For some reason discussion of healing brings controversy. There are some who believe we aren't healed because we don't believe, others because we don't ask and still others because there is sin in our lives. I BELIEVE in healing! But I also believe that God doesn't always choose to act in the way we think best. Our understanding is beneath HIS.A few years ago in a discussion about healing someone quoted the Scripture from Isaiah 53:5 "by His stripes we are healed" and I believe we may have been taking that verse out of God's context for a long time because God has never healed every person that was sick. HIS WILL and HIS Plan are far above anything we can fathom. God can do amazing things through a person's life and even through a person's death and through a person's attitude as they approach death. The one thing I think that God wants each and every person to be healed of is sin because sin leads to DEATH - eternal death and by HIS stripes and HIS death we can avoid the second death. We are all destined to die - the Bible says that in Hebrews 9:27, but by Jesus death and our acceptance of HIS free gift of salvation we can avoid the second death. We all most likely will face death in a variety of ways, some because of old age, some because of illness, or accident and some because of the sin of another, but we can all rest assured that eternal life and wholeness are our reward if we choose to be healed of spiritual illness/sin and accept Jesus free gift.
56 comments:
yeap I get what you're saying :) another great post
hope you're doing great!
I believe in healing too.
Preach it, Girl!! That's a sermon in a nutshell, and well presented. I was thinking in my head what "by His stripes we are healed" meant before I read your presentation, and you and I agree (am I surprised?) on the healing mentioned in that particular verse is the healing of our sin through the blood of Jesus...we are healed from eternal death and damnation, unto eternal life and glorification and "perfection"....finally we will be made whole!!
I totally believe in healing!!
Sometimes we need the spiritual healing rather than the physical healing which seems so obvious. I find myself asking for physical healing for my tremors but tend ignore the spiritual issues He is trying to bring to my attention.
i just got your message! this weekend? thanks for calling - i love hearing your voice!
By the way, I definitely believe in divine healing. Both of my parents were divinely healed from cancer at various stages in their lives. When we are called to gather around someone seeking divine healing in our churches, I am one of the first to go because I have seen it first hand. I also believe God can heal through doctors and medicine, and He can choose to give perfect healing and call the person home to be with Him. I've learned to never question His method or His timing.
Hi Robin,
I am LOVIN' this post. Healing IS a controversy....and I'm not sure why. I have some friends that believe that if you are not healed, you did not have enough faith OR there is sin keeping the healing from happening. I don't believe that pleases the Lord.
I believe Isaiah 53 is talking about Spiritual healing. I believe that God does heal physically, but I also believe God allows sickness to remain at times. Otherwise, wouldn't EVERY believer live to be thousands of years old? :)
Thanks for this post.
Love and Blessing...
God does heal people physcially and sometimes he doesn't. As Heather said if God healed everyone we'd all be living for thousands of years. God has purposes we don't comprehend. I have a friend who lost her mom to cancer and her mom believed with all her heart that God would heal her, but she still died and left three small children behind. God has worked through my friend in many ways because of her unique understanding of dealing with death. We may never know exactly what God's reasons were for not healing her until heaven.
Whether we have physical healing or not we must glorify God. I always think of Paul with his thorn in the flesh - he asked for it to be taken away, but God saw benefits to leaving it.
My mom died of cancer - but was such a testimony to the nurses, drs, and all around her (she was 85 yrs old). God does heal, but also sometimes chooses not to - and we just need to trust Him and know His will is best for us.
P.S. remind me to ask you about where you think prayer comes into all this --- my mom is visiting this week until next week so I don't have time to sit/write/think as much as I normally do - but I wrote some thoughts in my journal after reading this entry and want to talk to you about it more.... next week! :)
Thank you all for sharing - I appreciate hearing from you and learning about your experiences with healing and loss. We have much to teach each other and much to learn! The Ultimate Teacher is Jesus and the Word of God! Let's keep seeking and praying!
