Paralyzed College Student Told by God That He Would Walk Again: 'I Was Really Standing on Faith'
College student Joel Haler never expected to be able to walk again after a devastating accident during a routine workout. But a message from a 4-year-old, reportedly from God, told Haler the exact day that he would walk again, and now Haler is sharing his testimony and is able to walk tall.
"At first I was in complete shock and I was just like, 'Wait a minute. What just happened?' I've never suffered that traumatic of an event," Haler told The Blaze. "Mentally, at first, I was trying to replay everything … I quickly realized, 'I'm paralyzed. I'm just going to have to start getting used to this.'"
Haler was working out during a health class when he felt a popping sensation in his back and slowly began to lose strength in his limbs. By the next day, he woke up paralyzed from the waist down. Doctors were unable to provide any information or hope that he would be able to walk again. It took a while for Haler to begin to get used to his new life.
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"At first my faith was extremely high. I just had a real sense of peace about the situation, but then as I got out of the hospital and things started to progress, [it] spiraled me down into almost a depression. God, why are you doing this to me?" the son of a preacher asked.
Soon God began to answer that question, Haler said. First, he had a dream in which he saw a banner with the imprint "J23" on it.
"I tried figuring it out and my dad alongside with me," Haler explained. "We started looking in the Bible … at books that began with a 'J' and then looked at chapter 23 [in each]."
Nothing came of their investigation until a 4-year-old boy said, "Joel, you're going to walk on a Thursday. I know God told him this for a reason," Haler said. "I looked into June and July and of course it [J23] didn't fall on a Thursday and that's why my dad was like, 'Why don't you just take a peek in January?'"
After realizing that Jan. 23 was a Thursday, Haler began to count down the days and put even more trust in the Lord and the prophecy spoken to him by the young boy.
"I was really standing on faith. I had fasted. I was like, 'This is going to be the day.' I really trusted God and I put my faith and everything in this. I wish that people could experience that," Haler said. "I have never been so confident in something in my entire life."
On the morning of the 23rd, Haler began experiencing sensation in his legs and was later able to begin walking … the walking made even more miraculous due to the fact that in the time he was paralyzed, he should have been suffering from muscular atrophy. Most paralyzed persons need to relearn how to walk and build up their strength before finally walking independently. But Haler did not need any of that – he simply took one step and kept on going.
"There are people who will say this is impossible," Haler admitted. "All of these elements are coming from God clearly and science cannot back this up … I don't know how people can doubt this. This has really changed my life for the better. The maturity that has gone on inside of me. This is something God wanted to do in me."
