It is all too easy to be discouraged in this Church Age as we await the Rapture. As the prophets of old implored God, we may also cry out, “How long, O Lord?!”
While we cannot know when Jesus will burst from the Heavens, we are assured that He is preparing a place for those who have trusted in Him. His Holy Spirit abides with us to assure us of our Blessed Hope—and to comfort us when we are hurting.
Ed Back, a Lamb & Lion Ministries Trustee, learned that the Lord also offers foretastes of His glory to saints who long to be with Him. His beloved wife, Janice, went to be with the Lord in 2025 after a painful bout of cancer. Her joy was never diminished even as she approached her homegoing.
Here is Ed’s testimony of God’s tender mercies and faith-assuring miracles.
The Testimony of Ed Back
As my beautiful wife, Janice, began to physically decline, we prayed earnestly and expectantly. We knew God could heal her miraculously because He had done so before. Family and friends, and even complete strangers, lifted her up in prayer, but in the end God called her to be with Him at just the right time.
I do not say it was the right time from my own perspective. I would have preferred that she remain here with me, and that we go to be with the Lord together—or at least in close proximity. But I have come to believe that it was the right time in God’s great plan. And He has allowed me to recognize the blessing He bestowed on us just over 40 years before she stepped into Eternity.
In the mid-1980s, we lived in Illinois while I worked with the US Army Corps of Engineers. Just before the winter holidays, we decided to take a “special” vacation trip and hike in Mt. Rainier National Park. Sadly, Janice suffered an injury on the trip, resulting in a cast on her knee and strict medical instructions for her to stay homebound to avoid the risk of further injury. Our home was what would be called a fixer-upper, with me as the intended fixer. For weeks on end, however, I would be at work or on the road while Janice stayed home. During that time, she suddenly began to suffer from an unknown malady that sapped her strength and gave her frequent and worsening headaches. As the Illinois winter set in, Janice became increasingly debilitated.
Eventually, it became painfully clear that Janice was dying. We went to doctors and even specialists, but no one could determine what was wrong with her. Her doctors recommended that our extended family members be notified that time was short and all should gather to say goodbye. There seemed to be no hope, and the doctors had no words of encouragement. Until that winter season, she had been a vibrant and perfectly healthy young woman, active professionally, and a leader in our church’s praise and worship team. What had happened to her?! In a twist of God’s grace, I began to suspect that our gas furnace was leaking. When the technicians arrived, their sensors immediately alerted them to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide that had built up in our home.
With that unexpected diagnosis, I rushed Janice to the emergency room just as she seemed to be taking a significant, if not final, turn for the worse. The hospital immediately ran tests, only to conclude that their equipment must be giving them false readings. Shockingly, the test showed Janice’s CO levels to be three times the lethal level. The doctors explained that it was “medically impossible” for her to be alive. She was immediately rushed to another hospital for re-testing and once again her CO levels were confirmed to be three times the lethal level. The doctors could not understand how she was still alive.
Ultimately, the medical professionals released her to go home and begin what was expected to be a long recovery, full of skepticism that recovery was actually possible at all. As we drove home that afternoon, she asked what day it was. I told her it was Wednesday, and she emphatically stated we needed to go to church. She wanted the church to pray for her. I practically carried my wife into the sanctuary and laid her in a pew as the service was about to begin. As our brothers and sisters in Christ prayed that evening, Janice suddenly sat up, then stood up, then began to sing, dance, and worship in the aisle. She was immediately and completely healed—without a single negative effect from the CO poisoning. Her health was immediately and completely restored.
Happy years passed, but we never forgot the miracle we experienced. When she became ill with cancer in 2024, I became consumed with caring for her, praying for her, and hoping on her behalf. We repeatedly and consistently testified to the miraculous healing we experienced so many years earlier. When God’s answer to our prayers seemed to be unfolding differently than I had hoped, I struggled to understand His plan. Then, as a divine blessing, two godly men independently reminded me of King Hezekiah’s experience. Hezekiah had been granted 15 years of extra life, after another three days of waiting. I began to realize that perhaps God had granted Janice a remarkable “life-extension.” Psalm 40 had become “my prayer”. I repeatedly asked others to read and pray that Scripture over my wife and family. Telling us all that she was seeing angels, my wife went to be with the Lord early in 2025.
As I reflected on Janice’s life and God’s gracious extension of her life so many years ago, I kept pondering the significance of Psalm 40. I finally realized that her life had been extended just over 40 years. In fact, she was miraculously healed of carbon monoxide poisoning on the last Wednesday in January (the 30th) of 1985. Exactly 40 years and 3 days later, she passed away on February 2nd, 2025. God had given her far more than the 15 years Hezekiah had been granted. On top of the 3 days the king had to wait, He gave Janice and me 40 more years together! I now understand completely that God always had a plan for us, perfect in every way. The Bible is not just a collection of “historical” stories; rather, it communicates God’s sovereignty and grace that His children still experience today. Janice and I are yet another example, giving me a personal life-changing testimony to share with others.
I’ve learned that many others have testimonies of miraculous “life extensions”—where God graciously extends the life of someone with a terminal diagnosis. Although Scripture clearly tells us that “it is appointed for all men to die” (Heb. 9:27), these unexpected extensions can both invigorate and challenge our faith. A close personal friend recently shared with me how a younger associate was given a seven-year reprieve from death. His heart, which had been declared malformed and non-functioning, was miraculously healed and became seemingly brand new. He enjoyed happy years with his family until the Lord called him home suddenly.
In a very real sense, every person who puts their trust in Jesus Christ is given a new heart and a “life extension.” Although our physical heart will eventually wear down and we may pass from this life, Christians are promised life that will extend through all eternity.
There are things I still do not understand about God’s timing and ways. But I do understand that He affirmed to me His grace and mercy through the years and days I had with my beloved wife. I rejoice at the visions of angels she had as we sang and worshipped together during her last months on Earth. And, I will never forget the smile on her face as she caught a glimpse of the glory that awaited her.
At some point I will go to be with Janice. But as much as I long for that day, I look forward to being with my Savior and Lord forever and ever.
I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:1-3)
