Does God Heal

It’s a Pertinent Question: Does God Heal?

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Comme= nt before reading scripture lesson:

The word “Ecclesiastes” comes from a Greek word that means teacher or preacher. It spea= ks of the struggles the writer had at trying to understand life. He doesn’t say much about Go= d; that is left to the writers of the Bible’s other books. Evidently, following his struggles= , he thought it would be good to share his experiences, accenting his need for G= od and every person’s need for God.

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Scrip= ture Lesson: Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

There’s a story about a preacher who had not been fortunate enough to receive a for= mal education. He was gifted as an orator and people responded in great numbers to his preaching. One Sunday, he preached a sermon u= sing the scripture we read moments ago as his text. After reading his text, he said to= the congregation: “Dear peo= ple, what this old preacher was telling his people is that life comes at us from= all directions. Sometimes it thro= ws us a curve ball. When you think = you have arrived somewhere, life moves you.&nb= sp; When you are moved to a tough time, don’t give up. Don’t think that God has for= gotten you. There’s an anchor = that can steady you, and it’s a relationship with Jesus.”

I question the preacher’s understanding of what the Ecclesiastes passage says; nevertheless he is right when he says that life does come at us from = all directions, and he’s right about the importance of having a relations= hip with Jesus.

Our oldest grandson lives in Texar= kana and will graduate high school next month.&= nbsp; He was 18 on April 17 and I wrote him a letter. He will be leaving home in a few m= onths for college and I told him some things to remember in his new world. One of the things I told him to re= member is that life is greater than he is, and it’s greater than he can comp= rehend. He needs God and the faith th= at flows from a relationship with God if he is to realize his God-given potent= ial.

Life is greater than any of us. On= e of the dimensions of life being greater than we are has to do with life’s mysteries and the questions that flow from the mysteries. Why do people who take care of themselves die so young and people who abuse their bodies live so long? Why are some people healed physica= lly through faith, and others aren’t?&nb= sp; Why are some born with physical ailments and others are born healthy? Why are some countri= es in God’s world blessed with rainfall to provide food and water, and other countries know drought, famine, and an unbelievable death rate? These are but some of the question= s that grab the human mind and spirit. Unfortunately, there are folks that highlight such questions and allow them to overcome anything that’s spiritual.

You may have seen news lately stating that churches that say that there are no = gray areas when it comes to believing are growing, while churches without such stated beliefs are losing membership. We live in an age of confusion and frustration and people are looking for that which is declared to be certain.&= nbsp; It may sound strange for you to hear me say that when I read the art= icle I was greatly troubled. I was troubled for two reasons. Fir= st, I was troubled because so many in our society have difficulty trusting anyone, including God. This age of information and suspicion has eroded trust. I was also troubled because life isn’t simple and the word “faith” implies trusting when we don’t fully understand. God’s people walk by faith! Those who try to wrap God in a doctrine or formula of= ten walk the path to disillusionment. = Life has so many areas that aren’t black or white; they’re gray. It’s because life is so unce= rtain that a relationship with God is important; it’s because life is so uncertain that faith in God is crucial in a person’s life.

What happens to people who are misguided and discover that what they have been l= ed to believe is lacking? ItR= 17;s not unusual for one or more of the following to happen to them:

· They think they lack faith. This puts them in turmoil and eats= away at their spirit.

· Sometimes they judge what they have been tau= ght to be a hoax and disassociate themselves from the church or anything spirit= ual. I can recall many who wanted to be= lieve they were so sure of certain beliefs, only to walk away from what they beli= eved when their beliefs were tested and found to be wanting.

· I’ve seen some become neutral or passi= ve about the church and its teachings.

· There are those who become angry, thinking t= hey were misled.

· And there are some who respond to their disillusionment by scoffing at the church and its teachings.

What needs to be clear in our minds about God and us is that having a relationsh= ip with God is more important than being able to explain complex beliefs, or accept that which we can’t fully understand. I confess to you that I’ve struggled with many of the doctrines of the church, but I don’t quest= ion God’s love for me and care of me.&nb= sp; God is greater than we can comprehend, and that’s one reason we bow before God. This is what = is most important – to know we are in the care of the eternal God who lo= ves us and cares for us. Jesus witnessed that truth in the flesh and in his resurrection, and that’s really what is important!

John Donne was a great seventeen-century English poet. He experienced his father’s = death and the deaths of three sisters before he was ten years old. Grief weighed heavily on his mind = and soul. As a young man, he stud= ied for the law and practiced for a period, but an angry father-in-law and his wife’s uncle got him blackballed from the profession. He eventually became an Anglican p= riest and was doing well when his wife died, leaving him with seven children. A few years later, he became ill a= nd was diagnosed with the bubonic plague. <= /span>It proved not to be the plague, but probably typhus; nevertheless the disease lingered. Donne stayed in bed, thinking he would die at any time. <= /span>His friends had to support him and some of his children financially. He became profoundly depressed and= wrote to a friend, signing his name, “Un-Donne.”

