An Effort to Understand Why Not All People Are Healed

An Effort to Understand Why Not All People Are Healed

Twice in the last week I’ve been treated to two Christians who dogmatically hold that it is absolutely not God’s will for anyone to be sick and that He wants to heal every person.

I am one who firmly believes in God’s power to heal bodies from sickness and disease – and to keep us from sickness and disease.  And I have prayed for many, many people to be healed throughout my (as of now) three decades as a Christian.

Frankly, many have been healed but far more have not been, but I always pray with much faith for the person; I know my God is all-powerful and I expect Him to do great things and to receive the glory.

In addition, I could cite verse after verse from Scripture about God’s will to heal, from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

But my focus is more in this paper an effort to understand when God does not heal people.  For example, we read of Paul in 2 Tim. 4:20 concerning Trophimus that “I left sick at Miletus.”

To his young protégé, Timothy, Paul gave this advice: “No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Tim. 5:23, italics mine).

Both Greek words that refer to the sicknesses of Trophimus and Timothy come from ἀσθενέω (astheneo).

The same holds true for Paul, who described his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:5-10) as a physical weakness (astheneo).

In this passage, Paul refers to this Greek word five times and he has learned to rejoice in those weaknesses (plural) “that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (v.9).

One believer that wrote a message on Facebook arguing strongly that God never wants His people sick said that in the context of 2 Cor. 12, Paul was referring to persecution but it actually does not.

Paul was asking God first and foremost to remove the thorn in the flesh, which he then immediately described in physical terms.

This is consistent with what he wrote in Gal. 4:13-15, where conservative biblical scholars routinely agree that the certain “bodily illness” (once again, the Greek word is astheneo) was some sort of grotesque disease of Paul’s eye.

We should note carefully from v.14 that Paul called this “a trial” (v.14).  Everywhere in Scripture we find that God uses trials in the lives of His sons and daughters for the chief purpose of conforming us into the image of His son (e.g. Rom. 5:3-5; 8:17-18; 2 Cor. 4:7-18; James 1:2-5).

May God use sicknesses or diseases that are part of this fallen, sinful world, as part of those trials?  We’ve already seen that He certainly did in Paul’s life.

We can find no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of the great prophet Elisha, who performed virtually all of the miracles in his day that Jesus and the apostles did in the New Testament (NT).

And yet we read in 2 Kings 13:14, “When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die.”

What shall we do when we’re seeking to be well during a sickness or disease?  We should first praise God in the midst of it and continue to praise Him (1 Thess. 5:16-18; James 5:13).

Next, we should ask Him for His wisdom (James 1:2-5) and what it is that He is trying to teach us and thank Him that He will (James 1:6-8).

Third, we should ask the Lord – in His way and in His time – to reveal to us the purpose or the cause of the sickness or disease and thank Him that He will.  He may be trying to teach us something for ourselves or for others (2 Cor. 1:3-8).

Fourth, we should commit to a fresh surrender of our will and life to Him.

Having done those things, at some point, it is biblical for us to seek to be healed, but note carefully that healing has a conditional promise to it (James 5:14-16; cf. Ex. 15:26; Num. 11:33; Ps. 32:3-5; 107:17; John 5:1-14; 1 Cor. 11:27-30; Gal. 6:7-8).

One major area of our lives to be exceedingly cautious in is in the area of bitterness (cf. Heb. 12:15; Mt. 6:14-15).

Another major area to carefully examine is unconfessed sin (Prov. 28:13; cf. Ps. 51:8).

Patience also must be exercised, lest we find ourselves becoming demanding of God.

This is all I have time for now, but I will add to this document in the future.

General and President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789

I love this great man’s words and heart; so inspiring to read!

 

President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789

 

A) Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

B) Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be;

c) that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war;

d) for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;

e) for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

f) And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually;

g) to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed;

h) to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord;

i) to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

J) Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

 

The Forgiveness Prayer

The Forgiveness Prayer

I write this sample prayer because I know how much people struggle in the area of forgiving others – and because of how urgent it is to walk free from bitterness.

Moreover, living with an unforgiving spirit results in living in torment, as the verses within the prayer will show.

Here is the prayer:

“Heavenly Father, Your Word tells me from none other than Jesus’ parable on forgiveness that if I refuse to forgive others for their sins or offenses against me – and yet I want Your forgiveness for my own sins and offenses against You – that I must forgive or suffer the consequences (Mt. 18:21-35).

“That parable teaches me that when I refuse to forgive, I’m a hypocrite before you and others. It also warns me that I will live in torment and I don’t want to be guilty of hypocrisy nor do I want to live in torment.