Randi Jo - I wanted to address your question separately. Yes, I believe in the POWER of Prayer! I definitely want to hear what you have to share on the subject when you have time to type away...
When should we pray? - "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I think we need to pray for healing for ourselves and others, but be willing to say - YOUR will be done - as Jesus did before HE died on the cross. Praying in general helps us to realize that we are dependent on God.
I have heard some amazing stories how God worked in miraculous ways through the death of some of HIS saints that HE chose not to heal. Their testimony during their illness has lead many to Christ - sometimes more than during their life before illness. We don't understand, but HE does and HE has a plan that is so much bigger than we are...
Yes, pray - pray like the widow in Luke (I think) who wouldn't give up until her needs were met, but still love the Lord and accept HIS will whatever it may be...
I definitely want people praying God's best for me - if you are a prayer warrior, please pray for me!
Some Scriptures I think are applicable are:
Psalm 55:22
Psalm 62:5
Psalm 147:5
Matthew 6:6
Matthew 7:7-8
Matthew 19:26
Matthew 21:22
Mark 11:24-25
John 15:7
John 16:23-24
Romans 15:30
Ephesians 6:14
Hebrews 4:16
James 5:16
1 John 5:14-15
There are many more Scriptures, but I'm really tired now...and surely I'm leaving out verses that I'd like to include...
Good night all :)
While we lived in Lake Charles, LA, there was a man at our church who found out he had acute lukemia, very few days to live. He prayed, along with the church, and asked for a sign from God that God had healed him. This man had a scar on the bottom of his foot, and after praying for healing he noticed a white line running through his scar that had not been there before. He took that as a sign God had healed him.
Before his death a couple of weeks later, he made another statement regarding that line. He said God had chosen not to heal him, but He placed the line through the scar to indicate God would go through his illness and death with him, and in the end (upon his death) he would be healed perfectly. What faith he displayed to his family!
It's sometimes so hard to accept God's answer, but it brings such peace to know that He knows exactly where we are at, what we are facing/going through, and that He will never, never leave us.
I have heard of people being healed completely ( I believe God heals completely when He heals), and I have know some very godly people who were not healed in this life. We don't know why, but when we start to worry about it we are taking it out of God's hands trying to deal on our own. I personally have had to just give it up to God. I will never know this side of heaven - as the saying goes.
I agree Julie - it's all beyond us - we just have to trust it to THE POWER that created it all! To God be the Glory!
I heard a boy of 17 say of his paralysed legs and healing, "God owes me nothing. What He has done for me already in His Son, Jesus Christ, is enough. If God never does another thing for me, it's okay. I could never expect more of Him, but that doesn't mean I won't ask." Amen! Great blog Robin.
Come to my blog - I have an award for you for being so supportive as I am so new at blogging. Thanks for all your comments and for always being there!
Life Adapted - what a beautiful boy (can I say that). His heart is beautiful and I'm sure it makes God smile!
Repeatedly in the New Testament it we are told everyone brought to Jesus was healed and He healed all sicknesses and diseases that were brought to Him.
You quoted one verse about the stripes of Jesus, and I agree that refers to spiritual healing, but I also believe much physical illness is related to spiritual problems.
In light of the many verses where Jesus healed "all" and "every", Isaiah really isn't the pivotal promise. So, did He heal them all then but not now?
I'm not asking this as an argumentative question or in form of judgment. I'm asking because I have asked the Lord many times. Why are we not seeing the same healings now as they did then? I have my opinion.
I wonder if it is rooted in the idea that God saved us and already gave us more than we deserve and we are honoring Him by not being presumptuous enough to ask for more. This is the same God that says, "I will do above and beyond all you can ask or imagine". Do you think God is focused on what we deserve? I think He would prefer we expect Him to live up to His promise and quit expecting Him to think like humans focused on some idea that what we have to offer Him balances with what He has to offer us. It doesn't and it can't. But His promises are His promises, and I think He thrills when we expect Him to keep them.
