Turning Points: Our Possible God

By Tammy Schutt

This is the full text of an article published in the Woman to Woman Winter 2007 edition. To subscribe to receive Woman to Woman by email, enter your address in the box on the Women's Ministries Homepage.

This Turning Points features Tammy Shutt. Tammy has spent 18 years serving in the Philippines with Wycliffe Bible Translators. She was back in the states earlier this year and led a workshop at Women in the Word in May. On the mission field, Tammy is a teacher and Administrator at Faith Academy. She loves her family and is passionate about teaching women.

“You want me to do what?” “That’s impossible!”

Have you ever said those words or felt that way? I know I have. However, those words don’t slip out of my mouth quite as quickly anymore. In the past, after I would pronounce something impossible, an uneasy feeling would come over me. I would wonder, “How can I believe in a God who makes all things possible yet I am willing to declare something not possible? This restlessness would awaken a conflict between my limited faith and the God of the impossible.

This past year a Filipino missionary (and friend) serving in the Philippines was diagnosed with the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Sadly, this highly malignant type of tumor can become enormous before turning symptomatic. The news shook everyone. Prayer is a natural response when you care deeply for someone; hence, although the diagnosis was life threatening, many prayed.

Although increased prayer support was needed, the overwhelming problem was money. The cost of the cancer treatment per day would equal the family’s monthly income! With insufficient medical insurance, it was clear the treatment plan was not viable. Who has faith large enough to believe that an entire month’s salary could be made available daily for weeks and weeks of treatment?

The prognosis further complicated the issue. This expensive treatment would not cure my friend from the disease; it only had the potential to limit the tumor’s growth. As we talked together, I listened to them search for hope in the midst of a discouraging time. Even with the meager prospect for financial assistance, they pondered whether they could justify spending such a large amount - if they had it - when the end result would not provide them with a cure. They battled bigger questions also, such as, “How can we spend this much on just one life when these funds could be used for ministry or for others in great need?” With their seven-year-old daughter watching from the sidelines, they eventually made the decision to trust God for the impossible and seek donations to pay for the treatment. More notably, another astounding decision was made. If God chose not to heal through this initial treatment, then he would leave his life in God’s hands, accepting life or death, and not seek further treatment.

As I observed this family walk through this decision-making process, I was humbled by their response. I wondered how much faith I had in this situation. How far was my devotion to God willing to be stretched? Could I trust God to provide enough to cover the cost of the treatment? Could I trust God with his life? What was I willing to do to demonstrate my faith in the God of the impossible? The time was right for me to join an effort to assist this family, an effort that resulted in a worldwide prayer network.

Over the next few months, people around the world heard primarily through email about this Filipino missionary family and their need for prayer and finances. Many responded. Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad offered prayer support and provided financial help. Believers in the U.S. met daily to pray for healing; some in the U.K. prayed and fasted. A Chinese Christian shared the need for prayer with work colleagues; several people shared the prayer request with their churches. Missionaries around the world also offered support. And financial gifts arrived from many countries.

Almost every day emails poured in and each one showed God providing the impossible for this family. It wasn’t long before I received that unforgettable phone call saying the bills were all paid. Against all odds, what had once been declared humanly impossible was accomplished in a divine way. Against all odds, God preserved his life through the time of the treatment; our hope remains in Him for complete healing. The God of the impossible showed Himself through prayer – not only to dear friends – but also to me.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1

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