“Your Word tells me that if I refuse to forgive others for their sins against me, You will not forgive my sins against You (Mt. 6:14-15)! I need Your forgiveness! Your Word also warns me that if I choose to live in bitterness, I will be “defiled” within (Heb. 12:15).

“And you tell me, Lord Jesus, that if I really love you, that love will be demonstrated in my obedience to You (John 14:21, 23-24).

“Finally, You teach me, Lord that I need to forgive as often as it takes, until I no longer need to forgive those who have offended me or who have sinned against me (Mt. 18:21-22)

“Therefore, by faith, I choose to forgive _____________________________ for sinning against me or for offending me.

“I bring _____________________________ before Your throne of grace and I release them to You and I refuse to be bitter, resentful, angry or judgmental of them any longer, in Jesus’ name.

“By Your grace, Father, I will continue to do this as long as it takes until the day comes when I’ll know that I no longer need to do this. As long as it takes! Obeying You and living in freedom is infinitely more important than holding onto this sin.

“Your grace is enough; Your love is enough and Your power is enough for me to walk in Your freedom rather than in my own bondage. Thank You for Your truth that sets me free!”

The Anniversary of William Tyndale’s Death

On this day in 1536, William Tyndale was executed for translating the Bible into English for the people of England — so that the common man could read the Bible for himself.  It was illegal in England to read the Bible in English.

The priests of the Roman Church read it to the people in Latin, but few people spoke Latin; they spoke English.  After years spent translating the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament into English, Tyndale had been smuggling thousands of Bibles into England from his exile in Holland.

The Church paid people to spy on Tyndale and to capture him, which one trusted confidant of Tyndale’s did.  Tyndale was burned at the stake and while engulfed in flames prayed aloud, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes!”

A few short years later, the king of England commissioned the Bible to be translated and printed in English and he made it legal to own a copy of the Bible.  This translation is known to us as the King James Bible, which was available to the people in 1611.  Now 400 years later, we also celebrate that world-changing event.

But all of this came about from the courage of one man — William Tyndale.

The Search for Meaning: Found!

Philosopher and theologian Alister McGrath writes in his book, “Doubt”: “Deep within all of us lies a longing for absolute security, to be able to know with absolute certainty” (23).

I would add that most people want to be known with absolute certainty as well.  Is all of this possible?  In studying what secularism, atheism, Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism has to offer, none of these can even come close to the God of the Bible for absolute security, to know with absolute certainty and to be known by Him with absolute certainty.

One thing I love about the Bible is that it never holds back; it tells us right up front that nothing else in life satisfies like a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, but that in order to have that relationship, one must absolutely surrender his or her life to Jesus.  No other religion dares to call for this or promise such fulfillment.

For example, the Bible tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8), but of the 99 names in the Koran, not one refers to Allah as “love” and its teachings demonstrate this god to be quite inconsistent.  Yet Scripture tells us of a God who is intimate, perfect in faithfulness and who has an unconditional love toward us (agape) and who even has a friendship love for us (phileo).

Moreover, the Bible tells us that in this life, due to the fallen nature that we live in, we can c0ntinually go deeper in our knowledge and experience of God but that full appreciation of Him will only be experienced in heaven — which is but a mere breath away.  Everyone dies; not everyone really lives.

Only the Bible can give us the incredible detail of heaven that it does — and give us the certain perspective that our lives are ultimately not the segmented lives we think they are.

Just as there are certainties in this life — for example, mathematical certainties — there are spiritual and eternal certainties.  But mathematical certainties cannot give one the ultimate meaning of life.  However, Jesus tells us that the ultimate meaning in life is relationship with Him (John 17:3).

He offers perfect forgiveness; perfect mercy; perfect justice; perfect understanding and perfect fulfillment.  If you do not have a relationship with God today but you would like to, all you have to do is pray a prayer like the one I will offer.  If you truly mean it in your heart and you tell God you now belong to Him, He will hear your prayer and change your life.

Once you pray this prayer, please reply back to me and wherever you live, I will do my best to find an excellent church for you to be involved in, so that you can grow in this new relationship you’ll have with God through Jesus Christ.

Please pray this prayer with me: “Dear Lord Jesus, I have not lived my life for You.  I confess that I am a sinner, in need of Your forgiveness, which You have already offered me when You died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins.  Take my life, use it for Your glory.  Reveal Youself, Your ways and Your nature to me.  Place me in the best church possible so that I can grow with You now, in Your name I pray, amen.”