Written by: Cynthia Butler
A score of teenagers fills the front pews of First Baptist church. They wait in anticipation as the crew of Glowing Hearts prepares to lead worship. Finally tenor tones rise from the middle of the stage:
“Do you see what I see?” Jonathan calls out.
“Do you see what I see?”
Jonathan’s right hand oscillates across the strings of his guitar and his left hand fingers the fret board as he continues to sing.
“Oh, I see signs and I see wonders
I see bursts of living color
Dead things coming back to life again
I believe there’s about to be another resurrection.”
“Signs and wonders” are not just empty lyrics to Jonathan. In fact, had it not been for one of God’s signs and wonders, Jonathan would not even be holding a pick or strumming chords tonight.
When Jonathan was in high school, he began to notice some concerning symptoms. His arms and hands would shake uncontrollably until they were sore. Often they would even jump out in front of him without warning, causing him to strike anyone who happened to be in front of him or to accidentally throw his phone across a room. Sometimes a trigger word or the very thought of this involuntary arm movement would induce yet another occurrence. During certain stages, these incidents could happen as many as 100 times a day. At first Jonathan didn’t know what was causing them. He felt like he was going crazy. but as the twitches and muscle spasms worsened, he realized that he was experiencing Tourette’s syndrome. In retrospect, the evidence had been there for years, because he had been intermittently experiencing something like a hiccup, but this had not been problematic enough to address. Once the tics had begun to escalate and constantly interrupt everyday activities, though, it took a toll on his life.
Many people had prayed over Jonathan; some even prayed for him daily. But there were things in Jonathan’s heart that needed to change first before he would really be ready for healing. He needed to learn how to trust God for his everyday needs.
When he was nearing graduation, God put it on Jonathan’s heart to go into the wilderness to pray with the other seniors at his church. The senior class in Jonathan’s youth group had been a tightly knit group, and they were all in agreement. After praying about it, they decided to go out for a weekend following graduation. One of their friends, a retired missionary, had 300 acres of land. He and his wife frequently let people use their property. This would be the perfect setting for their weekend of prayer.
They arrived about 6:00 after a 2 hour drive, and the group began getting settled into their natural surroundings. They set up a tent and a hammock. They lit a fire to stay warm. It was going to be a cool May night. Around the fire, they placed metal folding chairs. Then, one of their group, Lincoln, began playing guitar and leading in a time of praise. For hours they worshiped. They could see the beautiful cloudless day fading into the sunset; the sky glowing like their camp fire. And God was igniting their spirits, too! They were constantly surrounding each other, laying hands on each other and praying.
Throughout the week of preparation preceding the camp out, one of the group, Nathan, had been writing in the pages of his journal all the things God was telling him that they should pray about during their weekend. So, there, in the circle of fellowship that night, he began sharing what God had instructed. They could tell that God was moving, and about 11:30, Nathan felt the Holy Spirit prompting him.
“I think it’s time for us to pray for Jonathan’s Tourette’s,” he said
The group surrounded Jonathan. He was totally open to being healed. He had already been delivered from small issues before. But it was hard to imagine being rid of Tourette’s, because it had plagued him for so long, even though he had prayed that God would take it away many times before. Living with Tourette’s, Jonathan had started to feel ashamed. I can’t do anything about this; why can’t I just make it stop, he had thought over and over. But in that moment, as his friends lifted their prayers over him, he suddenly felt normal again. He hadn’t felt that way in 3 years. Jonathan immediately noticed a difference in his body, too. He was used to experiencing pain in his arms caused by all the muscle spasms. But the pain was gone. He had grown accustomed to his mind being invaded by constant thoughts and his legs being racked with constant shaking; but now, all of that was gone, too, and it just felt quiet. The night was still as if in anticipation; even the forest creatures were silent.
Jonathan felt a spark of hope in that holy moment, but he was also scared that this reprieve in symptoms was temporary. After all, Tourette’s is often affected by thoughts. He was afraid that it was only because he was wanting so much for Tourette’s to be gone that it was just not revealing itself in that moment. There was one way to test himself, but it was hard to bring himself to try it.
Years ago when Jonathan’s family was talking about how words could potentially become triggers for Tourettes, someone mentioned that hypothetically, if the word “freeze” was a trigger word, just hearing it could cause a tic. Unfortunately, because of the association from their conversation that day, “freeze” actually did become a trigger word for John.
After receiving prayer on this crucial night, Jonathan wanted to confirm whether healing had really taken hold. So he tried to say the word “freeze”, but he was too afraid. One of the friends surrounding him in that moment, though, knew about the word “freeze” and how it affected Jonathan. By Jonathan’s request, he spoke the tell-tale trigger word. Nothing happened. One by one, all the other guys said the same word. Still nothing.
Jonathan literally jumped for joy and began to run around, enjoying his newfound freedom! It was in the middle of the night, and he couldn’t see where he was going. But he was so full of joy, he didn’t know what to do with it. It felt unreal, like he was living a dream.
Jonathan wanted to share the exciting news, too. One of the guys in their group was not with them that night, because he was on a mission trip in Romania. Although it was very late at night, because of the time difference, it was earlier in Romania. So Jonathan called him right away to tell him about the miracle. His friend was amazed and began passing on the news to people he had met in Romania, too! So, in a way, the testimony of Jonathan’s healing turned into a ministry to people around the world right away.
Jonathan would also soon have an opportunity to become involved in international ministry himself. He had planned to go on a mission trip to Japan that summer. But as he had been anticipating the trip, he wondered whether Tourette’s would be a hindrance. Perhaps the people he encountered there would see what was happening to him and think it was weird. And because of the language barrier it would be hard to explain. There were even safety issues to consider. For example, the main transportation in Japan was biking. If he had gotten on a bike while he still had Tourette’s, one tic could have thrown him off, causing an injury. But God answered all of these concerns by healing Jonathan right in time! And Jonathan’s time in Japan was such a blessing; a week he would never forget; an opportunity for God to move in the lives of the people there, just as He had moved in Jonathan’s life in so many ways.
When he returned from Japan, Jonathan continued to take full advantage of his newfound freedom by learning guitar. Every strum was a celebration of God’s healing; because without that gift, playing guitar would be impossible! Now Jonathan uses his guitar skills in ministry settings. He is a part of a team called Glowing Heart that travels to various churches to disciple youth, and he also plays for his church’s college ministry called Cornerstone.
In the months following the miraculous camp out, Jonathan was so happy to be free from Tourette’s. But his happiness was mixed with confusion. He wondered why he continued to struggle with other heath issues. God was clearly able to heal him. Why had God healed him from one condition and left him with others?
Since then, God has shown him in so many ways how those things have touched people’s lives. These difficulties have given him opportunities to help other people who are going through similar issues. And Jonathan also recognizes that they drive him to pray constantly, because they are a reminder of how much he needs Jesus.
Jonathan has seen enough evidence of God’s supernatural power in his own life to know that God may yet heal all of these things in the future. But, most importantly, he knows that he can take courage in the Lord regardless of what he’s going through. Jonathan says it’s all about “yielding to God’s will no matter what, ‘cause He has a plan.”