What’s Your Fig?

“They took a cake of figs and laid it on the boil,
and he recovered.”-1 Kings 20:7

  Scriptures tells us that, Yahuwah is the one who heals us (Exodus 15:26) and that He heals all our diseases (Psalms 103:2-3). Yet for His specific reasons He will use ‘figs’ so to speak in bringing full restoration to one’s body!

  Quite a few people feel that all sickness comes from sin. Indeed sin can bring sickness to a person. As in the case, with the man who had an ailment waiting to get in the pool of Bethesda, to be healed. I’m sure you, remember the story of how when the pool water was stirred up whoever made it into the pool would be healed. That day the man wouldn’t need to try to get into the pool water because Yahushua was there to heal him. After he received his healing, Yahushua told the man, “See, you have been made well, Sin no more, so that no worse matter befalls you.” –John 5:14

  In this situation clearly the man, made some bad sinful choices that led to his condition. Yahushua warned him to sin no more or else something worse would come upon him. However, a lot of times a person’s disease, sickness or even an injury is not due to a specific sin. Johnathon’s son for example, he became lame in his feet when the woman taking care of him picked him up to flee. He fell and became lame in both his feet at age 5. We are vessels that through our trials and tribulations can bring esteem to Yahuwah. During the time of Yahushua, it was not uncommon for people to also think that certain ailments were the result of sin which they are. Yet Yahushua wanted us to know that not all ailments are from sin, some are for other purposes.

“And, passing by, He saw a man blind from his mother’s womb. And his disciples asked Him, “Our Master, who sinned, this one or his parents that he was born blind?” Yahushua answered “Neither this one nor his parents sinned, but that the works of Elohim might be revealed in him. It is necessary to work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night comes when no one is able to work. While I am in the World I am the Light of the World. “When He said these things He spat upon the ground and mixed clay with His saliva, and He rubbed it on the eyes of the blind man. And He said unto him, “Go purify yourself in the baptismal of Siloam” which translated is Sent. Then he went and washed and came seeing.”
John (Yohanan) 9: 2-7

  Clearly, some of us have certain ailments not because of some sin that we have done or even a generation curse. But for Yahuwah to be esteemed in these earthly vessels of ours! What is interesting is that Yahushua took the clay and mixed it with HIS DNA by means of saliva. That was the blind man’s fig that brought full restoration of his sight. HalleluYah!

  Through-out Scriptures we find many more instances when a healing came in the form of a fig. For instance, the river Jordon turned out to be a fig for the man who had leprosy. We all know Yahuwah could have healed him instantly but there was a lesson to be taught and one to be learned:

“And Elisha sent a messenger to him saying, “Go, and you shall wash seven times in the Yarden, that your flesh might be restored to you, and be clean. But Na’aman became wroth, and went away and said, ‘See, I said to myself, ‘He would certainly come out to me, and stand and call on the Name of Yahuwah his Elohim, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leprosy.’ “Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Dammseq, better than all the waters of Yisra’el?” Could I not wash in them and be clean? And he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had spoken to you a great matter, Would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, “Wash, and be clean?” Then he went down and dipped seven times in the Yarden, according to the word of the man of Elohim. And his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” -2 Kings 5:10-14

  There are times when just faith and belief alone will be the needed fig to heal. This poor dear sister went to all kinds of doctors having various tests done and she spend quite a lot of money to get healed. Yet she had enough faith that if she just touched His tzitzit she would be healed:

“And see, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from the behind and touched the tzitzit of His (Yahushua) garment. For she said to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I shall be healed.” But when Yahushua turned, and when He saw her He said, “Take courage, daughter, your belief has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that hour.”
-MattithYahu/Matthew 9:20-22

  I even remember how this centurion had enough faith that all Yahushua had to say was ‘a word’ and his servant would be healed:

“So Yahushua went with them. However, He was not far from the house when the captain sent friends to Him saying to Him, “Master, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. For this reason I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I too am a man appointed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go’ and he goes, and to another, “Come,” and he comes, and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.” And when Yahushua heard this, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, not even in Yisra’el have I found such great belief!” -Luke 7:6-9

