The divine
gifts, that God has provided for those that are
His, are personal and precious. Being able to
live a life, knowing we are living within His
presence is comforting, including when we are
experiencing some most difficult times. I'm not
sure that anyone can truly determine that all
sicknesses or disease is given to man from Satan
or even from God. It appears to me that in
Job's case, the troubles that Job experienced
was done through Satan with the Lord allowing
him that opportunity. Jesus said:
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to
kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may
have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly.
What we do know is that our many illnesses
are the result of the fall of man in the genesis
of time but God gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life. . I personally believe
that healing and salvation should go hand in
hand. I believe that Jesus used His physical
acts of healing as a symbolism to salvation, as
healing brings life to your body so forgiveness
and grace brings life to your souls. But before
I go into the healing I would like to first
discuss the richness of God's grace. I think,
the children of God, maybe should first consider
the grace of God before seeking divine healing.
God's
Grace is Sufficient
2 Corinthians 12:
9. And He said to
me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My
strength is made perfect in weakness.''
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest
upon me. 10. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in
persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.
What did the
apostle Paul mean when he said he was strong
when he was weak? My perspective is that when
we are going through trials of any nature, it
would not be a trial if we did not experience
weakness and in that experience, we can find
strength to overcome. So it is my belief that
Paul’s strength was in his faith to overcome
that feeling of weakness.
This is special for
me for God’s grace is what we live for, not for
the now but for all eternity. When I study the
story of Job, considering all the hardships that
fall upon the children of God, I realize that
even when Job had it easy, it became not easy,
and Job experienced this weakness and considered
that it was God that has placed all this tragedy
upon him. It would seem that he had friends
that helped seed that thought, pointing blame to
Job’s possible unrepentant sin. Even for us
today, it is so easy in the flesh to blame God
and question our faith as to, why is this
happening to me, and/or, where is God in all of
this? Well, in Job’s case, it was not God but
Satan that did all the destruction. So, when
this is the case with our infirmities, as
children of God, we should resist every opportunity of
giving Satan satisfaction in seeing that his path of
destruction is of any consequence, instead focus
should be directed on the grace of God rather than self.
In the flesh there may be times that this may be easier said than done, and especially in
those difficult times, we need to trust in our
close
relationship with the Lord in prayer.
Satan is always there, testing our faith, but instead of
questioning our faith, the children of God need to
remain focused on God's grace and use the storms of life
to increase their faith and if anything, be more
determined than ever to be a witness for Christ
in all things. With God’s help, as the verse
says, in my weakness, God strength will be
glorified in me. When it comes to poor health,
do I still believe in divine healing, yes I do!
But maybe, God’s strength can be witnessed more
in our weakness than in our health and/or
wealth. I think this is a side of healing that
is not always seen, our faith in Christ that
provides the strength and understanding
necessary to comfort our hearts before the Lord,
knowing the presence of the Lord is so much
richer that the evils of the evil one.
In the flesh, how
do we find happiness? Most of us set up rules
for happiness, for example; I will be happy if
my finances are at a certain level, or if we
have this or that and so one. So when we set up
these rules for ourselves, and we lack in one of
the areas we have predetermined that will make
us happy, our happiness is obviously dampened.
But the Lord told the apostle Paul that His
grace was sufficient for him, which serves as an
example for us and so our true happiness is
achieved in Christ when we focus, not on our
rules but on the free gifts and the grace of God
that is provided through the death and
resurrection of His Son, our Lord and Savior.
Those that have turned to God become light for
a dark world. Consider this, what better
pleasure is there for Satan than to put out the
light of a child of God, to destroy their
testimony and to take their peace. What better
way to do this than to bring upon them, his
diseases, his hardships or even his blessings,
anything that takes one’s focus off the grace of
God. Remember these words of Jesus.
Matthew 5:14. "You
are the light of the world. A city that is set
on a hill cannot be hidden. 15. "Nor do they
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a
lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in
the house.16. "Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father in heaven.
Pay close attention
to verse 16, “Let your
light”, is a choice, our choice. We
must realize that Satan is always looking for
opportunity to squelch that light. When it comes to our
trials in life, I do not think anyone is exempt.
