Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Miracle of Healing Pt. 2

   If you missed The Miracle of Healing Pt. 1, take a few minutes to read it. It's somewhat of a backdrop to this post and will help you understand some things about me and may help you not jump to conclusions about me based on this post alone.

   I have put off writing this post for a number of reasons. Namely that I know writing this will be emotionally difficult, merely because of the transparency with which I am sharing, in addition to how very raw I am. I also think that what I write will be scrutinized and possibly criticized - I'm covering some topics that are a bit touchy. And finally, that it will mark the beginning of sharing a journey with you that I've known I needed to embark on, but have held back, not knowing if I'm strong enough to face it.

   I've only shared bits and pieces of the trial I've faced for almost two years with you. And I'm not even sure that I'm ready to go back and walk through the painful memories that are still so fresh and sometimes haunting, but I know I'm supposed to share my story in regard to the last couple of years. This post is a prelude to the journey I plan on taking in the near future. I hope you will join me.

   In The Miracle of Healing Pt. 1, I told you the story about the miraculous healing of our son. In these next parts, I'd like to talk about a different kind of healing that God has been doing in my life.

   I will be giving a lot more background and details in the proceeding posts, but I want to begin by telling you that I have been unwell for quite awhile, markedly following our second child's birth. For whatever reason, my body doesn't respond well to pregnancies and deliveries and with each one, my health has gotten worse and worse. 
The past two years have been the hardest and worst, following my most recent pregnancy and delivery in March 2012. 

I've prayed for physical healing, I've been anointed with oil twice and prayed over by elders of the church, and I've continued praying and believing that God can heal me. I pray every day for physical healing. I haven't been told by God to stop, so I continue to pray. I am completely confident that God can heal physical infirmities if He so wills. There is not a doubt in my mind about that.

   There are some who think a believer should never be sick, that God's will is for everyone to be physically healed and well, and that whatever you ask from God, you're going to get. I've been challenged to present verses that tell when Jesus did not heal or what diseases He did not conquer on the cross. I honestly am not up to a debate on this topic and to be completely truthful, the challenge from a certain individual left me feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me (because along with their challenge came some very strong words that were painful to hear when you've been sick for so long). If you share these views, I hope and pray that you are never faced with physical suffering that leaves you wondering what you did wrong, how you failed, or in what way your faith was too small. Before you judge someone who is sick, please try to have some compassion and consideration toward the individual who is suffering. You may be wrong.

   And briefly, I will say that while there are many miracles recorded in the Bible, there were also saints who were sick. Timothy was encouraged by Paul to drink a little wine for his frequent ailments (1 Timothy 5:23) and Paul had to leave behind a brother named Trophimus, who must have been terribly sick if he wasn't able to travel (2 Timothy 4:20). And to answer the question - which diseases are not subject to Christ, I say none. They are all subject to Him, but we live in a fallen world and sickness is part of the deal. One day, we are promised an eternal home where God will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain (Revelation 21:4). If we weren't going to have any more pain and suffering in this life on earth, why would God promise us this for our life after we go to be with Him? So that's where I'm coming from. I believe God still heals physically and I've seen Him do it (just read part one of this series). But I also believe there are other ways He heals that are not so obvious to us.



   I want to focus on other ways God has been
healing me during these last nearly two years. This healing is not physical, but is, I believe, even more important. God has been healing my heart. He has been healing me spiritually. He has been healing me emotionally. He has been healing me mentally. 

   If God were to have answered my prayer for healing back when my health collapsed, maybe I would be physically healthy, but I would not be as spiritually healthy as I am today. I was so busy with life, I didn't have time to consider what I was thinking about my husband, why I was responding to certain situations in the manner I was, or how I was erroneously viewing God. I remember feeling like a chicken running around with its head cut off, barely keeping my head above water...yeah, the same one that was cut off! haha! No, but really, I was just barely surviving.

   And God cared about that. He cared about me. And God decided to intervene, even though He knew it was going to hurt me terribly and even make me angry at Him for a season. God saw the eternal and spiritual benefits of allowing me to go through a season of physical suffering. God cares much more about our spiritual health than our physical health and I am so thankful that He does.

 "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 4:2-4

   It's interesting to look back at the situation now and see all the prayers God has answered through this hardship. Prayers that I prayed months, even years before, God answered. There were three in particular that I'd like to share with you... (to be continued next time!)


   God is my Song in the night! This song has been an encouragement to me and continues to be. I hope it encourages you as well. =)


The Lord is my Healer,

4 comments:

  1. Beautiful. And I agree completely. There is nothing God cannot do. But sometimes there are things He chooses not to do. It is part of His wisdom and sovereignty. Just keep that faith and thank Him even when it doesn't make sense. May God bless you in mighty ways.

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    1. I loved your comment! You worded it so well. =) Thank you for your encouragement and God bless you richly. =)

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  2. Amen, it is a crying shame that the lie has been propagated into the Church that God will heal us of anything if only we have enough faith. Well spoken, and from a heart of love. Two people very dear to me (one my sister), and who are both "sold-out" believers who have lived lives of devotion, service, and love for Christ, have chronic medical issues for which they have suffered greatly a) from the affliction, b) because the Lord has not (yet) healed them, and c) because "well meaning" brothers and sisters have done as you described - essentially chastised them for not having enough faith to be healed. I have witnessed it and seen in my spirit that it did not proceed from a heart of love, but rather out of anger.

    The Lord Jesus Christ is far more concerned with souls than with bodies!!!

    Are not these His words?! -
    "It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire." Matthew 18:8

    I shut up now. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. So true. The last thing a suffering believer needs is to be wounded even more by other believers. The thing is...we cannot understand God. We seek Him and desire to know Him and as we search God out, more and more we know Him better and better, but we cannot understand Him fully in this world. Who can understand Him? We simply have to trust God. Too many people think they've got God all figured out. I just know He loves me and He has my best in mind. And that's what I have to hang on to...because there are days when satan does his best to rip that assurance and truth out of my hands. It's all I can do to hold on and hang on tight...it's an all out battle! And it is a very sorry affair when a fellow believer allows themselves to be used by the devil himself to pummel you with guilt, shame and the like when you're barely hanging on.

      But doesn't it give us a better appreciation of what our Savior did for us and a clearer picture of what love, forgiveness and sacrifice look like? I know that for me it has been a good opportunity to learn more about these things. And it just proves even more that no one, NO ONE, can pluck me from God's hand. No matter what someone says to me, God's love does not change and I am His. He takes good care of what belongs to Him.

      Love your points and the scripture you shared. Thank you so much for your encouraging words. =)

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