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Part 72: Where All Journeys Grow

Chapter 17: Healing

V2.0 – 10/07/2025

I woke the next morning ready for the day’s work. I ate in the mess hall and then went about my morning cleaning duties. I soon found myself scrubbing the aft deck near the main bridge of the huge ship. I splashed the cleaning solution on the course deck plating and then scrubbed it with the heavy brush. The sun was shining off the waters of the surrounding ocean near blinding me as I worked. The wind from our passage felt so good on my sun-drenched skin.

I paused and took a deep breath. I stood for a moment leaning against the handle of the large brush. This was not what I expected of this journey, but then I hadn’t expected an overland journey to a seaport either. Come to think of it I realized I hadn’t known what to expect at all. God’s ways were never what I expected them to be. His path to a destination was never the most direct route.

I mused on that for a few moments feeling the sun beating down on my exposed skin.

A scream of pain echoed across the ship and reached my ears breaking me from my thoughts. I dropped the brush and scrambled across deck toward the direction of the screams. I wound my way through the stacked shipping containers that were piled on the deck like children’s blocks. I rounded a corner and stopped as I reached the bow of the ship where the onboard mounted crane sat.

Below the drooping crane I saw a nightmare. Juan lay trapped under a medium sized metal crate which laid atop his right leg crushing it. Juan struggled to pull his leg free as he gripped his thy and screamed in pain. His cursing filled the air. I walked closer to the scene unfolding in front of me. I watched helplessly as the other sailors arrived and began to work to free him.

“Anything I can do?” I shouted to them. No one answered me.

One man climbed into the crane and managed to get it moving again. He used it to lift the crate off of Juan’s crushed leg. There was a great deal of blood on the deck below Juan. I could see the exposed bone of his leg. It was horrible. I felt sick at the sight of the gore.

Compassion overwhelmed me.

At that moment time seemed to slow and stop. I stood there in the middle of the nightmare with everyone moving very slowly. My perception of the spiritual world erupted around me. I saw the Dark One’s minions climbing about the crane laughing and jeering at the carnage they had wrought.

“He’s gonna die!” One of them shouted to its companion.

“Yes, surely yes!” The other minion cried in triumph.

I was sickened by it all. I sense my guardian angels standing to both sides of me. There was a flash of light, and a wind blew across the deck. Jesus stood next to me. The Holy Spirit filled me to overflowing. I was overcome with peace and joy.

Jesus looked me in the eye and said, “Follow me and do what I do.”

I nodded to Him. Jesus began to walk toward Juan. I mirrored His movements, walking in step with Him. The Dark One’s minions shrieked in terror and vanished.

The workers stared at me as I approached. Something in the way I walked towards them caused them to stand up and step back. Juan held his leg tightly looking up at me in pain. Jesus stood next to me.

I heard Jesus say, “Don’t fear.” And so I said, “Don’t fear.” To Juan.

Juan’s mouth gaped open as he watched me mirror Jesus bending down and putting my hand to his leg.

The moment Jesus’ hand and my hand overlapping one another touched Juan’s leg light burst from His leg.

Jesus and I said in unison, “Through and by the use of the Name of Jesus, I heal you.”

I watched in awe as the light poured out of the wound. I watched with a surge of joy as Juan’s leg stitched itself back together and became whole. I heard the gasps from the crew watching me on the deck of the ship. Juan took a deep breath and relaxed. His leg was now whole again.

Jesus and I stood unison and my awareness of the spiritual world faded from my perception.

“El Diablo!” One of the crewmen shouted in horror at me and then ran away down the deck.

The other crewman approached and examined Juan’s leg unable to believe what they had just witness.

Juan looked up at me in wonder and said, “Thank you.”

“I did nothing but obey. Jesus Christ has healed you today.” I told him taking a step back from the crowd.

I spent the next few minutes sharing the gospel with those gathered around me. I told them of Jesus’ death for their sins if only they would believe on Him. I told them that it was Jesus who had healed Juan so that they would listen to the good news. I asked if any of them would like to accept Jesus as their savior. No one moved or said anything. They all just stared at me.