For those that do not know the Lord, these trials
sometimes opens the door in seek for that divine
relationship and for those in Christ, these trials are
sometimes there to test the genuineness of our faith in
Christ.
I think for those in
Christ, sometimes our prayers, rather than being focused
on healing in our times of trial should instead be
directed in seeking
spiritual strength to show Satan the joy and treasure
we find in the
grace of God and making sure that our light remains shining
regardless to the destruction that Satan may
place in our lives.
I have grown to
find that there is something much greater than
our physical healing. Divine healing in the
physical is good but it is always not believed
by some. But our light in Christ shines out in
the darkness and cannot be put out, if we remain
focused, not on ourselves but on Christ and
God's grace. Satan
will do his best to test our faith in God, to
place doubt in our heart, and in the flesh, we
are all weak. But in Christ, we are able to
fine the joy in these days of trial, when we
have the knowledge and wisdom to let our light
remain shinning before all men. If we allow
Satan’s words of doubt enter our hearts, we’ve
become double minded. This is why it is so
important to fully understand why God’s grace is
sufficient. Consider the following words of
wisdom that has been provided for our benefit.
James 1:2.
My brethren, count
it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3. knowing that the testing of your faith
produces patience. 4. But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing. 5. If any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to
all liberally and without reproach, and it will
be given to him. 6. But let him ask in faith,
with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a
wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7. For let not that man suppose that he will
receive anything from the Lord; 8. he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Unstable, that is
the goal of Satan for us, but through the
understanding of God’s grace, we find stability,
even in our times of trial.
So what exactly is
grace? Even though grace is only one word, but
it contains the word and all promises of God.
We begin to see the glory of grace in this
verse.
Ephesians 3:8.
For by grace you
have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9. not of
works, lest anyone should boast. 10. For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand that
we should walk in them.
Grace is the gift
of God that opens the door for our divine
relationship with Him, through His Son. Our
faith in Christ is a living faith, not just that
we will be saved but that we are saved within
this relationship. In this relationship, we are
created for “good works”, and it is through
these works that our light will shine, through
Christ. And it is my belief that this light will
always enclose love. Grace shows us the
forgiving heart of God. There is always a cost
to forgiveness. Forgiveness is not free. We
have to be wronged in some way so to forgive or
there is nothing to forgive. For God, the
ultimate cost was His Son. So we can find
tremendous love in the word grace. In the word
“grace” we have a green light to life. We can
live, knowing that we have been forgiven. How
can anyone have a relationship where there is no
forgiveness? Grace opens that door. Grace
opens the door to ministry. Without grace,
there would be no ministry for us to share this
divine good news with others. Our divine
fellowship with others cannot happen without
grace. Not to mention our grace that we freely
give as we’ve been freely given. Grace also
shows God’s good intention for man, even from
the genesis of time and that it was man that
sinned against this intent. Grace also shows
individual choice. God does not force anyone
into being one of His children. Grace is the
opportunity given to each individual that has a
heart for God and His righteousness for man.
But for me, the ultimate juice to grace is God’s
desire to live within us. To experience life,
our life with Him through His Spirit. Without
grace, this would not even be possible. We do
not have to wait for eternity, this we have
today and this divine relationship is found
through our faith.
So how did the
apostle Paul find joy in his infirmities, and
the like? Personally, I think he was realizing
the fullness of grace. When the Lord said, my
grace is sufficient, we must set back and think
circumspective and when we do that is when we
begin to understand the fullness of grace and
the entire message that is attached. I’m not
sure that we, in the flesh, fully comprehend the
fullness of grace in this life but when we take
focus off self, especially in our trials, and
look to the gifts of God, to include His grace,
we should be able to realize that no matter what
evils we are challenged with, in this life,
God’s grace is always sufficient.
We also need to
remember why we have the testimony of Job. God
did not do all those things to Job, Satan did.
For me, I also consider this verse.
2 Timothy 3:12.
Yes,
and all who desire
to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution.
