Early in my two and a half year stint in the Finance Division of the Ministry of Defence (Mindef), I fell ill. I experienced fever, some nausea and abdominal pain that increased in intensity.

This was three or four years into the revival that I experienced. I had read books and heard sermons on divine healing. I prayed and had faith that I would be healed supernaturally by God’s power. I was believing God despite the symptoms that refused to subside. In fact, the symptoms became worse. I began to vomit.

My dear mother had been telling me to go to the clinic from the beginning, but I simply refused, telling her that it was not that serious and that it would go away. However, she could see I was not improving, and the last straw was when I began to vomit. She insisted I see a doctor, and I finally relented.

We went together to a clinic at Jalan Teck Whye. The doctor saw me and immediately called for an ambulance. He said I needed an emergency operation. I was sent to Singapore General Hospital. There, I underwent an appendicitis operation. I stayed there for a few days.

A nurse told me that I was mumbling in some strange language. I forgot whether it was before the operation or after the operation. I was definitely speaking in tongues.   

Till today, I see the two-inch scar on the right-hand side of my abdomen. It is an ugly scar. I probably contributed to the suturing skill of a surgical trainee in the hospital.

I was an army private and recovered in a C-class ward. Mindef paid the medical bills. Of course, it had to!

I am grateful to my mother for her love and wisdom; to the doctors, surgeons and nurses for probably saving my life.

Ultimately, it was God who saved me. I thank God for the precious lesson that was etched in my body and soul: God is God, and I am not. Always be open to how God wants to heal us: whether supernaturally by an instantaneous or gradual healing, or a combination of medical means and God’s grace.

In my case, I wanted a supernatural healing, but God knew I needed surgery.