Healing

[DanL]

The other night in chat, someone suggested I write on the topic of “healing.”

I serve on a call-in Christian radio prayer line, and I can tell you the number one prayer request is for healing.

The conversation went on for a bit and I got to thinking about all the Christians I meet who have something within them that they would like healed.

I don’t remember my exact words, but I asked a question something like, “How many in the room right now are completely free of anything that needs healing?”

Dead silence.

Out of at least a dozen people actively participating in the conversation, not one was completely free of the need for healing.

So, if we serve a mighty God--an omnipotent, loving, Father who could heal every affliction of any kind in the blink of an eye, why was every believer present still in need of healing?

2 Corinthians 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Now, that’s a common verse to quote to the suffering, but it’s often cold comfort because it can be so hard to understand. Why in the world would Paul tell the Corinthians that when he was weak, then he was strong? What?

I think it becomes clear when we look at the whole of what Paul said.

Paul starts out with “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations…” That phrase “lest I should be exalted above measure” occurs twice in the same sentence. When scripture repeats itself, you can be sure a point is being made.

Paul wrote a huge chunk of the New Testament. Today, he certainly is “exalted above measure.” Cities and churches around the world are named for him. (As is the capitol city in my home state of Minnesota.) Prior to becoming an apostle, Paul had been of the ruling class of the Jews, a Pharisee. This is how he describes himself in Philippians 3:

5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But, look at the very next verses following:

7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Quite a contrast, right? And the phrase that jumps out of that paragraph for me is “the fellowship of His sufferings.”

So the thorn in the flesh, sent by Satan to buffet him, is not taken away by God who explains only “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

We know grace is God’s undeserved love and mercy. God is right. Surely His undeserved love and mercy is enough for any of us, because that grace means we are forgiven and will spend eternity in heaven with Him. But how can His strength be made perfect in our weakness?

Throughout the Bible, God chose the humble to do His work:

Moses, the son of a slave and a murder, of whom the Bible says, “Numbers 12:3

(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

David, the youngest son of a sheep farmer and a mere boy when he was anointed king of Israel.

The disciples: common fishermen, a tax collector, regular guys.

Look what Mary sings to God when she learns she is to bear His son:

46 And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

54 He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

And what does Jesus say of Himself in Matthew 11?

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Again and again, the Bible clearly shows us how much God values humility over pride.

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate

Psalm 25:9

The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.

Psalm 69:32

The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.

Psalm 149:4

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.

Matthew 18:4

Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven

So, this is why Paul says,

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It is our very weakness that brings glory to God because we are not perfect. We are not kings and rulers and people of high position with perfect bodies and perfect cars and perfect homes and perfect spouses. No, we are ordinary, lowly folk given the greatest gift in all the universe:

2 Corinthians 4:7

New International Version (NIV)

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Yes, we are jars of clay--fragile earthen vessels easily fractured, carrying the best gift ever given to humanity: the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ!

And, in our weakness and all that humbles us and afflicts us and brings us low, we are equipped to minister to others! We can understand the suffering of others because we ourselves have suffered. We can support, lift up, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ precisely because in all those infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions, and distresses we are equipped to minister to fellow believers and witness to the lost. We can weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. We can lead them to the light that is Jesus Christ that they will no longer stumble in darkness. We can show them where there is water they can drink that will well up in them so that they will never thirst again. When we realize that we will never have perfection in these earthly bodies and learn to praise God for those imperfections, we can guide others to the peace that passes all understanding precisely because we are not perfect people.

And in serving others, we realize that we are not put here for ourselves, but to love God and love each other.

That is the power of Christ in us.

[alien224]

The other night in chat, someone suggested I write on the topic of “healing.”

I serve on a call-in Christian radio prayer line, and I can tell you the number one prayer request is for healing.

The conversation went on for a bit and I got to thinking about all the Christians I meet who have something within them that they would like healed.

I don’t remember my exact words, but I asked a question something like, “How many in the room right now are completely free of anything that needs healing?”

Dead silence.

Out of at least a dozen people actively participating in the conversation, not one was completely free of the need for healing.

So, if we serve a mighty God--an omnipotent, loving, Father who could heal every affliction of any kind in the blink of an eye, why was every believer present still in need of healing?

2 Corinthians 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Now, that’s a common verse to quote to the suffering, but it’s often cold comfort because it can be so hard to understand. Why in the world would Paul tell the Corinthians that when he was weak, then he was strong? What?

I think it becomes clear when we look at the whole of what Paul said.

Paul starts out with “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations…” That phrase “lest I should be exalted above measure” occurs twice in the same sentence. When scripture repeats itself, you can be sure a point is being made.

Paul wrote a huge chunk of the New Testament. Today, he certainly is “exalted above measure.” Cities and churches around the world are named for him. (As is the capitol city in my home state of Minnesota.) Prior to becoming an apostle, Paul had been of the ruling class of the Jews, a Pharisee. This is how he describes himself in Philippians 3:

5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But, look at the very next verses following:

7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Quite a contrast, right? And the phrase that jumps out of that paragraph for me is “the fellowship of His sufferings.”

So the thorn in the flesh, sent by Satan to buffet him, is not taken away by God who explains only “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

We know grace is God’s undeserved love and mercy. God is right. Surely His undeserved love and mercy is enough for any of us, because that grace means we are forgiven and will spend eternity in heaven with Him. But how can His strength be made perfect in our weakness?

Throughout the Bible, God chose the humble to do His work:

Moses, the son of a slave and a murder, of whom the Bible says, “Numbers 12:3

(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

David, the youngest son of a sheep farmer and a mere boy when he was anointed king of Israel.

The disciples: common fishermen, a tax collector, regular guys.

Look what Mary sings to God when she learns she is to bear His son:

46 And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

54 He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

And what does Jesus say of Himself in Matthew 11?

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Again and again, the Bible clearly shows us how much God values humility over pride.

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate

Psalm 25:9

The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.

Psalm 69:32

The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.

Psalm 149:4

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.

Matthew 18:4

Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven

So, this is why Paul says,

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It is our very weakness that brings glory to God because we are not perfect. We are not kings and rulers and people of high position with perfect bodies and perfect cars and perfect homes and perfect spouses. No, we are ordinary, lowly folk given the greatest gift in all the universe:

2 Corinthians 4:7

New International Version (NIV)

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Yes, we are jars of clay--fragile earthen vessels easily fractured, carrying the best gift ever given to humanity: the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ!

And, in our weakness and all that humbles us and afflicts us and brings us low, we are equipped to minister to others! We can understand the suffering of others because we ourselves have suffered. We can support, lift up, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ precisely because in all those infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions, and distresses we are equipped to minister to fellow believers and witness to the lost. We can weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. We can lead them to the light that is Jesus Christ that they will no longer stumble in darkness. We can show them where there is water they can drink that will well up in them so that they will never thirst again. When we realize that we will never have perfection in these earthly bodies and learn to praise God for those imperfections, we can guide others to the peace that passes all understanding precisely because we are not perfect people.

And in serving others, we realize that we are not put here for ourselves, but to love God and love each other.

That is the power of Christ in us.

Prayer and fasting also works.

[DanL]

Good point alien.

I really should have made it clear that sometimes God does heal for His glory and in mercy.

The thing that struck me is how no one is completely healed of everything.

That's saved for heaven.