Where this verse is
recorded, I originally assumed that persecutions
came from ungodly men but when we include the
testimony of Job, we find that Satan was given
opportunity to do this direct to Job, through
storms, diseases and men. Also take note that
even the evil accusations came from men. So,
anyone that is seriously repentant and have
given their trust to God through Christ is a
light shining in a dark unrighteous world. Of
course Satan is going to try to dim that light
and if we do not have a full understanding of
God’s grace and the intention of the evil one,
ones faith can be challenged when the evil one
is given opportunity to test the genuine of our
faith. We must also consider why was Satan given
opportunity, and I think that has a lot to do
with how genuine of a walk we have with the
Lord. My belief is that no one is exempt from
these diseases and other hardships. It seems
that Christians and those that seemly are not
seeking God are both randomly struck with
hardships of some kind. It’s my opinion that
when we are struck with hardships, some will
seek divine help and in this, they develop a
close relationship with the Lord. On the other
hand Christians can also be struck with
hardships and I think there may be more than one
reason, one being we can be deceived in our
beliefs as Job was, believing that God had
placed His wrath upon him when it had been
Satan. At the end, Job repented from that
belief. So, I think when a child of God has
been released to the evil testing of Satan, it
would be best to open their hearts wider for
truth, truths which are revealed by God’s Holy
Spirit.
But also there is a
thing about trust. I see in the Job story, that
God also trusted Job, that Job would remain
faithful. So many times we hear about how we
are to trust in the Lord but true trust is a two
way thing in any relationship. So when God
trust us, and we are ready to be tested, there
is comfort in my heart believing that God is
trusting in my faith in Him. Although, I pray
that my heart is always wide open to any truths
that God wants me to learn during my time of
testing.
All I know, only
good can come out of our time of testing, if we
remain faithful, for He is faithful to forgive
and God’s grace is the very core of our
salvation to Him throughout all eternity. It is
clear that Peter also clearly understood “God’s
abundant grace”
1 Peter 1:3.
Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to His abundant mercy has begotten us
again to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4. to an
inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that
does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5. who are kept by the power of God through
faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the
last time. 6. In this you greatly rejoice,
though now for a little while, if need be, you
have been grieved by various trials, 7. that
the genuineness of your faith, being much more
precious than gold that perishes, though it is
tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor,
and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8.
whom having not seen, you love. Though now you
do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with
joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9.
receiving the end of your faith the salvation of
your souls. 10. Of this salvation the prophets
have inquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
11. searching what, or what manner of time, the
Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating
when He testified beforehand the sufferings of
Christ and the glories that would follow. 12.
To them it was revealed that, not to themselves,
but to us they were ministering the things which
now have been reported to you through those who
have preached the gospel to you by the Holy
Spirit sent from heaven things which angels
desire to look into. 13. Therefore gird up the
loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope
fully upon the grace that is to be brought to
you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14. as
obedient children, not conforming yourselves to
the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15. but
as He who called you is holy, you also be holy
in all your conduct, 16. because it is written,
"Be holy, for I am holy.''
No matter what
destruction Satan dishes out upon God’s
children, God’s grace is always sufficient to
overcome the outcome of Satan. Although, when
one is not mindful of the things of God but the
things of man, then the grace of God may not be
that significant in that one’s life.
Being mindful of
the things of God rather than the things of man
Matthew 16:22.
Then Peter took Him
aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be
it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to
You!'' 23. But He turned and said to Peter,
"Get behind Me, Satan!
You are an offense to Me, for you are not
mindful of the things of God, but the things of
men.''
24. Then Jesus said
to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow
Me. 25. "For whoever desires to save his life
will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My
sake will find it.
Jesus pointed out
to Peter and the other disciples that as long as
we live out our lives with a mindset of self,
that one day, this life will be lost. But for
those that are continually mindful of the things
of God will find a much richer life, beginning
today that will last throughout all eternity.
But remaining mindful of only the things of man
is not good.
Romans 8:6.
For to be carnally
minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is
life and peace. 7. Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God; for it is not subject to the
law of God, nor indeed can be. 8. So then,
those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9. But you are not in the flesh but in the
Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in
you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he is not His.
Peter had a better
excuse for being mindful of the things of man
than we do today. Today, we have the presence
of God’s divine Holy Spirit that has been poured
out on all men, ever since that Day of
Pentecost. Peter did not have that but we,
today are without excuse for this is all a
matter of choice of whom we want to be mindful
of.
Romans 8:14.