“ This one heard Sha’ul speaking, who, looking intently at him and seeing that he had belief to be healed,  said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And he sprang up and began to walk.”
-Acts 14:9-10

  Having belief in His name can even bring healing:

“And by the belief in His Name, this one whom you see and know, His Name made strong, and the belief which comes through Him has given him this perfect healing before all of you.” –Acts 3:16

  Having or being near other called out ones can be a good thing. Especially if they doubt faith, because the faith of the elders could indeed be a fig to heal them:

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, having anointed him with oil in the Name of the Master. And the prayer of the belief shall save the sick, and the Master shall raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he shall be forgiven”-James 5:14-15

  Miryam, Lazarus’ sister had enough faith that if Yahushua had just been there her brother would not have died:

“Miryam, therefore, when she came where Yahushua was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Master, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” -John 11:32

Other times certain people have been given authority to be the fig that heals others:

“And having called His twelve taught ones near, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every bodily weakness. “-Mattithyahu/Matthew 10:1

“And Ḥananyah went away and went into the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Sha’ul, the Master Yahushua, who appeared to you on the way as you came, has sent me, so that you might see again and be filled with the Set-apart Spirit.”  And immediately there fell from his eyes, as it were scales, and he received his sight. And rising up, he was immersed.” –Acts 9:17-18

 “And in the neighbourhood of that place there were lands of the chief of the island, whose name was Poplius, who received us and housed us in a friendly way for three days. And it came to be that the father of Poplius lay sick with inflammation and dysentery. Sha’ul went in to him, and having prayed he laid his hands on him and healed him. And when this took place, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.”-Acts 28:7-9

“And in Lustra there was sitting a certain man, disabled in his feet, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked.  This one heard Sha’ul speaking, who, looking intently at him and seeing that he had belief to be healed, said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And he sprang up and began to walk.”-Acts 14:8-10

  Yahushua’s very stripes are figs for healing:

“Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the timber, so that we, having died to sins might live unto righteousness by whose stripes you were healed.” -1 Peter/Kepha 2:24

Did you know that even words can be a healing fig:

“ Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweet to the being, and healing to the bones.” -Proverbs 16:24

“A healing tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it crushes the spirit.” -Proverbs 15:4

A rejoicing heart can be a healing fig:

“A rejoicing heart causes good healing, But a stricken spirit dries the bones.”-Proverbs 17:22

We also know that leaves can be a fig for healing the nations:

“In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”  -Revelation 22:2

  We have covered a lot of different types of ‘figs’ that Yahuwah will use to bring full healing to someone. Yet there is one more that we would like to talk about. This is a story of one beloved Sister and how Yahuwah healed her and restored her to heath through foods:

 
“Be healed!”

  At the hearing of those words the tears began to fall from my sunken eyes, burning my skin as each rolled down my cheek. I anxiously awaited, barely breathing as I didn’t want to miss this! At any moment some supernatural healing was going to overcome me! Oh yeah, I was so ready for this epiphany! Shouts of praise were already starting to roll off my tongue. “Wait for it…” I told myself… Yahuwah spoke it so my healing was coming.
Therefore, I eagerly yet patiently waited…and waited! The ticking of the clock echoed loudly as the seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours. As time slowly passed, I began to wonder did somehow my supernatural healing slip through my fingertips. Had I missed it? Or had these last two years of escaping death that had been chasing at my heels, somehow caused me to become totally delusional? Then, doubt showed up knocking at the door to my heart. Truly, if I was healed, then I should have had the energy to get up from a slumber state singing, dancing and giving shouts of praise.

  Surprisingly, that didn’t happen at all. My epiphany didn’t come…at least not the way I had hoped anyhow. Undoubtedly, there was a lesson that I needed to learn. If He healed me instantaneously, I would not have learned the vital information for my survival. Instead I would have continued on the path of totally destroying myself due to a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). I am thus reminded of the wise saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Handing out answers is easy. Teaching takes love and patience, while learning takes work! In His great mercy He did just that for me!

