It's been a long while since I've done any writing. I took a lot of verbal and virtual beatings on several fronts, did some major wrestling with the enemy over several issues, needed some time alone with my Lord to get my head on straight again, got my spirit renewed, and now I think I'm ready to come back to it.
First thing I'm ready to tackle is the subject of faith healing. Or rather, the judgmental attitude that a lot of us ill Christians face when such attempts fail, are denied/delayed, or whatever else you want to call it. I fully believe that God can and does heal today, just as He did when Jesus was still walking on the earth. I fully believe that I could be instantaneously and completely healed right now if God so chose to demonstrate His will in that way. I would be delighted if He did. I have prayed for that many times. I have had many people pray for that for me, both while laying hands on me and from afar, with oil and without. So far that prayer has not been answered, at least not in full. But I'm still saying that God is my King and I'm still trusting in His plan for me.
Now, over the years I've had a few people ask me from time to time if there might not be some sin that I've committed that perhaps I have failed to confess, and if perhaps that might not be what is keeping me from getting well. I've always appreciated that, for we Christians are called to keep each other on the straight and narrow. And sometimes when I've searched my heart, I've found something or other that wasn't right, and took it to my Lord in prayer, confessed, repented, and went on my merry way. But it never had any impact on my health. That's not to say that prayer never had any impact... God has always given me relief in one form or another (though never in the way I expected) whenever I truly reached the end of my rope in dealing with my health. Just never full relief from it... just enough for me to keep going.
Occasionally I've encountered some really obnoxious individuals who have INSISTED that there HAD to be some sin causing my illness, that there was no other explanation for it, and no other way to heal me than for me to come clean and confess this so-called hidden sin... Yeah, a sin SO hidden that I don't even know what it is! These individuals are absolutely unbelievable, because they just won't leave a subject alone, and will hound a person to death, so sure they're right, and so convinced that they're doing the Lord's work in browbeating ill people, trying to get them to confess to Lord knows what, for no other reason than they're sick! Don't bother holding Job up as an example, because Job "feared" what befell him, and "fearing is a sin!" Hello! God Almighty Himself called Job faithful (Job 1:8), then turned around and rewarded Job tenfold for remaining faithful through it all and made the 'friends' who insisted that he was sick because of sin apologize to him (well, not in so many words, but you know that's what's implied, when they had to go to Job in order to 'get right' with God again!), take sacrifices to him to be burnt on their behalves for their sin in speaking against God in this way (for assuming that God works in the way they insisted He does) and have Job say prayers for them (Job 42:8)! *snort* If you're reading this and you're one of the ones who acted in this way towards me, rest assured, I've prayed for you and forgiven you, even though I know and you know you've never come to me to make anything right with me (getting right with God is up to you.) A hug sure wouldn't hurt, though, if you ever get the opportunity to visit my neck of the woods. ;-) In the meantime, might I point out that it's dangerous to be so focused on possible splinters in the eyes of the sick that you miss the planks in your own eyes? If you have ever made the assumption that somebody was sick because they sinned, especially without really knowing anything about that person, please reread the book of Job, because not all illness is the result of sin.
I want to say that again.
Not ALL illness is the result of sin! (Reread Job AGAIN if you want to argue with me on that point. And I'm not splitting hairs about Adam, as this IS the post-Adam world. Don't be petty. Semantics irritate me.)
A few months ago, I had something new happen to me. I was introduced to something I had never even imagined encountering before... the notion that a person who didn't even know me, didn't know anything about me, could tell me what my sin was based on my symptoms. Turns out there's a whole ministry, with lots of followers, built on extractions from the bible all mixed together with a bit of modern medicine and psychology and... Voila!... Psychobabble with a spiritual twist! Now...To be fair, the pastor that started it all seems to have good intentions, and seems to have led a lot of people to healing, and for those people, I say "Wonderful! Hallelujah!!" There's a LOT to be said about the effect of guilt, fear, anger, self-hatred, bitterness and all those other negative emotions (sins!) on the human body, some that you maybe didn't intentionally choose but had foisted upon you by your upbringing, and it's a HUGE relief when you finally understand that the lies you may have been buying into for much of your life can no longer imprison you, and you're FREE! It may have even been the source of your illness, and you may find yourself healed as a result of that freedom!! Awesome! If you're ill and you've never looked into this possibility, it's worth a look, with caution. But... there's an awful lot of people who are getting trampled by the mob following along behind this movement and NOT getting healed...
