When God Doesn’t Heal

Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

My son was born with an immune deficiency.  My older daughter was born with an exceptionally rare form of muscular dystrophy.  My mother-in-law is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease.  I have multiple sclerosis.  The risk of having a child with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is 0.002%.  The occurence of my son’s immune deficiency is less than 2%.  One in ten people 65 or older have Alzheimer’s disease.  The odds of have multiple sclerosis is 0.03%.  These are independent risks, so multiplying the odds of all of these is quite low (about 1 in 109).  Put another way, you are 10 times as likely to win the lottery.

I have prayed at least daily for healing.  I have experience with prayers for healing not being answered the way I desire.  I have had the elders of the church pray over my family.  I have had our pastor anoint me with oil and pray over my family.  I have beaten myself up over lacking the faith necessary for healing to come, because I’ve “checked all the boxes”.  I’ve thought, “God has to heal.”  “I’ve met all the requirements.  He needs to do His part.”  Very arrogant and badly focused I would say.

The question, “How much faith is necessary for healing?” comes to mind often.  Jesus answers this question for his apostles.  “Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we drive it out? ”  “Because of your little faith,”he told them.“For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:19)   The tiniest bit of faith, when it is true faith from God, grows to immense proportions in the lives of believers.  That is how much faith necessary for healing. [I found this blog very insightful regarding healing and faith.]

Beth Moore has said, “God may not always will for us to be physically healed in these earthly bodies or tangibly prosperous, but He always wills for us to be free from strongholds.” We are promised, "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)  Are we willing, am I willing to trust that God is good, that His plans are perfect, and His love is unfathomable even when He wills not to heal physically?  99% of the time, I am enslaved to an emotional stronghold inflicted by the enemy that keeps me from experiencing His unfathomable love, His goodness, and it keeps me from exercising my faith and trust in this great God!

  1. What are you praying for healing for today?
  2. Do you trust God with the answer?
  3. Are there strongholds in your life that are keeping you from experiencing the God who is good, who is perfect, and who is overflowing with an unfathomable love for you?  If so, what is your response?  Like me do you choose to let the enemy work overtime in your life or do you go to war against the enemy?


--Zine Smith

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Comfort Trap

Image
'One person dies in prosperity, completely comfortable and secure, the picture of good health, vigorous and fit. Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life. But both are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same maggots.' Job 21:23-26 One of my favorite music groups of all time is a little-known group, House of Heroes .  I had them in for a fundraising concert several years ago.  Early in the show, they performed one of my favorite songs;  The Comfort Trap .  Here are just a few words from that song: I'm gonna get nice things and get my way Even if it means there's hell to pay I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too And what I don't eat I'm gonna force feed you I'm not looking for consolation Maybe I can settle for compensation Have my cake and eat it too And if it's all a lie, I'm gonna say it's all true It seems to be a universal state of our world that if what we think is a l...
Read more

People of Vision

Without revelation, people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy. Proverbs 29:18 I have had excellent vision for most of my life.  My sight was better than 20/20.  When I was in late high school, I was told by my optometrist that I was going to have a hard time as I got older.  I asked, "Why?"  He said, "Your eyesight is going to get worse as everyone's does.  You're going to think you need glasses, but no optometrist is going to give you eyeglasses for 20/20 sight."  My vision didn't last as long as I would have liked due to MS.  I now see an ophthalmologist annually which I visited this past week.  They have the worst games!  "One or two?"  "Which line can you read?"  "Better or worse?"  Augh!  If I could see well I would tell them?  Isn't that why I went to the eye doctor?  To correct my vision that I know is flawed?  And my eyes are fine.  My eye shape and lense...
Read more

Death Precedes Life

Image
"So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.” But when Jesus heard about it he said,“Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days." John 11:3-6   Author Henry James said, "Life is a predicament that precedes death." The caterpillar appears to be a full animal. It eats on leaves. It crawls around and tries to avoid being eaten by birds and other predators. From a passing glance, the caterpillar appears complete. From an anthropomorphized view, the caterpillar thinks itself complete. We know that the caterpillar is but a butterfly pupae; an immature form. It is nothing like what it will be. The caterpillar must go through a metamorphosis that resembles death. The outer-layer dies forming a chrysalis that inside the butterfl...
Read more