مسح خاص خداوند بر زندگی و خدمات کشیش رافی شاهوردیان علیرغم مشکل جسمی ایشان

Pastor Raffi Shahverdyan (the pastor of the church in Armenia) is sharing that he was born with a disability in his left hand. His mother was very sad and was crying a lot when he was born, and it was a real pain for her. As Pastor Raffi was growing up, he felt uncomfortable about the situation. There were times that he felt he was limited to do certain things. At times he would feel hurt about it especially when the neighbours would feel pity for him. His family in particular his mum was encouraging him to progress in different things such as writing and sports like volleyball. Sometimes his school friends and even some adults were saying hurtful things to him about his disability. He remembers When he was young and attended a wedding, he was involved at a local dance with a group of youth. A girl held his hand and as soon as she realized the shape of his hand, she left him and started talking about it with the other friends. Some incidents like this would break his heart. When he came to know the Lord, he felt that he filled his heart with joy and deep comfort and God gave him the grace he needed to move forward. However, there were times when he would feel a little embarrassed to lift his left arm up when preaching.

When he got married to his dear wife Janet, she joyfully accepted him as he was and she has never reminded him of his disability. Even his children have always been so loving towards him.

He mentions about 3 meetings he had with 3 individuals who were great source of comfort to him.
In 1993 he saw a Christian boy in a village in Armenia called Azad. He had the same disability that pastor Raffi had. Pastor Raffi was able to encourage the boy. He could very much identify with his pain and could encourage him to move forward with his life.

The second person he saw was someone around his age called Gevork. He had the same issue but in his right hand. He greeted pastor Raffie with his left hand. However, this visitation was a source of comfort for both of them. This was another time that Pastor Raffi gave a great word of encouragement to someone facing the same issue as him. The third person pastor Raffie met was in a meeting in Sweeden. A mother and son were there from Denmark. The son, who was called Issa had the same issue in his right hand. He prayed for his son. Pastor Raffie was a great source of encouragement to the son and his mum. He shares that whenever he would minister to individuals who would go through the same situation, he would feel more comforted and encouraged. He has many times prayed for healing, but he feels as God spoke to Paul telling him that his grace was sufficient for him, he has the same word for his life too. He is grateful to God for his beautiful family and the friends he has. He has come across different families throughout his ministry who have had children with some type of physical disability. He has ministered to them. Those families have also looked at pastor Raffie as a role model for their children. They have given hope to their children by telling them if Pastor Raffi can write books, preach, speak different languages etc, there is surely hope for you too.

Some years ago pastor Raffi received a new and incredible anointing from the Lord that overwhelmed him much. It was to the point that he would feel a strange feeling of coolness in his right hand in God’s presence. He experienced that incredible feeling in his right hand for many days. He felt God was anointing his right hand so that he can be a source of greater blessings to so many. It was as if God was doing this to him so that he does no longer feel hurtful about his left hand because through is right hand God could use him powerfully to bring about healing for many people. Joni Erikson says: if you don’t have legs, you can still walk with him. If you don’t have any hands, you can still hold Jesus’s hands, if you are blind, you can see him and if you are deaf, you can still hear him talking to you. Praise the Lord for all that he has done in Pastor Raffi’s life and for the powerful ways he has been using him for his kingdom.