Good morning church.

This testimony is long overdue. For a very long time, I had been struggling with lower-back pain. In 2010, a diagnosis of lumbrosacral disc prolapse was given and physiotherapy was prescribed. After a few episodes of pain flare-ups that confined me to the bed for weeks, I learnt to manage and avoid aggravating the condition.

In April 2022, the pain worsened – from cramping, I started to have excruciating pain in my buttocks and legs. It steadily got worse until I couldn’t stand straight or move normally, I had to wear a corset constantly and I was moving from one painkiller to the other, as none seemed to alleviate the pain.

At the beginning of August, I saw a specialist who placed me on physiotherapy, a cocktail of drugs and asked me to do an MRI. By this time, I couldn’t laugh, sneeze, cough, move or stand for up to a minute without the most excruciating pain knifing through my back and down my legs. When the spasms hit, anything I was holding would crash to the floor. I had to sleep with 3 pillows and in weird positions, just so the pain would allow me to close my eyes. I couldn’t step out of my house for days at a time, whenever I had to, I was wearing a corset and high on drugs

The pain was “front and centre” in my life so much so that death started to look attractive

My family, friends and unit members kept praying for me. I remember two of my unit members on either side of me holding my hands in church one day and praying for me when I was gasping and crying in pain during the service.

Now my first testimony is that in all of this, I didn’t lose my joy, the devil couldn’t steal it!

I stayed joyful, kept speaking life into my body and claiming my healing. I couldn’t even stand for praise worship in church, let alone dance but I didn’t let it stop my praise!

My second testimony is that I was terrified of doing the MRI because of severe claustrophobia, but Jesus stepped into that machine with me, I experienced such an awesome presence of God there, peace blanketed me to the point that I didn’t want them to pull me out after the procedure

When the surgeon looked at my MRI, he told me that I should have been carried in, that I was only walking because age was on my side. He said I would have to do surgery ASAP, to the tune of over 4 million naira. I came out of his office and howled in laughter at the devil and told him that he came too late, there would be no surgery!

During the August edition of mercy Encounters, I told God that on the first day of the Higher Ground conference, I was going to stand and dance. From that day, I started to have this throbbing sensation in my back and I kept declaring “God is working”

That day was the last time I used my corset and drugs, it was as if a reversal was happening, first the pain in my legs reduced to cramping, then stopped altogether and the pain in my back reduced drastically.

Brethren, I stood and I danced during the Higher ground conference and I have been dancing since then.

I was waiting until the minimal pain left was completely gone before I share my testimony but I realised that the fact that I can burst into dance moves praising God, I am no longer walking like an invalid old woman and that I even forget about the negligible pain most times is testimony enough and even as I share this. 

God will perfect the rest to His praise and glory. AMEN