For as many as are
led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of
God. I sincerely question how anyone
that takes claim to being a child of God, but
remains being mindful of the things of man can
be led by God’s divine Holy Spirit. To be led
by God requires submission to God and a denial
of self, seeking the things of man. There is a
cost, a personal cost of being included within
the children of God.
2 Timothy 2:3.
You therefore must
endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ. 4. No one engaged in warfare entangles
himself with the affairs of this life, that he
may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
5. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he
is not crowned unless he competes according to
the rules. 6. The hard-working farmer must be
first to partake of the crops. 7. Consider what
I say, and may the Lord give you understanding
in all things. 8. Remember that Jesus Christ,
of the seed of David, was raised from the dead
according to my gospel, 9. for which I suffer
trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of
chains; but the word of God is not chained. 10.
Therefore I endure all things for the sake of
the elect, that they also may obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal
glory. 11. This is a faithful saying: For if we
died with Him, we shall also live with Him. 12.
If we endure, we shall also reign with
Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
Take note in verse
12 above, “If we endure” is the measure of our
faith. Our faith in the grace of God. When the
Lord said to the Apostle Paul for our benefit,
“My grace is sufficient” the total impact of
that statement should be understood, so to find
the strength through the anointing of Christ, to
endure. For when we begin to focus on the
things of man, we are greatly weakened.
Suffering in
Christ
Romans 8:12.
Therefore, brethren,
we are debtors not to the flesh, to live
according to the flesh. 13. For if you live
according to the flesh you will die; but if by
the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the
body, you will live. 14. For as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15. For you did not receive the spirit of
bondage again to fear, but you received the
Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba,
Father.'' 16. The Spirit Himself bears witness
with our spirit that we are children of God,
17. and if children, then heirs heirs of God
and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him, that we may also be
glorified together. 18. For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us.
What does it mean
to suffer in Christ? I think there are many
attributes of suffering in Christ. I believe we
can suffer because of our beliefs that are not
recognized by those that are mindful of the
things of man. I also believe that by our
faith, Satan will be given opportunity to test
the genuineness of our faith by the difficult
challenges that he places before and/or upon
those that are in Christ. I also believe that
we can suffer to some degree by setting aside
“self” and focusing on the needs of others.
Although, if we have a sincere love for others,
we most likely will not recognize that
suffering. I know this is easier said than
accepted but we find endurance when we find our
strength through Christ within our suffering.
Think about our bodies. We’ve all heard the
phrase, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. If
we are bedfast, our muscles begin to weaken. It
is through the resistance of life, of walking
and using our bodies, that we develop the
strength to continue. So, I think it’s God’s
plan for us spiritually, to be challenged, so we
can gain strength to be strong in our weakness
as the Apostle Paul spoke.
1 Peter 1:6.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while, if need be, you have been grieved
by various trials, 7. that the genuineness of
your faith, being much more precious than gold
that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may
be found to praise, honor, and glory at the
revelation of Jesus Christ, 8. whom having not
seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him,
yet believing, you rejoice with joy
inexpressible and full of glory, 9. receiving
the end of your faith the salvation of your
souls.
For me, the bottom
line is this. How much do I treasure the grace
of God? Am I willing to suffer for the cause of
God’s grace? Am I willing to suffer to grow in
the knowledge of the Lord? How strong is my
faith in God’s grace. Is God’s grace truly a
treasure to me? To me, having God’s divine
presence dwell within me is truly a treasure. I
accept this not by sight but by faith in the
revelations of Christ in me. I am still growing
in the knowledge of the Lord and that is
included within this treasure. I love
experiencing the love of God in me for others.
We must understand that Satan is not going to
stand still while out light shines in a dark
world. He is going to attack wherever we allow
or when the Lord sees a need for the genuineness
of our faith to shine through Satan’s very dark
blankets he places over our light in Christ.
When we see that darkness, we have a choice as
Peter that looked at the storm. And what did
Jesus say to him? O you
of little faith, why did you doubt?
That’s the work of the flesh that Satan is
seeking, our doubting in the leadership of our
Lord. But Peter made the right choice; he
reached out for the extended hand of Jesus. As
followers of Christ, we will see many dark
blankets in our life. What we have is choice,
do we focus on the darkness or the grace of God
and all that is packaged within His loving
grace.
