I want to spend the next few blogs focusing on the biblical promises for healing. One of the great writers and preachers on the subject was F.F. Bosworth who wrote about and ministered healing in the early 20th Century. I will be quoting him and then reflecting on some of his thoughts over the next week or so.
BEFORE PEOPLE CAN HAVEa steadfast faith for the healing of their body, they must be rid of all uncertainty concerning God’s will in the matter. Appropriating faith cannot go beyond one’s knowledge of the revealed will of God. Before attempting to exercise faith for healing, one needs to know what the Scriptures plainly teach, that it is just as much God’s will to heal the body as it is to heal the soul … It is only by knowing that God promises what you are seeking that all uncertainty can be removed and a steadfast faith is made possible. His promises are each a revelation of what God is eager to do for us. Until we know what God’s will is, there is nothing on which to base our faith. It is important that the mind of those seeking healing be “renewed” so as to be brought into harmony with the mind of God. (F.F. Bosworth, Christ the Healer, Revell, 9th Edition, p.15).
Times haven’t changed. Even in the Christian community a majority of believers still doubt God’s willingness to heal them. Many “hope” for healing but find it difficult to “believe” for healing. Others believe that their sickness or condition has been given to them by God to strengthen their spirit or to somehow purify them through their suffering. Another group might say that God is interested in our souls but not our bodies so healing is not a priority in the mind of God. This group might say that perfect health is reserved for heaven so it is not dispensed on earth. Many of us have been taught those views in one form or another for years so it is difficult to have sufficient faith for healing. Faith is not the only factor for healing but it is the first factor either for the one praying or for the one receiving.
According to the Apostle Paul, “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Bosworth is absolutely right in pointing us to the word of God rather than to the word of men for our assurance that God is willing to heal us. If God only desires to heal occasionally (or not at all), how can we have faith when we ask for any healing? If we believed that having believed and repented, God still only saved occasionally based on some unknown criteria for us, how could we have any security in our salvation? When it comes to our salvation we believe it is always God’s will to save so as soon as anyone meets the minimum requirements of imperfect faith in Jesus, a decision to live for Christ (with little understanding of what that means), and the “sinners prayer” we have no doubt that God has forgiven that person and added their name to the roles of heaven.
We need to have that same assurance regarding healing. We get that first by seeing what the Word of God says about healing and about God’s heart for healing. A good place to start is to simply consider one of the names of God found in the Bible – Jehovah Rapha (Ex.15:26) which means “the God who heals.” When a name for God shows up in scripture it does not just reveal what God does but rather who he is. It reveals his heart and his nature. If God is “the healer” then it is always his nature to heal his people. God is not double-minded like men and he does not contradict his nature. We believe that God is love so he is always motivated by love. We believe that God is good so he always acts in good ways. God is also the God who heals so we can be assured that it is his nature and his desire to heal his children. No one believes that there was disease or deformity in the Garden and no one believes there will be disease or deformity in heaven. Why? Because it is not God’s will for his people to be sick or to have any kind of infirmities. Sin introduced death and disease (which may lead to death) into the world, not our Father. God does not desire sin nor it’s effects on his people, so Jesus came to deal with sin. He also came to deal with sickness and demonstrated that time after time while he walked on the earth.
There is more to be said abut healing and why healing does not always occur, but the place to begin is to simply accept by faith that it is the nature of God to love, to do good, and to heal and that he is always true to his nature. That, I think, is a good beginning point for a discussion about healing. Be blessed and well today!