You See, My Healing Came with a Fig

A fig you ask? Here, let me explain. There once was a King of a great nation named Hezekiah. He got really sick and almost died. A prophet named Isaiah came to him and told him to get his house in order as he was indeed going to die. Upon hearing his death was a sure matter, the King being a humble man, turned his head and began to pray! Isaiah the prophet left and went about his business. Just then in a remarkable twist of faith, Yahuwah tells Isaiah to tell the King that He did hear his prayer and that he would give him fifteen more years! Isaiah then declares for them to “Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered!” (2 Kings 20:1-10)

Amazing! One must ponder who did the healing? Yahuwah or the figs? Of course some would say the figs. Yet I believe the Creator used His creation of the figs in bringing the King full restoration to his body! The Scripture states, “….Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:12). I, like King Hezekiah, needed a fig to bring full restoration to my rapidly deteriorating body.

  The very next day or shortly thereafter, I stumbled upon: “If a patient can be cured at all, it must be by the means of diet.”-Dr. Samuel Gee, 1888. This was mentioned in Dr. Sidney Haas’s fascinating book “Management of Celiac Disease.” Upon reviewing Dr. Haas’s case studies I looked just like the typical children featured in his book. I looked like I came right out of a concentration camp during WW II. My eyes were sunken, bones I didn’t know existed had suddenly appeared, yet I had a protruding stomach. I learned that Dr. Samuel Gee (English Physician and Pediatrician) also claimed that starchy food such as rice and corn were unfit! “What? Are you kidding me?” I thought. Practically everything that is gluten-free is made up of either corn or rice flour. These had become my staples since living a strict gluten-free diet for seven months.

I Then Learned the Startling Facts

The typical gluten-free diet had not always been the treatment for Celiac Disease. I, like so many others, was told by my gastroenterologist that a gluten-free diet was all I needed. However, after I ate products with brown rice, white rice, corn, buckwheat, gluten-free oats, potato flour, sugar, just to name a few, I suffered with an array of symptoms. I lost count of the many ER trips with heart rate racing up to 170 beats per minute due to excessive gas being trapped, or the thousands of belches I was forced to do to get the gas out. I even had bleeding ulcers at one time. I could not lie flat on my back nor could I lay on my left side as that caused right-side pain. My right side constantly gurgled. I wore fancy hot packs under my garments due to the excessive pain I was enduring. I was never able to walk upright, with my arms clenching to my sides, always hunched over in pain. I had to be pushed in a wheelchair as I had no strength to walk on my own. It was absolutely frightening how my organs were shutting down with dangerously low Iron levels (7). My potassium levels were also low. I had elevated liver enzymes, plus I had a yellow glow. My blood pressure was extremely low, which stayed at 70/40. I could not bathe myself. Despite eating I was withering away at a phenomenal rate. My body was deteriorating as I wasted away to 85 pounds. If I ate things like corn chips, two to three hours later my right side felt like I had just consumed a handful of broken glass. I literally felt it moving through my small intestine. The pain was so excruciating I couldn’t even sit still. I suffered with dizziness, vertigo, alternate bowels habits, constant nausea, chicken skin (Keratosis Pilaris), dyspepsia, unexplained osteoporosis, kaleidoscope migraines and malabsorption with severe wasting away. Clearly, the typical gluten-free diet was killing me. I was going down for the count and I was going down fast. I didn’t have two years to experiment with the GF diet. I needed a radical transformation and I needed it yesterday already!

   I was totally ecstatic that not only did Dr. Sidney Haas manage to successfully treat hundreds of patients with Celiac disease to a complete recovery but he also shared the science behind the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I began examining everything I could get my hands on that he wrote. My research then took me to Elaine Gottschal’s blockbuster book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet. I was utterly blown away. This book is a powerhouse of knowledge on how to not only heal the gut but gives a list of legal and non-legal foods. After analyzing her book I was ready to dive in head first. My radical transformation of my gut health was now or never! Blogs and websites about the SCD Diets were a lifesaver for me. I found the information they shared in their menu plans, with step-by-step instructions on how to make broth along with meal planning, motivating and extremely helpful.

The First Three Months On the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) Was Rough for Me

  At times I wanted to throw the towel in and just die. The reality is, though, I was too sick to quit! Don’t ask me to explain, just trust me on this one. Therefore, quitting was not an option for me. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet was like my fig.