Divine
Healing
After
considering the grace of God, divine healing is
worthy considering and seeking from the Lord.
After all there are wonderful promises in the
bible concerning divine healing. Also
consider that Job did repent, but is was not until after
he prayed for his friends, that he receive his divine
healing from the Lord.
The following verse explains that
Jesus had the power to forgive sins as
demonstrated through His divine healing.
Matthew 9:2.
And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic
lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith,
said to the paralytic,
"Son, be of good cheer;
your sins are forgiven you.''
3. And at once some of the
scribes said within themselves, "This Man
blasphemes!'' 4. But Jesus, knowing their
thoughts, said,
"Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5. "For
which is easier, to say, `Your sins are forgiven
you,' or to say, `Arise and walk'? 6. "But that
you may know that the Son of Man has power on
earth to forgive sins''
then He said to the paralytic,
"Arise, take up your bed,
and go to your house.''
There are
instructions in the bible how we can be directed
to the benefits of the cross. In 1 James
5:13-16, there seems to be three directives to
healing in this Scripture followed by an
affirmation.
James 5:13. (1)
Is any among you afflicted?
let him pray. Is any
merry? let him sing psalms. 14. (2)
Is any sick among you? let him call for the
elders of the church; and let them pray over
him, anointing him with oil in the name of the
Lord: 15. And the prayer of faith shall save the
sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he
have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16. (3)
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one
for another, that ye may be healed. (Affirmation)The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much.
-
Is any among you
afflicted? let
him pray
af·flict
(…-fl¹kt") tr.v.
af·flict·ed,
af·flict·ing,
af·flicts.
To inflict grievous physical or mental
suffering on.
-
Is any sick among you?
let him call for the elders of the church;
and let them pray over him, anointing
him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15.
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,
and the Lord shall raise him up; and if
he have committed sins, they shall be
forgiven him.
-
Confess your faults
one to another, and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed.
Affirmation:
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much. The last part of verse
16 is also very powerful.
This part is speaking of one the knows
the Lord and is obedient to His word that's
found only in the heart of those that are His.
This mans life demonstrates God's righteousness
and take note that there are three following
words really stick out which are: "effective"
and "avails much". Think about it! The
effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man
avails much. Think about what each word is
applying to this sentence. This is a statement
of confidence, that those which are Christ's,
should have in their prayers.
First, the bible
tells us that for those that are afflicted,
which could be either a physical or a mental
affliction, they should personally go to the
Lord in prayer. Secondly, for those that are
sick, we see another picture, for they need to
call upon the elders of the church, not
necessarily those that are appointed into
position of leadership but rather those that have known the Lord for a long time,
within the body of Christ, and they shall pray
over him, anointing him with oil, in the
name of the Lord. To me the oil is a symbolism
of one’s dedication to their ministry for God.
This verse continues to say, if he has committed
sins they will be forgiven. Take note to the
word "if". To me, this signifies repentance to
include those that have and those that are in
process. For those that are Christ's, their
sins have already been forgiven and those that
are in process of turning to the Lord, the
promise of forgiveness is already there for
them. There is also another message here for
those that are already Christ's and that is
their need and dependency upon the body of
Christ because the elders prayer, is over
them, rather than for them. Thirdly, we have
another directive, and that is to confess our
faults to one another, and to pray for one
another so that we can be healed. It's clear
that this directive of confession is targeted to
the brethren in Christ that is seeking healing.
Doing this could be a real challenge for some
but practicing this edification would truly
bring growth and spiritual health to the body of
Christ, closing the door to Satan and his
snares. If, those of us that are Christ's,
would really do this, humbling ourselves and
truly setting aside "self" maybe we'd find a
deeper and a more sincere personal bonding
within the body of Christ. Most of us are too
independent to do this. Confessing our faults
is contrary to our sinful nature but praying for
each other is much easier, for in doing this,
one can have the appearance of godliness and our
faults can remain hidden.
