You, me, and God the Healer

²⁷ 
I have been trying so hard for the last several weeks to understand the healing nature of God. He is The Great Physician, God the Healer, one who came for the sick, to give sight to the blind! I know this! I do not doubt it! I declare this truth! So why haven't I, personally, seen it? I've heard stories of others. I've read the scriptures (not enough, I'm sure). I know what God has the power to do. I know that Matthew 7:7 says, "Ask and it will be given to you." What I don't know is why when I ask for healing over others, the healing I asked for isn't given, at least not quickly. (I suppose God may plan to heal in the future.) I know that His ways are not my ways. I know to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6)." 

So I get that I don't get it all...(got that?) But I know that God's heart must break when witnessing the pain of His children. After all, don't loving parents cry for the pain of their children? Mine do, so I can't imagine how much more God does. It must be almost unbearable for Him to witness it. 

Over these last weeks, as I have been trying to understand this healing nature of God, I have also been praying that I would be more receptive to God's people. I have prayed that their lives might be more intertwined in mine, that we may become united as His body, and in so doing, your joys would be my joys and your pain my pain. Yes, I can see how this may have been a curse and a blessing, but this unity is the will of God. (Read 1 Cor. 12) 

My eyes have recently caught mere glimpses into the lives of others who deal with struggles that far exceed my own. A woman at church is losing her sight; sisters and brothers in Christ are in physical pain all the time; my wife deals with severe allergies, asthma, and now, frequent migraines. There is so much pain around me. It pains me to see it! (Unity prayer answered.) I have prayed so many prayers of healing to make the sight come back, to relieve the pain, to release the allergies, asthma, and migraines. I am asking for miracles because I believe in them. So why...why can't I see healing?

I have been trying to test my faith. I have asked myself if it is my doubt that has caused my prayers of healing to be ineffective. I've heard that hope doesn't produce miracles, only faith does that. I have wondered if, by asking boldly for all to witness His glory in action, He might actually heal miraculously. Then again, He might not respond. Would that damage the faith of others? Is that considered testing God? After all, Matthew 4:7 says, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." So many questions I don't know the answers to. 

For now, I will try to rely on this word from 2 Cor. 12:8-10

^"8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

This pain was given "in order to keep [Paul] from becoming conceited, [he] was given a thorn in [his] flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment [him]."

I'm not saying all pain is from God or from Satan. I don't understand how that works nor the circumstances for specific pains. I'm probably not supposed to understand that. However, I do know that God does all things for good. I know that when Jesus's disciples asked why a certain man was blind, Jesus said, ³ “...this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:3)." I truly believe that all ailments are opportunities for God to be displayed in us.

I also find myself receiving the words of Isaiah as I ask all these questions and talk with the Lord.

Isaiah 40: 27-31

Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

While I do not understand spiritual gifts, the gift of healing, the full power of prayer, the ways of the Lord, nor even fully grasp my own faith, I do know this... He has given me a stronger love for His people. He may not be healing what I've asked for yet, but perhaps he is healing His body, the church, first. Maybe he is healing our severed ties to each other, the parts of His body. I said earlier that faith is what brings miracles, but of faith, hope, and love, the greatest of these is love. That is exactly what God is giving me for you, and in a way, it is probably even more than what I've asked for!

Lastly, receive this word and be blessed by it...

There is a God. He loves you more than anyone else ever could dream of loving another. He wants only the best for you and has a plan to give it to you. My heart is growing more, like His, in love for you. I will continue to pray for you and your healing. You are not alone in this! I AM is for you, and so am I. Pray also for me, that I may be reminded of you and be reminded to pray for you at all times you are in need, that we may share in each other's suffering and rejoice in one another's victories and blessings. May the God of Healing bring you grace that is sufficient for you. May he bless you and heal you! I ask this, wholeheartedly, in the name of Jesus. Amen.