Having said that, I'm sitting here with throbbing sinuses and blurred vision from the pressure. Obviously, I am not at the level of faith, obedience (I think the illness is stress related), or expectation I need to be for healing.
And so I pray for a greater understanding of Him, which is really what our trek through this world is all about anyway.
And I also want to add, I've seen folks walk with incredible grace through chronic and terminal illnesses. I do not know why God did not heal them. I only know He equipped them to walk through with peace. I know folks who are healthy, financially settled, and success in the world's eyes who do not have such a blessing. (Sort of makes you wonder who needs the real healing, eh?)
Robin, great thought provoking blog.
Hi Jerri,
You know some things we as people just don't understand and we try to talk ourselves into some kind of comprehension. I was discussing this whole issue with a friend today and we both realized that we don't have the answers and maybe thats okay.
On a separate note - you and I have talked about healing of my back before and I still struggle with the thoughts of the rod dissolving and God straightening my spine. It is bigger than me and beyond anything I've considered. And like you mentioned in your comment some people might think that there are more worthy places for the healing power to go. I've had considerable back pain over the years, but in the last three years since I've been exercising "religiously" my back pain has diminished greatly or is it that God took some of the pain away??? I do get back pain and sometimes severe and there isn't much rhyme to reason sometimes and other times I know I did something that wasn't intelligent to cause the pain. I have learned to deal with pain and function in spite of it. Most people don't even know I have back issues.
If I was asked if I could have either spiritual or physical healing - I would quickly pick spiritual healing because to me that is much bigger....
BUT if I had limitations that made my life difficult, I doubt I would so quickly choose spiritual healing.
I do believe in healing and I believe in healing in this day and age, but I see that it doesn't always happen and I want to make it all logical...
All that to say, I don't have a clue why God does what HE does. I don't understand why people die believing God for their healing. But I have to trust that God has a reason and that it will one day all make sense...
Speaking of healing...
Can you all please pray for my five year old son who woke up crying not too long ago and then threw up. After throwing up he started smacking himself on his ears saying his ears hurt. Neither of my kids have had an ear infection before - I called our health care HMO and they don't have any openings tonight, so they scheduled him for the morning.
Please keep him in your prayers.
Your boy is in our prayers, how is he this morning?
I was up throughout the night with him - he threw up one more time. He doesn't seem to be in as much pain, but I have to take him in to the Urgent Care for our HMO. They couldn't see him last night because there wasn't a pediatrician available, but there is this morning and they said he has to be seen within 24 hours of the start of his symptoms. He has been bothered by allergies for the last week and a half - I'm wondering if post-nasel drip has bothered his little stomach. The nurse suggested possible ear infection, but neither of my kids have ever had one, so its not something I'm familiar with. Keep him in your prayers this morning. Thanks!
He will be in our prayers through out the day - take good care of that boy!
Thanks for your prayers! We took him to Kaiser this morning and he has his first and hopefully last ear infection due to allergies. I made several calls early this morning before leaving and arranged for all of my jobs to be taken care of at church. I felt bad not doing them, but know my first priority is to this precious little gift that God gave me to take care of... Have I told you how much I love my children :)
Robin, so glad things are going to be okay for your son. Ear infectinos can be nasty. Our second son was light skin/light hair...and they say the fair ones tend to have ear infections more often...wonder why? Anyway, he was four when he finally had tubes put in to drain the infection. That pretty much took care of it. Sorry that your son has to fight allergies...no fun!
Thanks for your prayers Carol! Much appreciated! Everyone was shocked at church when I told them it was his FIRST ear infection and that my daughter has never had one.
Great Robin - I am glad things are better. By the way, i got mama a pie tonight. A yummy one, (part of her Mothers Day goodies) at the youth fund raiser for a mission trip. It was an auction - paid 85 dollars for it!