There is a core
message that is found through out the whole
bible and that is sincere love and also
accountability. The bible tells
us that each body part is accountable to the
body. The body depends upon the legs and feet
for transportation, the eyes are responsibility
to view our daily paths, the ears are
responsible to report the sounds and the mind
and spirit is responsible for our decisions, and
so on. Bottom line is that in the design of our
body, each part has a function and is
responsible to do its function for us to remain
in good health. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul made
reference to the physical body as a symbolism to
the body of Christ and in James 5:16 we continue
seeing dependability upon the members of the
body of Christ to correct their faults so that
"ye may be healed". Take note that it's not
"if" they have any faults but instead to
"confess your faults".
Confessing our faults with one another, in
sincere prayer, fellowship and love would be an
incredible way of edifying the body of Christ
and keeping us from, not knowingly, being
conformed to this world. None of us are perfect
and we all need edifying or God would not of
granted to His church the gift of edification.
Food for
thought: In the process of truly loving those,
we are sharing our faults with, and together,
sincerely seeking the Lord in prayer, for
strength and understanding to overcome our
shortcomings and if we have an affliction that
may of been given from the evil one, maybe our
love, understanding and forgiveness in Christ,
is the power of God to overcome the evil one and
he and his evil devices are driven from this
presence of the Lord. Maybe if we were to do
this, the Lord's church would find edification,
purifying, and then perhaps the Lord could
intervene more in our prayers, even to include
those prayers for good health, so the glory of
the Lord could be witnessed to the world.
The very first
step in looking for God's blessings in one's
life is repentance: Acts 3:19.
"Repent therefore and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so
that times of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord,
I believe most
importantly, in getting God's undivided
attention, is for Him to find true repentance in
one's heart. Some in the multitudes that
followed Jesus was not interested in His signs
and what they meant but was only looking to the
moment for the food. Same with healing, if an
individual is only interested in the healing,
they're missing the whole idea, healing although
wonderful but is only temporal, for it has been
appointed once for all to die. It's the healing
of the soul that's important! First find the
"...food which endures
to everlasting life", which is the
presence of Christ so your physical healed life
can be lived for Him, being a living symbolic
testimony of His salvation.
John 6:25.
And when they found Him on
the other side of the sea, they said to Him,
"Rabbi, when did You come here?'' 26. Jesus
answered them and said,
"Most assuredly, I say to
you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs,
but because you ate of the loaves and were
filled. 27. "Do not labor for the food which
perishes, but for the food which endures to
everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give
you, because God the Father has set His seal on
Him.''
There is also a
warning that comes with the physical healing, …
"sin no more lest a worse thing come upon you"!
True sin is the rebelling against God's
direction. God's direction comes from the Holy
Spirit. Many of the things that we see and claim
to be sin are only the disobedient acts against
the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is this
disobedience that can bring on a worse thing!
Not only is it important to live for His
righteousness to salvation but also for His
healing. Salvation, understanding, healing and
righteousness is foundational gifts to the
members of the true church, the body of Christ.
For the most part, I feel that Jesus' death on
the cross, does not give life nor healing to the
"unbeliever" the "deceived" nor the
"self-righteous" unless they repent. In my mind
the gifts of the cross are intended only for the
body of Christ, as described in 1 Corinthians
1:2.
Although God is
God and if He wants to give an unbeliever
healing or some other of His blessings, to show
His presence, that may be probable. The gifts of
God are special and are especially reserved for
those that "believe in" the Son, that is, those
that are willing to submit their lives in
obedience to the faith of Christ. Not saying
that one can not make errors but rather living
the faith of Christ.
John 5:14
Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and
said to him, "See,
you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a
worse thing come upon you.''(I
believe it's possible that God in all His mercy
does not always give us the healing we ask for
because He knows our heart and if it isn't
right, then somehow this allows Satan the
opportunity to give us a "worse" thing.)
The New
Testament reveals remote healing.
Luke 7:2.
And a certain centurion's servant, who was
dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3. So
when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the
Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal
his servant. 4. And when they came to Jesus,
they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one
for whom He should do this was worthy, 5. "for
he loves our nation, and has built us a
synagogue.'' 6. Then Jesus went with them. And
when He was already not far from the house, the
centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him,
"Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not
worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7.
"Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to
come to You. But say the word, and my servant
will be healed. 8. "For I also am a man placed
under authority, having soldiers under me. And I
say to one, `Go,' and he goes; and to another,
`Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, `Do
this,' and he does it.'' 9. When Jesus heard
these things, He marveled at him, and turned
around and said to the crowd that followed Him,
"I say to you, I have not
found such great faith, not even in Israel!''
