Romans 4:17 - ...God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did...
I was emailing back and forth with a friend the yesterday. We ended up "talking" about God's healing. I now know two people who know people who are in the throes of cancer. Both of these men are speaking of their healing "as though it was done."
It's all about God...His choice, His timing. As I pointed out to her I don't think we should pooh-pooh the idea that God can heal...anyone...anytime. He has. He is God and the Word says that He never changes, He's the same today, tomorrow and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And as a believer, His covenant with me will never be broken whether in life or in death. He might choose to heal me someday of something...or maybe not. It's His call. He alone knows the number of our days. It has nothing to do with how old we are, how many children we have or even what ministry He might have called us to. It's all about our relationship, how we respond, to Him. Yes, we can pray for healing.
The most important healing, however, is our relationship with God. Our salvation issue. Until we are born again spiritually we are blind, dead and separated from God. The most healing experience one can have is entering into relationship with Him. It is why He sent His Son Jesus. It is through our calling on God and seeking to repair that broken relationship with Him, like the one He had with Adam and Eve before they sinned, that we have the ultimate healing of our lives.
The life we live through the power of Christ's death on the cross and the forgiveness--and healing--He brings when we have called on Him to receive Him as Lord and Savior is what we have when we are alive on this earth. It's our life in Christ on earth where we have been healed...and something we need to be thankful for. If someone caused you to be upset, angry or hurt by an action or word, how would you feel if they came to you and said, "I'm so sorry for what I did/said?" If you knew for a fact that it was heartfelt, might you not change how you thought? Isn't that healing? Unforgiveness causes bitterness which we've all heard can destroy a person's health. This is what Jesus desires for us to do...seek Him for the forgiveness of our sins.
(I think of my mom. After she and my dad were divorced after 35 years of marriage she was bitter and she remained bitter. She did not have a relationship with the Lord and I cannot say for a fact that she entered into one prior to death. I didn't know Him then. After two or three years after their divorce she developed cancer and ultimately chose not to fight it. I think of the pain and suffering she experienced and I have thought about the hopelessness of her situation without knowing that Jesus was there for her. That should break anyone's heart...that not knowing.)
Some would say that a person's faith just wasn't strong enough and that's why God didn't heal them. I just don't agree with that. Yes, faith in God needs to be strong. Even in illness. But strong enough that if He chooses not to heal, our attitude about God, our faith in Him is seen by others through our illness, to lead others to the hope that we have, the hope that in death we will be with Jesus. Gee whiz, I would think, despite whatever reason for not wanting to depart this world, that would be the most comforting thought. With Christ in death.
I don't know what causes people to cling to this life on earth. I might think differently if I were in that place, but I would be praying for the strength to just say, "Lord, if it is your will that I not survive, give me a good attitude and give me the words of encouragement to others. Give me the power of a good witness that others who do not know You, who have not been spiritually healed by You, might come to receive and know You as their Savior, the One who brings eternal life through a relationship with You."
God has a promise (actually more than just one!) to all who have called upon the Lord. Whether physically healed or not in life, we are His. The dead and living in the verse below refers to those who have a relationship with God. It's all about relationship. It's all about the Lord.
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