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Monday, May 31, 2010

Healing

Pardon me for a small detour from regularly scheduled events such as work, beach and random thought matters. I heard a message on healing and wish to recap it because it touched on something aching in my life.

I've been a Christian for 10+ years but I'm not what I'd consider a super Christian. I go to church on Sunday's, I don't volunteer, I don't do daily devotions but for the past year I have recently incorporated prayer into my daily life so if you ever want me to pray for anything please feel free to leave me a message. If I read your blog I'm probably already praying for you and your family because I believe God answers prayers, but this past Sunday I learned a little more about how and why he answers them.

How does God heal? There are 3 types of healing:
  1. Natural Healing
  2. Medical Healing
  3. Supernatural Healing
  • Matthew 8:16 When evening had come, they brought Him many who were demon possessed, and He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. Matt 9:35, Matt 12:15 are more verses with healing where he healed ALL who were sick.
So the question remains for this day, if Jesus is the same today, yesterday and forever and he healed so many while he was here on earth and through the apostles after going to heaven, why do we see so few miracles these days?

My pastor had the following four points:
  1. Some of us are not healed because of personal sin. II Chronicles 26:1, Uzziah was 16 and made King instead of his father. He reigned for 52 years, won every battle and became very arrogant in his own abilities to the day he went into the temple to light incense. The temple was strictly for priests and they begged him to leave but he refused and became angry with them. So God smote him with leprosy and he was a leper till the day he died. Very sad story, he never repented. Numbers 12 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses for marring an Ethiopian woman and they got leprosy but they repented and were made well.
  2. Don't assume now that someone who is sick is living in sin! Some are sick because we are living in a fallen world. Apologies, my notes are a bit light on this point and I don't have any verses.
  3. Sometimes we are not healed because Satin has power. Luke 13:11 A women was bound by an infirmity for 18 years.
  4. We don't always see healing because of the Sovereignty of God. It is about the works of God being revealed through man. At this point the pastor played an audio of a pastor who had lost his voice for 3 years and could only speak with a raspy whisper of a voice. He had stopped speaking for a period of time but his old Bible school group begged him to come back and speak to them. He was scheduled to speak on the subject of healing and the study material had been in place for 8 months. We listen to the audio as he's speaking about healing and while he is speaking his voice is restored, he is healed. It was unexpected and precious.
It's hard for me to explain the Sovereignty of God, I understand it in my own way but don't know how to justifiably explain it to someone else. I know from my recent life example of praying for my 2nd twin to live I was surrounded by many wonderful people who supported me through prayer and words of comfort (Christian and non-Christian, all were a blessing to me). I took strength from their words and remained very focused in faith praying that my son or daughter would be healed (I was 13 weeks pregnant). The baby died two weeks later. I sometimes wondered in the darkest of places, was it from not having enough faith? I learned today that God doesn't sit on a throne with arms folded looking down, shaking his head saying not enough faith, not going to heal. There is a verse that says with faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, mountains can be moved.

It was point 4 that hit me the strongest, that God in his Sovereignty chose not to heal my child and the reasons may not be revealed until I get to heaven but I do rest in the knowledge that he knows what is best for my life and I trust him.

This period in my life brought so many people "out of the woodwork" - an old expression. Comments from people I grew up with who I didn't even know cared or still thought of me. Prayer has a way of bringing us to our knees in compassion for our friends and family, it brings us closer to God.

A year ago I was praying for baby Stellen, a child who was living with a near fatal heart problem; his mom wrote a fantastic blog detailing the unfolding events and there were readers from around the world, thousands of people in prayer. I asked my bible study leader - what difference does it make when one more person prays? Is God more likely to listen? She said no, it's not the amount of people praying, it's that prayer changes each person to be more compassionate about the world and people they are praying for. She said Stellen would not be the only one seeing change but that I would be a changed person from praying for his healing. It's true, I do feel changed from a year of praying. Stellen survived and was healed.

Losing a child has given me insight into the grieving of women who lose babies in pregnancy and afterward. I recently finished reading Angie Smith's book "I will carry you", it's about the loss of her daughter. I have to admit that prior to losing a child, I didn't understand this grief - I can't say I'm grateful to be part of this club but maybe someday having this knowledge, this compassion will allow me to minister to a mother going through the same thing I went through and maybe that's part of his Sovereignty in putting me in the right place and mindset to help someone else.

Finally I want you to know that I love praying for people. I want you to know that I take all requests seriously and will take your burden to the one I call Savior and Healer so please feel free friends to let me know if there is anything I can pray about in your lives.

2 comments:

amanda said...

Waiting to find out the answer has got to be the hardest part...it's the comfort in knowing that the answer will be revealed eventually that helps us get through. Perhaps, for the reason why people lose children, I have yet to get pregnant. I just have to put my faith out there that what will happen, will happen. That's hard for some to understand.
As for Angie's book...I need to add that one to my ever growing pile.

crazywildberry said...

I have not lost a child but feel the ache in a small way. I try to put myself there and feel immense loss and sadness. What if it were my child? I read/hear stories and feel the mother's pain (like I tried in your case). I am so sorry for what happened to you and wish we lived closer. I would put my arms around you and let you talk/cry/do whatever. Just remember, that child will be waiting to meet you as you enter Heaven yourself. :) *hugs!*