During his bed-ridden months, he wrote a book of meditations that he titled Devotions. In one of the meditations he says = to God that after all of his missteps and confusion, and his wife dying, he was now able to serve God. Then he as= ks God, “How can you do this to me?” That question had found a harbor i= n his mind and soul.

One day when he was struggling with depression, he heard a church bell toll. Church bells tolled when someone d= ied, and friends thought he was near death.&nbs= p; He wondered about his own death.&nb= sp; As he thought about the bells that rang and his own death, he wrote = one of the most famous passages in English literature, mined by Thomas Merton a= nd Ernest Hemingway for book titles:

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less… Any man’s death diminishes m= e, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom= the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

The tolling of the bell reminded Donne not only of his mortality, but of his connection to his fellow human beings. As he lay in bed reflecting on his = life, he also began to see that the pain in his life could be redeeming. He reflected that his poverty had t= aught him to rely on God. His disgr= ace had cured his ambition. And n= ow his physical pain was causing him to reexamine his life, to consider his connec= tion with his less fortunate neighbors, to seek a closer relationship with God. = He had begun by praying that the pa= in be removed; he ended by praying that the pain be redeemed. His pain subsided and he became a g= reat preacher and one of the most distinguished writers in English history.= = [1]

      Some of you know that I have a brother, named Ron, who has been and continues to= be ill. He and his wife live in The Woodla= nds, north of Houston. After Carolyn and I returned from a recent visit to their home, he had his wife call to ask me if I believed th= at God heals. I believe that God= heals with all my heart, but simply answering his question with a “yes̶= 1; was not enough.

      Had I asked Ron a few weeks ago the question he wanted me to answer, he would h= ave been quick to tell me that he believed that God heals. Ron has a deep faith in God, but p= ain and uncertainty have a way of clouding one’s mind. Going back to the preacher’s interpretation of our text: L= ife has thrown Ron a curve ball. = His question, during this time, is pertinent!

      There are three faith-lessons about God healing our physical or mental being that= I want to share with you today. Maybe they are lessons that will help you when your mind or body, or both, are clouded by pain – or the mind or body, or both, of a loved one is seriously ill.

      The first faith-lesson to be highligh= ted is that God does heal; however, God’s healing is mysterious. It’s mysterious in that some= are healed, while others are not. Some who are healed have great faith and some who are healed don’t profess= to even believe in God. That was= true in Jesus’ ministry, and it has always been true.

      Occasionally we hear stories of people who were diagnosed with cancer or some other illn= ess and following prayer or some spiritual event or experience doctors are unab= le to find the illness again. Or= we hear about a person with an addiction who received prayer or prayed and was healed. There’s somethi= ng in me that wonders about such, but I repress the wonder. I repress it knowing that God has = always worked in mysterious ways. Why would it happen for some and not for others? I don’t know.

      I remember vividly a man pointing out this mystery to me after his young wife died. As he was pointing it o= ut, he cried out, “Why should I even believe in God?” I didn’t attempt to answer h= is question at that time, but later I shared with him what I said earlier in t= his sermon. We need God because l= ife is greater than we are. We need = to trust One who has a view that we don’t have. We need to trust One whose love ca= n heal our hearts when they are broken. We need to trust One who has given a resurrection assurance. We all need an anchor!

      When I was a young pastor, praying for sick people, four thoughts came to mind t= hat have remained with me.

·       First, I took seriously that prayer isn̵= 7;t magic. It’s not a spiri= tual pill. Prayer is about a relationship, and it’s an expression of holy concern for the person f= or whom prayer is being offered.

·       Secondly, I realized that those who were hea= led by Jesus and his Father in biblical times weren’t healed forever physically. Jesus even raised Lazarus from the dead, but he would die again.

·       The third thought is that when our relations= hip with God is secure, we are better able to withstand physical illness. I’m confident of this becaus= e I have witnessed it in so many people. Our spirits can be strong when our body isn’t. Our spirits can be whole when our = bodies aren’t.

·       The fourth thought is that the resurrection = Jesus gives is the greatest healing experience we can receive. He will give us a new body!

      God’s healing is mysterious, but we need to give more emphasis to God than to our= illness and physical healing. When we= open our minds and hearts to God, we will be able to get through any illness, physically, emotionally or relationally.

      The second faith-lesson emphasizes th= e need to pray for physical or mental healing, but do not make prayers a bargain w= ith God.

      I remind you that prayer is not intended to be a tool we can use to get from = God what we want. There are verse= s in Matthew and Luke’s gospel that have been misused by so many. You know the verses. They read:

“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks received, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matt. 7: 7-8 and Lk. 9-10)<= /span>.

      These verses have to do with being persistent in praying and not about us being a= ble to get everything we want through prayer.&= nbsp; Prayer is a medium that connects us to God so we can express our des= ires to God and be nurtured by God’s Spirit. If we could get from God what we w= anted through prayer, we could control God, and we know that can’t be done.=

      All of Jesus’ prayers weren’t answered as he desired. Remember that occasion when he was= in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying repeatedly tha= t he might not have to die. He was persistent! But Jesus knew th= at his will to live wasn’t greater than his heavenly Father’s will, and Jesus submitted to a higher will.

