Christy and Linda Smith wouldn’t be together today if he hadn’t survived a potentially fatal brain haemorrhage
“You shall not die but live!” were the powerful words from the Bible that enabled one man to survive a deadly disease and walk out of hospital 14 days later.
‘Life from the dead’ is at the heart of Christianity, inherited from Judaism, which has always celebrated life.
While both communities have recently celebrated the history-changing Easter and Passover, the legacy of those events is still impacting the lives of individuals and nations today.
Raising from the dead
Healings and raising from the dead are regularly reported across the globe – but rarely make it into the secular press.
Pastor Christy Smith was one such walking miracle. If people from around the world had not prayed when his life hung in the balance, the father of three would certainly never have seen his three grandchildren – nor be leading a popular Brighton church.
When he was only in his late 30s, the Irishman was struck down with a severe brain haemorrhage and his family were told to say their goodbyes.
But 14 days later, Christy was able to walk out of hospital ….
Amazing
Pastor Christy says this miracle is just one of many examples of new life – or “amazing grace” – that he and his wife have experienced. Were it not for his decision to accept Christ’s invitation to a new life, he would still be a criminal and drug user, like Bob Light, whose story also appears in this paper.
Now in his mid-50s and pastor of Brighton’s Elim Church, Christy and his wife are grateful for that “life from the dead” miracle. Back then they were leading a church in Port Talbot, he walked down to his kitchen one morning and felt “an explosion” go off in his head.
“It was like someone hit me with a sledge hammer. I fell to the ground and cried out for help.”
Doctors in Swansea Hospital’s neurological department diagnosed a severe subarachnoid brain haemorrhage and his brain was swelling. A gush of blood was also working into his spine which would cause non-bacterial meningitis.
His children were brought in to say goodbye and my family were rushing over from Ireland. “The doctors expected me to fall into a coma and not recover.”
His son sent an email to everyone in his inbox, asking them to pray for his dying dad – the request even reached as far afield as the Ukraine. “The response was astounding”, adds Christy.
Under pressure to have an operation, he refused it as he was told, “If you survive, you’ll be blind and crippled.”
Suffering
Then, one night, a young African duty doctor saw Christy suffering and asked if he could pray. Christy readily agreed to the request.
“The doctor looked up to heaven”, recalls Christy, “and then he looked at me again and quoted from Psalm 35: ‘You shall not die but live’. He said to me, ‘You will recover’. Then he left and I never saw him again.”
There were a few ‘ups and downs’ over the next few days as Christy’s heart rate was irregular. Then a local church pastor visited and prayed for him when he was losing consciousness.
“I woke up a few hours later without pain for the first time in seven days. I left hospital six days later, day 14, with my wife’s help, very weak but recovering. I truly believe it was a miracle!”
Gripped
Doctors told him there was the possibility of a second haemorrhage – which would definitely kill him – and fear ‘gripped’ him some 28 days later when he woke up in severe pain. Then he remembered the word of God – that Jesus said, “My Father’s house has many rooms”.
“I knew God; I had seen his hand on my life all these years. And I knew Jesus, my Saviour, the one who died on a Cross for you and me. I knew then that I did not have to fear death, because Jesus destroyed the power of death. After he died on that cross, three days later he was raised from the dead by the Father.”
Terrified
Christy, who admits he was ‘terrified’ in hospital, unable to conceive of the cross-over from this life to the next, adds: “Jesus is alive now and for evermore. I was reminded that he told his followers that he is going to prepare a place for us and when the time comes, Jesus himself will bring us to that place. Waves of joy came over me when I realised this.
“I knew that death does not come for me, but Jesus comes to take me to the place he has prepared for me, so that I may see the Father. A place in heaven with no more pain, no more tears and no more sickness.”
All fear left Christy and he felt ready to meet Jesus, whenever the Lord was ready to bring him to the place he had prepared for him.
Embroiled
Christy first became a Christian in 1986, when he worked as a newspaper vendor on the streets in Dublin. Back then he was embroiled in crime and drugs.
Then a persistent woman, who looked like a “trendy nun”, kept telling him that Jesus loved him. She read him John 3:16 and gave him a copy of ‘Run Baby Run’ by American evangelist Nicky Cruz.
Later, sitting with “stolen goods all over [his] flat”, he and his future wife Linda gave their lives to Jesus. Christy went on to Bible College in 1990, and then became a church pastor in 1998, leaving to minister in the south east in 2004.
Christy has also served as a police chaplain in Haiti, and he and his wife sponsor an orphanage there.
‘Near death’ experiences have a common theme for Christians: they meet Jesus
There are plenty of ‘near death’ reports on the internet; the challenge is to find those that ring true for Bible believers. We believe these pass the test.
Other ‘Life from the dead’ stories can be found by clicking the links below:
Life from the dead – Christy Smith
Jesus took me over a threshold – Joan Daniel
Life from the dead for a pastor and for our nation
I died and met the God I’d run from all my life – Crystal McVea
Modern-day resurrection – John Smith
Have you had a near-death experience? Write to letters@heartpublications.co.uk