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Are you there God?

"Are you there God? If You are real please show me, because I really need you to do something".

These are the words I said out aloud nearly 21 years ago. I was sitting on the edge of my bed in unbearable pain from crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). My legs and feet were so sore and swollen that I could barely hold my body weight up to walk. I had a bottle of open pills in my hand and I was going to take them all in one go. I was at the lowest point of my life...and I wanted to die.

Almost immediately I felt and warmth and a presence in the room. I couldn't explain it, but something was there with me and I felt comforted. The crippling pain, the anguish and thoughts of ending it all seemed to drift away. The pain was still present, but it didn't seem to matter as much. For the first time in years I felt "comfortable".

At that same time a friend of mine was driving in their car. All of a sudden they "felt" they had to stop and go into the bookshop which they drove passed. They didn't know why, but they said they felt compelled. As they walked around the store they found a book titled, "There is a cure for Arthritis". As they flicked through the book they suddenly felt to buy it for me.

Later in the day I was still at home. I was feeling better and not so down as I had earlier been. My friend came over and explained that they felt they had to buy the book for me and wanted to drop it over. I thanked them and put it on my desk and they left.

That night I opened the book and started to read through it. I noticed that it had information on how diet and exercise can help RA. While this was the main theme of the book, I couldn't help notice there were a lot of Bible references. They were references about how God helps those in need, how God is the healer and how He comforts those how call out to Him. The more I read, the more I realised that this book didn't come to me by chance, God played a part in it. It was no co-incidence, it was a God-incidence!

As time went on I realised that day was the start of a journey. A journey that would lead me to the Bible and to Jesus Himself. While people come to God in different ways and at different times of their lives, I can honestly look back and say that if I wasn't suffering so much, I wouldn't had cried out to God and He wouldn't have answered me.

Where are you in your life? Are you struggling with pain and suffering? Are things not working out as you would like? Maybe things are going well and you have it all. Wherever you are, I would encourage you to stop and sit down in a quiet place and say, "Are you there God? If You are real please show me". From experience I know He will, because His greatest desire is to love you and be with you in the good times and the bad, to be your closest friend and companion. Just like He is for me.

By Dave Quinn
Founder PASSION Australia