10. And those who
were sent, returning to the house, found the
servant well who had been sick.
The New
Testament reveals that healing can be spoken
into existence by one of His, through Christ to
a believer in the faith of Christ!
Acts 14:9.
This man heard Paul speaking. Paul,
observing him intently and seeing that he had
faith to be healed, 10. said with a loud
voice, "Stand up straight on your feet!'' And he
leaped and walked.
When one studies
about all of those that Jesus healed, there is
no emphasis as to what they had to do to qualify
with the exception of having faith and
believing. But I also believe that Jesus did
His miraculous works to bring focus upon the
church that was to be and His healing was
representative to the character of salvation.
For example, Jesus said the blind can now see
and for those that are Christ's know that that's
representative of the light of Christ that's in
them and now they can see and understand the
deep things of God. Jesus also said the lame
can now walk, and again, those that are in
Christ, find the strength of the Lord to become
overcomers to the trials of this life and are no
longer found to be spiritually lame and without
hope. Therefore, it is my deepest belief that
since Jesus acts of healing was to reveal His
sacrificial gift and authority over the church,
that repentance to Him is key in seeking His
divine intervention in our lives to include the
physical healing of our bodies.
1 Peter 2:24.
who Himself bore our sins in His own body on
the tree, that we, having died to sins, might
live for righteousness by whose stripes you
were healed. 24. For you were like sheep going
astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd
and Overseer of your souls.
3 John 1:2.
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in
all things and be in health, just as
your soul prospers.
I believe those
with a sincere heart will find God and His
blessings if they continue to look to Him for
all things. Healing is not a common thing, nor
is salvation. Therefore it is reserved to those
that will not treat what Jesus did on the cross
as a common thing. The promises of the cross is
a treasure and must be stored in the heart for
safe keeping to eternity.
Hebrews 10:29.
Of
how much worse punishment, do you
suppose, will he be thought worthy who
has trampled the Son of God underfoot,
counted the blood of the covenant by
which he was sanctified a common thing,
and insulted the Spirit of grace?
The following
verse is personal, powerful and a promise!
Answered prayers through Christ!
Matthew 7:7.
"Ask, and
it will be given to you; seek, and you will
find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8. "For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who
knocks it will be opened. 9. "Or what man is
there among you who, if his son asks for bread,
will give him a stone? 10. "Or if he asks for a
fish, will he give him a serpent? 11. "If you
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to
your children, how much more will your Father
who is in heaven give good things to those who
ask Him!
Take special
note to what Jesus said in verse 8:
"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks it will be opened.
He said
everyone who asks
receives, but it is
he who seeks will find,
and those that reach out, will have them.
Abiding in
Christ:
John 15:7.
"If you abide in Me, and
My words abide in you, you will ask what you
desire, and it shall be done for you. It's my belief that when Jesus was speaking of
His words abiding in those that are His, He was
not referring to the bible but rather direction
that is given through the Holy Spirit as
explained in the following verse.
1 John 4:13.
By this we know that we
abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given
us of His Spirit.
Personally I
believe that maybe one of the main reasons why
God does not always heal is unbelief. I want
to enter a thought here. Unbelief can actually
be included in one's beliefs. Let me clarify,
you know that in the days of Jesus' ministry,
they had to of seen Jesus' healing and they must
of believed that. So was it just because He was
known to them or was it their unbelief that He
was the Christ , that restricted Jesus from
doing many mighty works? On the surface, we
could think that it was simply their unbelief in
His ability to heal but I think it was much
deeper. Possibly, in their state of "unbelief"
they may of thought they were believers and
theologically right in the eyes of God. How
could we apply this example to today? Today,
Christianity, at least here in America, is
rapidly growing in popularity with many
different denominational preferences so
obviously, Jesus is heavily believed upon, but
with different ideologies. Is it possible that
at least some of these ideologies could actually
be "unbelief" to the "Way" of Christ. Is it
possible for God to do a work in them,
regardless of their unbelief? Just a thought
here but possibly this is something, only the
Holy Spirit can reveal.
Mathew 13:57.