What a bargain :) No really it is :) its for a good cause and for a great lady :) So what kind of yummy pie was it?
The little guy is coughing now and starting to sound yucky again, but the doctor said the nights are the hardest - as it always seems with the other childhood illnesses we have dealt with. My daughter was so upset last night when my son was crying and just miserable. She whispered to me that she didn't want her brother to die. They love each other so much.
For the coughing, I would open the windows, put Robert under a blanket with me, and try to keep him propped up. When temps are 50 or below with some humidity, it does wonders. I've also squeezed a rocker into the bathroom, closed the curtain and ran the hot water until the whole room was steamy. I would rock Robert while he slept.
Those things open the airways so the coughing isn't so bad. It can also prevent allergy related asthma symptoms.
If the coughing gets bad, you can also stick his head in the freezer and let him breathe. It works better when the fan is running, but the cold air can relieve the swelling and stop the coughing or make it easier.
We found that moisturizers helped some, but not tons. Cold air and dense steam did wonders for us.
As for the ear ache, a hot water bottle that he can lay his ear on will help.
Jerri, thanks for the tips. We are new to ear infections - hope this is our only experience with it though. The doctor said they are really painful. He had me look into my son's ear to show me how inflamed it was - I had no idea.
We are blessed that our children have only had two or three ear aches in their 11 and 8 years of life, and we usually catch them before infection sets in. However, I have suffered from ear infections my whole life. A few months ago I had an ear infection in the ear canal, and it hurt so much I was taking vicadin, and it wasn't dulling the pain enough for me to sleep.
I'm so glad you were able to get the help your son needed. Is he sleeping better tonight?
How is the little one today? We are praying that he continues to improve. The pie is a refrigerated cream pie called "frost-bite" pie. yum! Mama likes it! They had a Reese's Peanyt Butter Cream Frozen pie - I didn't even bid on that! It went for $350 !
Jerri - thanks for checking on him - yes he slept better last night - he did get grouchy in the evening, but you wouldn't even know he was sick today.
Papa - Your pie sounds delicious, but the Reese's pie...ahhhh now that sounds almost heavenly :)
Hi Robin! Thanks for stopping by my site! My grandmother died of cancer although she witnessed to SO many people during her struggle and kept a smile on her face the whole time. That was the main thing that attracted non believers to her at first until they heard her testimony.
Robin, check out my blog. :)
Hi Aimee - thanks for stopping by. I'm sorry to hear of your grandmother's struggle with cancer. Its always hard to hear about loss, but I'm so thrilled that she used that time to share a beautiful testimony!
Tiffany - thanks - I'm so excited!
My daughter woke up feeling sick this morning and I decided to join her late this afternoon - please keep us in your prayers - stomach bug.
This is suppose to be a post about healing - instead your house needs to be quarantined! Praying for the whole family!!
You are discussing healing, and the enemy is trying to make you sick. Sounds like him.
Father, in the name of Jesus, I stand with Robin and the readers of this blog and the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and I declare healing over Robin's whole family. I declare protection from further invasion of viruses, bacteria, and demonic attacks. I call forth angels of protection to stand at the ready to fight anything that comes against this family. No weapon formed against them shall prosper. I plead the blood of Jesus over them and declare that He is the Healer and the Prince of Peace according to your Truth. And, Father, I praise you for Robin's boldness in speaking of your healing. I praise you for those who continue to believe you are the Healer when the enemy, the world, and circumstances try to convince us otherwise. May you be glorified forever through the display of your power on our behalf. We thank you for your goodness and mercy toward us. In Jesus' name,
Amen.
How is everyone doing today ?? You are still in our prayers!
My kids are both feeling great, but I'm not feeling so great. Please keep praying! Jerri, thank you for your prayer you posted - I greatly appreciate it!
Robin, I hope you are feeling better, it's tough when the mom gets sick. Jerri's prayer is amazing. . .how can God ignore such a sincere plea? It sounds as if we have similar lower back issues, it's all about balance at this point. If I over do I'm useless to my family but if I don't do enough I feel like I'll never catch up. Be blessed.
