Personal Testimony in Revive Online Magazine – May 2025
This interview was conducted by Rosanne van Wijk
“If You Let Go, God Can Work”: Wim van Putten on God’s Faithfulness Through Illness, Guidance, and Faith
In a time when the world is changing rapidly and steadfastness seems rare, Wim van Putten bears witness to a life in which God’s faithfulness has become visible time and again.
In an open-hearted conversation, he shares how, despite setbacks, illness, conflicts in the church, and societal pressure, he did not lose his faith but rather became more deeply rooted in his relationship with Jesus Christ.
Radical Conversion Through a Passionate Boy from Class
On his new website, Wim van Putten recounts how as a young man, raised in a Reformed family, he came to a living faith in Jesus Christ after a personal conversion. The reason for this was the testimony of a boy from Wim’s class, who spoke with fervent passion about Jesus, whom he had recently come to know through the witness of his brothers. Wim accepted Jesus and was baptized in the Holy Spirit not long after. He was also freed from addictions and fear and received growing insight into spiritual warfare.
After his higher vocational education, he worked for seven years as a social worker in Child Protection, but after some time, he felt a calling to work in secondary education as a teacher of social studies and religion.
Together with his wife Ingrid, he joined a Full Gospel Church, where they were actively involved in evangelism and youth work. Wim emphasizes how life with Christ brought true freedom and inner healing, with a view to the spiritual world and the power of God’s Kingdom.
From Youth Leader to Elder: A Life in Service of the Kingdom
“My whole life has revolved around the church,” Wim begins. “I was an elder for 25 years and before that a youth leader for about 15 years. We started on the streets, evangelizing in pubs and neighborhoods, but later we focused more on building up the church.”
Wim and Ingrid’s heart was always in pastoral care and encouragement. “What I found much more beautiful than all the administrative work was being busy with the Word of God. Encouraging people, blessing the sick, laying on hands, preaching – we were allowed to serve in these ways for many years.” Yet, this changed. Unfortunately, health problems arose as he grew older.
Illness as a Teacher: “I Have Been Healed by God and the Doctor”
Around the age of sixty, Wim faced serious health problems. First a minor stroke, later bowel cancer and prostate cancer. It was a difficult time. “The chemotherapy was tough. I really underestimated how physically demanding it would be. I thought: I’m going to build up my fitness, but with the chemo, that didn’t really work.”
And yet: “I have been healed. By God and by the doctor,” he says emphatically. “Sometimes people think it has to be one or the other, but I see the doctors, the nurses, the entire medical world as an instrument of God. And I am incredibly grateful for that.”
This combination of faith and realism characterizes Wim. He does not lose himself in idealism but testifies honestly: “If I hadn’t lived in the Netherlands, with this medical care, I wouldn’t have been here for the past seven years.”
Faithful Despite Fractures: “God’s Love Sets Boundaries”
There were also trials within church leadership. After being an elder in a church for many years, Wim and Ingrid received two separate prophecies that God was showing them a new path. Amidst this difficult choice, something special happened.
“A brother, who was new to the church, stood up after the service ended and asked if we could sing another song. A worship song that was precisely about blessing and being sent out. That was a wink from God for me.”
That was a wink from God for me
In another church as well, after serious tensions within the leadership, Ingrid and Wim decided, after ten years, to leave together with a number of other leaders. This happened with a heavy heart. “Sometimes you make a decision for a spiritual reason, sometimes also out of self-preservation. Those tensions were not good for my body.”
Wim is honest: “The love of God also sets boundaries. That’s fine and that’s necessary. And that doesn’t just mean setting a boundary towards the other person, but also towards yourself.”
Steadfast Faith in a Fleeting Time
Over the years, Wim has received much wisdom. When asked how Christians can remain steadfast in a time when everything is fleeting, his answer was simple and profound at the same time: “It is important that you have quiet time. That can be on your bicycle, behind the wheel of your car, in your bed. God is not bound by a place. But it is important that in all situations, when things are going well, but also when things are difficult, you simply seek the Lord.”
“If you lose that intimacy, you might become a scribe of the letter. Then you do read the Bible and you might be able to quote some Bible verses, but it no longer has life in it. In the morning, I get up a little earlier, and then I read the Word and I ask God to illuminate it for me. And He does: through Bible verses and His Spirit, He then speaks to my heart. I can do something with that, for myself and regularly also for others.”
Through Bible verses and His Spirit, He then speaks to my heart
In addition, Wim emphasizes the importance of investing in friendships. “Don’t give up too quickly. Sometimes you see people come back, after seven years of silence, simply because you continue to love. The kingdom of God consists of friends, if it is right.”
Letting Go or Getting Stuck: The Choice is Yours
A powerful metaphor that Wim uses is that of a monkey trapped with its hand in a jar because it is holding onto a nut. He recounts how monkeys are caught in India. It goes like this: “They put a nut in a small jar with a narrow neck. The monkey grabs that nut, so it can no longer pull its hand back. I always thought that was a beautiful metaphor. It means that if you hold onto something, you might just have to let go. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck to it.”
“As long as you don’t let go of things, you won’t be free. That also applies to pain, to your unprocessed past, or something that once gave you security. God often only works when you let go. When I let go of something and give it to the Lord, I say: I can’t do anything about it now, it’s Your business. Then you just see that God does His work.”
God’s Faithfulness Today and Throughout Your Life
Finally, Wim shares another lesson about living in the present: “You shouldn’t hold onto yesterday’s manna,” he says. “After all, it spoiled in the desert. It’s the same with life with God. If you keep holding onto what was, you miss what He has for you today.”
If you keep holding onto what was, you miss what He has for you today.”
Through everything – illness, conflicts, blessings, callings, and farewells – one line remains visible: the faithfulness of God. “I was sixteen or seventeen when I converted. Now, almost sixty years later, I can say: God is faithful! Like the song: when I was in the pit, He pulled me out.” That promise of God’s faithfulness applies to all of us.
@wimvanputten