So they were offended at
Him. But Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without
honor except in his own country and in his own
house.'' 58. And He did not do many mighty works
there because of their unbelief.
How about those
that have seriously went to the Lord for their
healing and it was not granted to them? There
is something mystical in seeking divine
healing. It seems that divine healing is a
promise but Paul also directed Christians to:
1 Timothy 5:23. No longer
drink only water, but use a little wine for your
stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities.
We see here that Christians are not
guaranteed perfect health.
Paul himself did
not receive his healing when he asked for the
thorn to be removed. Whatever the thorn was, it
was an infirmity and the Lord told him His grace
was sufficient.
(KJV) 2 Corinthians
12:7. And lest I should be
exalted above measure through the abundance of
the revelations, there was given to me a thorn
in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet
me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that
it might depart from me. 9. And he said unto me,
My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength
is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am
weak, then am I strong.
The thing that
touches my heart is that Paul's desire for the
power of Christ to rest upon him was greater
than his desire for perfect health. It would
also seem here that some of our affinities are
given as a buffer because of our yielding to our
pride or sinful nature. In verse 10 Paul
comments that he took pleasure "in" (not "for")
his infirmities. At first this puzzled me, how
could anyone take pleasure in any infirmity?
After considering the theme that is found
throughout the New Testament, I had an inspiring
thought! What the Lord
promises is life and His presence. So
then if our infirmities comes from the evil
one, and if we, that are afflicted are,
disgruntled, or even questioning, where is God
in my time of need, this is exactly how Satan
would want us to respond! He wants us troubled
and unhappy! He wants us to question God! But
if we chose to rather take pleasure in that
infirmity, for the sake of our Lord, then Satan
would find that he has no power over us, and the
power of Christ, that is in us, prevailed ! To
me, this really makes since, because sometimes
when men of God are stricken with an infirmity,
rather than considering that as being a
punishment from the Lord, it could rather be
viewed as an opportunity to defeat Satan through
Christ! I think it's good to seek the Lord for
healing but in the event we do not receive that
healing, we need to seek the power of Christ to
find that peace we can have in God, even in our
infirmities. You see Satan would like to make
the Lord, a liar and that's exactly what's
happening in our hearts if we question, where is
the Lord in all my troubles, but if we recognize
that what the Lord
promises is life and His presence, we can
take pleasure in His presence, in helping us
overcome our troubles, therefore showing that
the Lord does keep His promises and Satan is
defeated. I would also suggest that since those
that are His, having the presence of the Lord,
just as Paul was given a "thorn in his side" to
buffer his pride, should pay special attention
to the Holy Spirit for any revelations that
would expose one's thoughts, beliefs or behavior
that may of given Satan an open door for that
affliction. God has given those that are His,
His Spirit to help us combat the works of Satan
in our lives and in this, is where we can take
pleasure in the presence of the Lord, even in
our infirmities. You see, this sometimes can be
the true healing for when in our infirmity, we
find our strength in the Lord, even though in
the flesh we are weak, and it would seem it to
be our very right to focus on our troubles, but
instead we stand upon our strength in the Lord,
would this not send an outrageous message to the
evil one, of our strength in Christ. Consider
James 4:7. Therefore
submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee
from you. If our infirmities come from
the Devil, with him gone, would not this give us
an open door to God's blessings? Maybe it's in
our infirmities where we can best prove our
loyalty to our Lord as Job did. And Job
prevailed over Satan and ultimately found his
healing along with many other blessings from the
Lord.
Paul rejoiced in
his infirmities and understanding why, has
brought peace to my heart, for we can find
victory over any infirmity and understanding the
importance of supporting others that are going
through their "time of trial".
God holds many
mysteries that are continually being revealed to
those that acknowledge His presence and
precepts. The more our needs are brought to
Him, the more we begin to understand the heart
of our Lord and His love, as His presence is
being revealed. For sure, in the divine gifts
of God, much more is to be learned as we lay
aside self and maybe even tradition and center
our focus upon our heavenly Father and His Holy
Spirit.
One thing for
certain, when one sincerely seeks God, they'll
find that, through Christ, they'll find the
strength to over come the trials in this life
and find confidence in our Lord's divine
leadership and promise of eternity.
Tongues vs. the
Message
Home