Firstly, despite our world's fascination with putting everything in neat little packages, life just isn't that way. Don't believe me? Look at the animal kingdom classifications... as much as man tries to neatly divide all the animals into neat categories, God seems to delight in creating exceptions to man's attempts to create rules for everything. Look at the platypus, for crying out loud! It looks like it could easily belong to several different classifications of animal all by itself! Tell me God didn't chortle and say, "There, you silly children, try to classify THAT!" So now I'm supposed to believe that all people who suffer joint pain do so because they are failing to forgive? Or that all people who suffer autoimmunity are hating themselves? It doesn't wash. To me, it makes about as much sense as saying that because one man who jumped off a bridge broke his legs, ALL people with broken legs got them by jumping off bridges.
Secondly, what of those who go into faith healings with open hearts and minds, who genuinely seek to get completely right with God in every way, but aren't healed, then are treated as if it's somehow their faults they weren't healed? Is that right? Just abandon them to the enemy's lies? Shut them out from God's love? This is what happens to many of them, you know. I've talked to some of them, including some who have spiraled down into deep depression and some who have lost faith completely, and I heard the enemy trying to lie to me, too. You know what he was saying? "You're not worthy of being healed. You aren't really loved. Maybe you aren't really even forgiven your sins. Whatever it is you're supposed to do to be healed, you aren't doing it right. You can't. You might as well just give up. You can't please such a demanding god anyway. Just walk away. Go home. Leave everybody alone. Curl up and die already. Nobody loves you. Nobody wants you. Not even God. Who needs you?"
People... Please, please, please be very careful about handling issues of 'faith healing'... It really isn't a 'one size fits all' thing that works for everybody, and you must not point an accusatory finger at the person who is still sick when prayers for healing go seemingly unanswered. Sometimes God's answer is 'No', and sometimes His answer is 'Not Yet'. Sometimes these earthly bodies just plain old don't work right for organic reasons, or for things that don't have anything to do with us personally. Sometimes we reap the consequences of things that happened a long time ago: sins past, forgiven and forgotten. Sometimes we're stuck with the effects that this fallen world, and even other sinners, has had on our bodies. Though it's not absolutely clear that Paul's 'thorn in the flesh' (2 Cor 12:7) was a physical infirmity, it likely was, so sometimes illness is used to keep us on the straight and narrow, guiding us closer to God. And sometimes, just maybe sometimes, we're like Job, shining examples of faithful servants, pointed out by our Fathers as someone who would still remain faithful even in adversity, and allowed to be test subjects, and will bring glory to Him if we remain true. A friend put it best, I think, when she said that God can't be summed up in a simple equation. Yes, He is unchanging, yes, He makes promises in Scripture, but we cannot manipulate Him based on that. We have to trust in His plan, trust in His timing, trust in His sovereignty, and know that in all things, He uses everything for the good of those who love Him. And if you are one of those who has heard the enemy's lies mentioned above, Dear Child... You are so very loved! Your Father knew you before the world was created, planned everything about you, and thinks you are 'to die for'. He delights in you, and if you've repented of your sins, then He has not only forgiven them, but forgotten them, separated them from you as far as the east is from the west. He will never leave you or forsake you, and is keeping track of your tears. Be strong and courageous, for you are not alone, and there is much for you to do here to further the Lord's work, for He can use you no matter what condition you are in, for in your weakness, He is strong. And He is with you always!
Father, Forgive us for judging one another, and help us forgive others who have judged us. Heal our hearts of the hurts that such judgments have left behind. So many of us are sick, and few of us have any idea why. Guide us to the answers that are right for us, whether it be confessing sins, uncovering lies we've believed, correcting organic problems, or simply asking and finally being HEALED, or merely being content with our lot for whatever purpose You might have for that, and keep us glorifying You all the way! Keep us pointing up at You in praise, and not at each other in accusations. Remind us to reach out to those who feel betrayed and lost by the church, and welcome them lovingly back into the fold, use us as your tools again, comforting and supporting ill Christians in their weakness until they are made well or until they are taken home to be with You. Reveal the enemy's lies for what they are, and fill us with Your love, no matter what our physical condition. Show us, if we're ill, how we can be of use to You, even in our weakness. Thank You, Jesus, for saving us repentants all, sick and healthy, just for believing in You and accepting Your gift of salvation so freely given! Amen
Scripture references I have turned to for comfort. May they comfort you as well: Book of Job, Psalm 103, Psalm 139, Jeremiah 29:11