I turned and walked away back toward where I had been cleaning. I was stunned. I was overwhelmed. I was so full of joy I couldn’t contain it. The Holy Spirit filled me and made it so hard to think. I felt like I was on fire. The wind blowing across the deck felt good against my Holy Spirit burning flesh. Tears stung my eyes. I wiped them away with a dirty sleeve.

“Thank you.” I told the Lord.

The Holy Spirit whispered to me, “Everywhere I send you; I send you with a purpose. Sometimes you will see that purpose and know it. Sometimes you will not. Trust My leading. Trust My plan.”

I let His Words wash over me and sink deep into my heart.

I found my brush again and picked it up. I began to clean again. I scrubbed the deck, washing it clean. I splashed cleaning solution on a new area and then scrubbed it. The morning passed. I thought about all that had just happened.

I had read about healing in the Word of God, but this was the first time I had experienced it myself. I knew I wouldn’t ever be the same man again. I tried to put the pieces together in my mind.

God told me that I was going to climb a mountain. He told me to sell everything and go. I was tempted by a rich man but overcame that temptation. I was given a ride by a sweet old couple who had been shown where I was by God in a dream. I had been given another ride by a foreign family who were obeying God which ended in their deaths but my survival. I had reached the port and been given a job on this ship. This morning I had prayed for a man who probably would have died otherwise and seen him completely healed right before my eyes. I had just preached the gospel to a group of sailors aboard this ship.

Each event of the journey so far was burned in my mind. None of it seemed connected and the whys of it all confused me. Meribah, my final destination, was in Israel. I was somewhere in the vast Atlantic ocean cruising Southward aboard a cargo ship. How was I going to get from where I was to where God had told me I would get to? A million questions sprung up.

I heard clapping behind me and turned to see the Dark One leaning against the railing of the ship behind me. He stood when I saw him and walked toward me as he continued to clap mockingly.

“Well done. Well done. Healing a man, how wonderful! How amazing! How incredible! You must feel so proud of yourself.” He sang mockingly at me.

I stood my ground holding my brush tightly. His words made me sick.

He reached me and bowed to the ground. Up and down he threw his body in mock worship of me.

My guardian angels stepped in front of me, hands gripping their swords at the ready. I took a step back and felt the railing behind me on my lower back.

“Why are you here?” The Dark One asked, singing his contempt.

“I am doing what God has asked me to do.” I told him flatly.

He stopped his mock bowing and stood to his feet. He pointed a twisted finger at me and said, “You will die if you continue on this journey. I will make sure of that. Stop now before I succeed at killing you. Go home. Go back to where you are known. Go back to where you are safe. Build up wealth for yourself. I won’t bother you there. You can live in peace. And, as a great bonus, you’ll never have to see me again.”

His words felt like sludge thrown at me. I ignored them. I turned from him and went back to cleaning the deck. I wondered why God allowed the Dark One to torment me so much.

I wondered how the crew of the ship would handle the healing. I thought of the man who had called me the devil and run away. Such a strange reaction to such a wonderful event.

I heard footsteps on the deck and saw Juan walking up to me. He reached me and said, “I don’t know how you did what you did but thank you.”

I leaned the brush on the railing and sat down on a nearby bench. I motioned for Juan to join me. I spent the next hour telling him more about the God I loved so much, and of the gospel, and more about how to be saved. I shared why I believed God had healed him. I watched him in the spiritual realm and saw faith growing in him. It was incredible to watch as God transformed this man’s heart.

“Do you want to accept Jesus as your Savior?” I asked him.

“Yes, I do.” He said.

And so I prayed with him right there on the deck. I had a new brother in Christ. I was filled with a tangible joy. This made all the journey so far worth it and I knew that no matter what I faced as I traveled forward with God it would all be worth it.

When we finished praying he went back to work saying, “Thank you again, I’m going to tell everyone I meet about what God did for me today.”

I nodded to him and watched him walk away a new man.

“I see now.” I told God as I went back to cleaning the deck of the ship.

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