felt myself being strangled. It was nauseating and suffocating and yet I could not throw up.

Then I remembered the many testimonies I had heard about the name of Jesus and the sinner’s prayer. In my desperation I shouted out aloud to Jesus for help! My spirit was weeping as I cried out to the Lord.

As I wept I felt a warm embrace, the fear disappeared and I heard a warm and soft voice say, “I love you My child and I look at you with eternal eyes”. I felt the warmth and the comfort and wanted to stay that way for as long as possible. My spirit was at peace and then the voice spoke again, “Be still my child and know I am God”.

I felt a fresh wind gushing and I could see a brightness in the distance. It was like the brightness of the dawn of a new day. I strongly believe God had given me a glimpse of His Glory. My spirit was drifting and there was a yearning to reach out to the light.

I cried out to the Lord that I couldn’t go, as I should be with my wife and little daughter. I also told the Lord that if I go now I would not leave a good testimony. I pleaded with God for my life. Then in a flash I could see the events of my life before me; frame by frame and then dwelled on two incidents in my life, sins that were committed again and again, they had displeased God. Then I heard a firm voice say, “Keep your house in order”.

In a flash I saw a vision of a mountain and a city below it. The top of the mountain was covered in clouds. Water was flowing from the mountain into the city and there were a multitude of people with despair on their faces. In my spirit I heard, “It was not you that have done these things for Me. You did not choose Me but I chose you. You were My vessel to bring the blessings to these people. You should seek My face with a grateful heart that I have used you.” My spirit was filled with remorse and shame and realized that God was dealing with my pride. I felt another arm embrace me and I fervently promised God that I would change and that with His help I would obey Him.

God impressed upon my heart that He would give me a new life and that He had heard my plea and would honour me and give me back my life. The final word was, “Seek Me and I will give you strength”.

Later I felt a sharp pain and as I opened my eyes, the surgeon was smiling at me. I asked what time it was. And he said five in the morning, indeed it was the dawn of a new day. God had given me a new day, a new life and another chance.

I spent three days in the intensive care unit. My wound was not healing completely because there were no blood capillaries feeding the incision area. The surgeon then cleaned the wound and deftly removed all the dead tissues. I cried out to the Lord and continued to claim God’s complete healing.

After 14 days I went home and began my recuperation. My wife drove me twice a day to the medical centre to have my wound cleaned. I began to communicate more with my wife and I saw the many goodness in her that I never had time to see.

The wound healed in nine months and soon after I began to experience a spiritual attack. Doubts crept into my mind as I began to ask questions.

One night, my cell leader interceded for me and God gave him a verse from 2 Kings 20. I read that chapter and felt the peace of God and believed that what happened to King Hezekiah would happen to me too. When I read the words, “Keep your house in order” I knew that I was not hallucinating and that it was real.

Soon, my family life changed for the better. God is now the centre of my life. Today there is joy in my family. Though I still have my daily life struggles but with God’s help, I’m keeping my (physical and spiritual) house back in order. I know in Christ we are more than conquerors and I hold dear to the promises of God and worship Him every day. Praise God for His goodness and mercy.