Healing is a fascinating topic in modern Christianity. Depending on who you ask, you might hear a range of perspectives from “healing is hogwash” to “oh it happens every day”
It’s easy to get emotional when discussing healing because we all know someone who has needed healing at one time or another, or we might even need healing ourselves right now.
Although the topic of healing evokes powerful feelings, it’s critical to not be driven by emotion, but allow the Master Healer to guide us in this realm… It is God Himself who identifies as our Healer, and later I will share with you some things I saw in the account of Jesus healing the paralyzed man in Luke chapter five.
The Proper Perspective
As we begin today to explore the hot topic of healing, it’s vital to have the proper perspective— a view not based on our human thoughts, emotions, or experiences, but one based on the scriptures and the life of Jesus.
First, that God is the healer. Healing power does not come from man, nature, angels, or demons. Healing comes solely from God by the power of His Spirit.
God reveals Himself as the LORD who Heals in Exodus 15:26, and as you may have heard me say before, there is no need for God to name Himself for His own benefit… He doesn’t give Himself names for fun, but He names Himself for our benefit, because He wants us to know something about His nature and character. In Exodus 15:26, He reveals Himself as the one who Heals, because that is one of His characteristics… God is the Healer; He heals, and He wants us to know that!
Second, God wants to heal. Many Christians know that God can heal, but they have trouble believing that he wants to heal. Oftentimes we have such issues knowing the will of God because we don’t know His character as well as we should, and we don’t understand the life of Jesus or what He accomplished through His sacrifice. That may seem a bit heavy-handed, but it’s not my words, scripture says this plainly in Luke 9:54-56, where we see, a town failing to receive Jesus, and the disciples asked if they should call fire down from heaven like Elijah did.
But in verse 56, Jesus rebuked them… something has changed between Elijah’s time and Jesus’ time, and Jesus tells them what it is: You do not know what spirit you are of; the Son of Man has not come to destroy men, but to save them.
Many Christians today find it easier to believe that God is a destroyer rather than a healer. They are very quick to presume that God has made someone sick, and very slow, hesitant, and doubtful to believe in God as the Healer. But as Jesus says here, we need to recognize the Spirit of Christ and realize that His Spirit desires to save and to heal.
Furthermore, we have Hebrews 1:1-4:
“ 1God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2Has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
4Being made so much better than the angels, as he has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
Which leads us to the third point, Jesus reveals the heart of God. As we can see from Hebrews 1:1-4, God has spoken to us through Jesus. Jesus is the exact image of God’s nature, the radiance of His light. If you want to know God’s will and His heart, look no further than Jesus. And when it comes to healing, Jesus is not ambiguous, He consistently healed all who came to Him (and even some that didn’t) regardless of their issue.
John 1:18 says that no-one has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son [Jesus] who is in the bosom of the Father, has declared Him.
Healing Is Connected With Jesus
It’s crucial that we understand God’s heart, character, and nature regarding healing, or doubt and discouragement will always find a way in. In Isaiah 53:4-5, we see:
“ 4Surely he has borne our sicknesses, and carried our pains: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was on him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Matthew 8:17 directly links Isaiah’s prophecy of the cross of Christ with Jesus healing the sick, so the two events are clearly connected.
I would like us to mediate on Psalm 103:2-6 this week:
“ 2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases;
4Who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies;
5Who satisfies your mouth with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6The LORD executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.”
Think about these verses. The psalm says to bless the LORD— that means to speak well of Him. David is literally telling his soul (his mind, emotions, and will) to speak well of the LORD. It’s easy for us to speak negatively of God, but we should take a lesson from David here, and direct our soul to speak well of the LORD and agree with the truth of His character.
David says to speak well of the LORD and not forget his benefits… and notice the the very first pair of benefits that he mentions in verse three: Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases.
As we saw in Isaiah, Jesus paid the penalty for all of your sins and iniquities… and connected with that is your healing. I encourage you meditate on this truth during the week, and we will continue this topic next week, as we explore some fascinating details from the account of Jesus healing the paralyzed man.
I look forward to thriving with you again.
Be blessed.