Blessed to be a Blessing
“After I was healed miraculously, I just knew there is a Great Physician here to save and heal.”
Chelsea Koh’s miraculous healing journey is a testament to God’s faithfulness. Hers is a story of hope and steadfastness.
A worshipper at Wesley Methodist Church for 30 years and an accountant by training in her previous profession, Chelsea decided to devote herself to full-time ministry in November 2022. By then, Chelsea had been through so many ups and downs in life, yet she had tasted even more of God’s goodness; she was sure she wanted to devote herself to glorifying Him through her work in ministry.
Chelsea’s journey to knowing the Lord started in 1986, and she has grown in her faith through various missions, challenges and outreach evangelism initiatives.
Miraculous Healing through Prayer
Born a healthy child, Chelsea was afflicted with a sudden strange illness that rendered her immobile when she was just five years old.
“I suddenly found myself losing the ability to walk one day when I was five,” recalled Chelsea. “It just came out of nowhere, and I suddenly had to crawl around using my four limbs.”
“It is still very mysterious to me today.”
Despite many checks, the doctors could not diagnose or advise her family about her medical condition, and the doctors had to break the devastating news that there was no treatment or cure for Chelsea’s legs. A sense of shame and utter embarrassment overcame her as she battled her special needs condition for two years.
“One moment, I was a normal child, like any other kid in the playground and school. The next moment, I am struck with a disability without rhyme or reason. I didn’t understand it, and I still don’t. My parents were at their wit’s end; they had done all they could to help me.”
Chelsea grew up in an atheist family without knowing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But one day, out of deep desperation, she cried in prayer, “God, if you exist, please heal me and make my legs super good!”
Chelsea did not know then but God’s prevenient grace was upon her.
Although Chelsea’s prayer did not include instant healing, that was what she experienced. “Miraculously, my legs were healed soon after I called out to God. I can only say it was very supernatural. Suddenly, I could walk again.”
There is no logic or scientific reasoning behind Chelsea’s supernatural healing.
“More than healing my legs, God also healed my soul as I no longer carried around the shame of crawling due to my illness.”
After she was healed, Chelsea was not formally introduced to the gospel until she was in her early twenties. But she kept the miraculous healing in her heart and remembered the blessing bestowed by a very compassionate, powerful, good and all-healing God. When she was 23, she was led to church by her sister and came to acknowledge Jesus Christ as her Lord through the sermons.
As for her legs, Chelsea said, “I have been blessed with strong limbs ever since, and I can even do rock climbing in my fifties.”
The childhood encounter with miraculous healing in God was not the only miracle that Chelsea experienced. Through the years, Chelsea always remembered God and never wavered. “Even in my adulthood, I continue to experience healing from the Lord.”
Chelsea had a fibroid in her womb and an ovarian cyst that disappeared after two years. She also experienced a hypothyroid condition that resolved itself after nine months and had a growth in her left leg that healed after two months. “There was miracle after miracle,” declared Chelsea.
Steadfast Faith in Adversity
A mother of two adult sons, Chelsea has met with many challenges in her life. But Chelsea’s resilience and reliance on the Lord have helped her overcome them.
A full-time working mum for years, Chelsea was struggling physically, mentally and spiritually to have a family, work-life balance and quality time with the Lord. She often prayed for strength and help. “I was blessed gradually with a stronger relationship with the Lord and my colleagues. And I could even serve in various ministries despite a challenging work schedule.”
During the circuit breaker in April 2020, Chelsea and her colleagues were working double time. Chelsea confessed the sin of strife and work idolatry and cried to God for help and deliverance as she was drained. In May 2020, she received a call from a care ambassador of her first church asking about her welfare. It was a divine appointment as she had left that church 28 years ago. At the same time, she also received a call from Wesley Methodist Church’s care ambassador, who prayed for her needs.
“The calls and conversations led me to a few takeaways, one of which is to focus on our Almighty Lord, whom we can trust in times of difficulty,” Chelsea recalled. “Psalm 23:4 says, ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.’”
Evangelistic Joy in Sharing God’s Message
Evangelism, focusing on God and the sharing of God’s message through mission trips strengthened Chelsea’s faith further.
During her overseas mission trips, Chelsea often encountered the Lord’s protection and help. At one village, she passed her friend’s financial support to the village head. He responded that that was the specific amount required to complete the construction of a water pipe for the toilets.
Chelsea was also able to share the Lord’s messages with various groups during the mission trips. Locally, Chelsea has shared God’s message with elderly relatives, which they received positively.
One example was with an estranged beloved relative who lost contact with Chelsea for many years. Although Chelsea was hurt that the relationship was lost, she dreamt that her relative was in pain and suffering from dementia. Despite her dementia, the relative remembered Chelsea and allowed her to visit and pray for her. Chelsea witnessed her relative’s rededication to the Lord despite her dementia and had the opportunity to share the gospel with her.
Equipping for Discipleship and Overcoming Fear
Discipleship and lifelong learning can be challenging and fearful for some as they may have family and financial commitments.
But Chelsea was not deterred: “When I was close to 60 years old, I persevered and started pursuing a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies at Singapore Bible College.”
Although she struggled to cope with a rigorous curriculum after a long break from studying, she ploughed on with God’s grace and successfully graduated.
Since July 2022, Chelsea has been leading a Discipleship Band encouraging peer mentorship and seeking God’s direction for ministry service.
A fellow Band member then asked Chelsea to consider serving at Prison Fellowship Singapore (PFS), and she was eventually offered the position of Integrated Ministry coordinator after a period of job shadowing. In her ministry role, Chelsea faces fulfilling challenges like driving a manual 12-seater van. Although she was fearful about driving a large vehicle, she sought encouragement from God and was given a dream to assure her that His grace is sufficient for her.
Before entering full-time ministry, Chelsea had also struggled with fear and anxiety about God’s provision for her future needs.
“I had attended the Strangely Warm Retreat in July 2022 and prayed about the new season in life,” recounted Chelsea. “During one of the devotions, the Lord showed me a tree with a nest at Changi Cove where we had the retreat. This sighting of the birds returning to their nest reminded me of Matthew 6:23, to ‘look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?’”
“I felt God was speaking to me.”
Chelsea’s journey of faithfulness, evangelism and missions through the years is an encouragement for us all. Her strong relationship with God and His faithfulness in fulfilling her destiny in Him motivates her to continue serving. God’s assurance of faithfulness has worked miracles in Chelsea’s life. James 1:12 tells us, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
“I have been through a lot in my life,” said Chelsea. “But I know now whatever difficulties we face in life, there’s always hope in the Lord.”
“He was there with me through the difficult times even before I knew Him.”
Read also: From Sailor-Tailor to Servant-Shepherd
