Chris Johnson's three-year-old daughter Naomi nearly drowned on May 20 and spent six weeks on a ventilator while doctors said she wouldn't survive. Johnson describes how prayer and his church's support sustained his family through the crisis, and how Naomi's unexpected recovery strengthened faith in believers across six continents.
My name is Chris Johnson. I'm the worship pastor of Cornerstone Community Church. For the past 6 weeks, my wife and I have been dealing with a tragedy that occurred in the life of my daughter Naomi, who's 3 years old. On May 20th, she drowned. My wife and I have been in and out of intensive care units, first in Columbia, South Carolina, and now in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Naomi. When Naomi first went to the hospital, She had a breathing tube and ventilator. It felt as if my faith was very small to begin with. We knew that we had faith in God, but we did not realize the extent to which we needed to rely on God. Yes, our faith has been tested. That first Friday night, they told us that she probably would not survive. Then Saturday night, they told us she probably wouldn't survive. And just seeing her hold on and my wife and I praying together and really just crying out to God for some peace, asking God to give us a sign or a signal or something that would let us know that everything was going to be alright. Through some of our church family, we received some confirmation, and through reading the Word, we received some confirmation that God was with us in the middle of all of this. and that he was not going to leave us. We have received emails and comments on my worship page from every continent on the face of the earth except Antarctica. There are churches in China, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Italy, Spain, churches literally all over the world, Liberia. And all over the United States as well. We've had people comment to us that their faith has been strengthened just by witnessing Naomi's healing. People that— people in my own family that had been struggling for some time with issues with God, they've grown closer to God just because they've seen the faith that we stood in. I'm really not trying to make it seem like we're spiritual giants, because like I say, at times it felt like my faith was small. We lean on each other, and we lean most heavily on God. And through that, we have seen people's strength. We have seen people's faith be strengthened, and we have seen people's lives turn back to God when they may have turned away from God. If there was one thing that I could tell any that is dealing with anything right now that's difficult in their life. First and foremost, it would be to just trust God. If you've received a word from God and it's been confirmed through family, friends, scripture, plant your feet and don't let the enemy steal anything that belongs to you. Even when you can't see, there were plenty of times when Naomi Well, it looked like she may not make it, but we never believed that. We proclaimed God's message that He gave us in our hearts was that Naomi was going to be okay, and we would speak that over her. Speak truth, speak positive things. Don't let the enemy sneak in and steal anything from you. Plant your feet, believe, trust in God.