   Despite the ‘die off’ knocking me out for weeks, I quickly saw results. Just three days into the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, my pain went away! For the first time in my life, I was actually having daily BMs without having to take extra fiber or resort to laxatives. Sure, I was still suffering with constipation back then but my bowels were literally moving two to three times daily! That was a major accomplishment.

  Going into the fourth month, my health drastically improved and by six months my weight was 101 pounds. By my first year anniversary, I weighed 110. My family and I skipped winter by hanging out in the Florida Keys, getting as much vitamin D as I could. For the first time in years, I could actually stand up straight and I was no longer confined to a wheelchair. By my second year anniversary, I finally felt that I had indeed ‘Been healed.’ Let me repeat that, I had been healed! It was no longer a far off dream but a reality! It took years for my body to get in a disease state so I knew it could take some time to get out of that state. I was in for the long haul as quitting was not and never will be in my vocabulary.

  I went very slowly and currently am still taking it easy on introducing foods back into my diet. At first, carrots were just too sweet for me as were bananas. I stuck with poultry and pureed all my cooked organic veggies. The only sweet food I ate was homemade applesauce and pear sauce. I refrained from all red meats, beans, lentils, peas, eggs, processed foods (even if they were SCD legal), all fruit juices, honey, dairy, nuts and nut butters. I didn’t even take vitamins. I drank at least eight glasses of water a day and had no coffee or teas. I never drank water with my meals but did drink twenty minutes prior to eating and up to two hours after eating. I also made sure I got eight hours of sleep every night. I stayed clear of stressful situations including watching the daily news and certain movies. I didn’t even walk into a doctor’s office as I didn’t want to hear any negativity! The Specific Carbohydrate Diet was my fig and no doctor was going to rain on my parade! No more was I buying into or wearing the pharmaceutical Band-Aids! Radicalism was birthed within me!

My New Motto:

  That was truth coming from a well-known Greek Physician whom was considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. Oh the power of foods! With the flip of the switch, foods can start a fire or put a fire out! It is a fact that certain foods such as wheat, oats, white potatoes, sugar, casein, etc. are known to cause inflammation while other foods such as beets, garlic, dark leafy greens, berries, cherries, olive oil, etc. stop inflammation. Each of us holds that power to flip the switch on or to turn it off. I radically turned my switch off! You can too. Remember the body is a fascinating piece of machinery. Fuel it with the best, you’re going to get that baby to purr. Feed it junk and it’s going to spit and sputter.

My ultimate goal was to achieve restoration of my health.

  I pursued it with everything I had through the Specific Carbohydrate Diet lifestyle. I saw dramatic improvements in my health. I have stayed true, not even cheating once, to the SCD as outlined within Breaking the Vicious Cycle. After two years, for the first time in my life I am thriving! I am med-free with no adverse long-term side effects. I am living pain-free with blood pressure stable at 90’s/60’s. I have no more anxiety, no depression and no more brain fog. I do not suffer with intense cravings for sweets. I have not had any kaleidoscope migraines. I am at a great weight of 123 pounds with increased energy levels. I finally do not look, nor do I feel sick. I’m actually able to walk on the treadmill daily and can’t wait to ride my bike.

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet Is Not a Quick Fix

  Rather, the SCD is a lifestyle which incorporates and maintains gut health. I took what I learned and embarked on a wonderful yet hard journey to health! This is not just for those who have Celiac disease but can also help people with Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, autistic disorders and other digestive diseases. Today you can begin to radically transform your health for the better.

  Even though Yahuwah did indeed heal me, He allowed the SCD to be my fig in bringing full restoration to my body. As called out ones, it is easy yet very dangerous to place ourselves in an authority position on judging others on what sin they committed that resulted in their ailment. I know how hurtful this can be because others have judged me for having a sickness. This ought not to be. Clearly as this article states there are many reasons why Yahuwah will allow a person to get sick. No doubt some ailments are the direct result of sin while other times it is simply for Yahuwah to be esteemed in a weakened vessel. Or for someone to learn a vital lesson.  Then again, other times is to actually test the people around the sick person to see how much of a servant or prayer warrior they will be. So instead of casting stones let us earnestly pray and help serve those who are sick amongst us!

For further reading please see:

Why must we suffer

Rise up my child I heal you