Thanks Life Adapted - What back issues do you deal with - I'm always interested to hear back stories like most mother's are to hear labor stories :)
I am feeling much better today - think I should be back to 100% tomorrow. Thanks for asking, caring and praying!
So glad you are feeling better. My back issues, hmmm, how long do you have? It started 25 years ago when my husband (my fiance then) and I got hit from behind at a traffic light. Muscle injuries that never healed completely, then added injuries during the birthing of my children (each child was positioned sunny-side up) and another injury doing an advanced yoga move...fast forward, a bad case of mono and now fibromyalgia. My fibro is mild and I don't take meds for it, but I take meds to sleep because without the right amount of sleep my body does not restore the damage of the day. Sitting is the worst position for me which is a bummer because I love to go on long drives (well, not anymore) and I love to sit with my husband and the kids and watch old movies (or home movies), but it's where I'm at and I have a wonderful life. I am able to raise my family, homeschool my children and do a variety of volunteer activities. On days I must travel to see family members or even traveling for vacation, I struggle and must balance my days with walking, standing, laying down and sitting. That's the story of my back. What's yours?
Update:
The kids and I are back to normal, but my husband is feeling like crud now - he came home sick last night. Keep him in your prayers - he doesn't do sick very well. Thanks!
Life Adapted - I will answer your question in my next blog entry -TBC...
AMEN ! GIRL!!! I love you!
Thanks for stopping by Darla!
I agree. I do believe God can choose to heal but that sometimes He knows more good can be brought through choosing NOT to heal. People really have to take verses out of context to insist that God will heal everyone if they have enough faith and repentance. I've seen great damage done to people who were taught that and then God didn't heal them or their loved ones. So sad ... and so unnecessary.
Hi Faith! We are on the same page. We just don't understand God's ways or reasons... One day it will all make sense! Eternity... Have you read any books by Randy Alcorn? If you would like some suggestions, check my Reading Room Blog and just type his name into the search engine at the top of the page. One of my personal favorites is Safely Home. But I love them all. Randy's books focus on eternity and living with eternity in mind. Some people are healed and some people die - but that is life and once we die - we pass on to real life - the prize!
My family and I have been discussing prayer this weekend. Twice in the last 6 months I prayed for someone's safety and within minutes, they got hurt, both times involving broken bones and orthopedic surgery. Of course, the standing joke is for me to quit praying. But the sobering thought is that their injuries could have been worse. And the awe-inspiring thought is that, by praying in Jesus name--that His will be done--these injuries could have some divine purpose that we may never know. Only our God can use trials that seem incredibly bad timing to bring about change in us and those we come in contact with...and to bring us closer to Him! At the very least, these unwanted answers to prayer have prompted lots of discussion and made us realize how very great God is and how incredible it is to live life willingly as part of His plan for mankind.
Katie
An interesting article by Randy Alcorn - dealing with healing -
http://www.epm.org/artman2/publish/Christian_living_stewardship_and_finances/Is_the_Health_and_Wealth_Gospel_Biblical.shtml
A neat quote I found...
"Lord, your answer to physical healing meant yes to a deeper healing-a better one. Your answer has bound me to other believers and taught me so much about myself. It's purged sin from my life, it's strengthened my commitment to you, forced me to depend on your grace. Your wiser, deeper answer has stretched my hope, refined my faith, and helped me to know you better. And you are good. You are so good."
Joni Eareckson Tada, The God I Love
Today on Randy Alcorn's blog - http://randyalcorn.blogspot.com/2008/08/afflication-was-necessary-to-me.html - He shared the following (and more):
This is a frank admission of the pain that trials involve but, near the end of his life, Spurgeon also wrote this, "I venture to say that the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the possible exception of sickness. Sickness has frequently been of much greater use to the saints than has health."
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