      Now please, please hear me: IR= 17;m not saying that when a child, a youth, or a young adult dies from an illness that it’s because God wills it. I can’t accept that and don’t want you to accept it. There’s a great difference i= n God willing the death of someone and God receiving the loved one when he or she dies.

      What I’m concerned about is prayer that is rooted in a bargain. A bargain prayer goes something li= ke this: God, if you heal me or my loved one, you can count on me to do anyt= hing for you. Or, If you really exist, prove it to me by healing me or my loved one. <= /i>That kind of praying strangles faith. It’s so much better to place ourselves or our loved ones in God’s care, trusting that God has an eternal view when we are so short-sighted.

      What happens to people who pray a bargain prayer is that if death comes, anger or disillusionment reigns. Or, w= hen a person who has prayed such a prayer hears another say that he, she or a lov= ed one was healed because of prayer, the person who has prayed the bargain pra= yer feels cheated and resentful.

      Easter day 2008 an 11-year-old girl named Kara Neumann of <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Weston, Wisconsin died. Her parents knew she was seriously ill, but they didn’t call a doctor for help. Kara’s death was due to diab= etes – a disease her parents did not know she had.

      Kara’s parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, belonged to a religious group known as Unleavened Bread Ministries. = They had prayed tirelessly for their daughter to be healed. Following Kara’s death Weston’s police chief said, “Her parents attributed the death to apparently they didn’t have enough faith.”[2]

      That’s not true at all. Misguided re= ligion can cause a lot of damage. Don’t ever believe that because your prayers aren’t answ= ered as you hoped they would be that you don’t have faith – or enough faith. There’s no formu= la that one can follow to get prayer answered always the way we want it to be answered.

      The third faith-lesson to accent is that God works through doctors, nurses, fri= ends, and others. God works through= those who labor in labs to discover new medications and God works through medicin= es.

      The Bible is clear in teaching that God works through his human children to do = his work in the world. That’= ;s a lesson found from Genesis to Revelation in the Bible. At times, God works supernaturally= , but most of the time God works through us humans.

      We are all instruments that God can use when we are open to being used by God,= to help others. And others can h= elp us, too.

      It’s so important for us to realize that our bodies, our minds, our emotions, and our relationships are all tied together.&n= bsp; What’s mental affects our physical being, and our physical bei= ng affects our mental state. Our mental or physical beings are impacted by the state of our relationships. It’s important that we recog= nize these connections.

      A kind word to another often does wonders that you and I don’t realize. Expressed concern and affirmation can lift spirits. Sometimes forgiveness, as Jesus illustrated in forgiving persons, can lead to physical and emotional healing.&nb= sp; Don’t ever underestimate how one part of our being affects oth= er parts.

      We close with this story. The la= te Peter Marshall’s wife, Catherine Marshall, wrote a book several years= ago that she titled Beyond Ourselves. In it she tells of a time of heali= ng in her life which was both spiritual and physical. Tuberculosis kept her in bed for s= everal months. Medical specialists t= ried to help her, but nothing seemed to help.

      Mrs. Marshall penned these words:

“Persistent prayer, using all the faith I could must= er had resulted in, well, nothing. One afternoon a pamphlet was put into my hand.= It was the story of a missionary who had been an invalid for eight years. Constantly, she had pr= ayed that God would make her well so that she might do God’s work. Finally, worn out with futile peti= tion, she prayed, ‘All right, I give up.&n= bsp; If you want me to be an invalid for the rest of my days, that’s your business. Anyway, I̵= 7;ve discovered that I want you even more than I want health. You decide.’ The pamphlet said that within two = weeks, the woman was out of bed, completely well.
“This made no sense to me. It seemed too pat and at times unbelievable. Yet, I could not = forget the story. On the morn= ing of September 14, 1943, I came to the same point of abject acceptance. ‘I’m tired of asking,&= #8217; was the burden of my prayer. I’m beaten, finished, God, you decide what you want for me for= the rest of my life. Tears flowed= . I had no faith as I understood faith. I expected nothing. The gift of my sick self was made = with no trace of graciousness. The= result, though, was as if the windows had opened in heaven. As if some dynamo of heavenly powe= r had begun flowing, flowing into me. From that moment on, my recovery began.”[3]

      I hope you caught what Mrs. Marshall said when she said, “I had no fait= h as I understood faith.” Yet healing came. It’s mysterious!

      I’ve learned along the way that we can have healthy spirits, even if we have a s= ick body. There is no formula for physical healing, but thank God healing often happens. Saying that, we know that we weren’t created to live forever as physical beings. We were created to have fellowship= with God in this life and the life to come. Therefore, what’s most import= ant is that we nurture a relationship with God.&n= bsp; Life is greater than we are and we need an anchor. In the name of the Father, the Son= , and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Closing Prayer:

      Dear God, as your children we bow before you confessing there is much about life that we don’t understand. But we also bow with gratitude for your love for us, as witnessed in Jesus̵= 7; life, death and resurrection. We praise you for his witness and for the promise Jesus makes about us having a home in heaven when our physical beings fail. With thanksgiving, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!