Healing Responsibility

2/28/2024

            As a watercolor painter would “wash” the paper with a background color, I need to wash this piece by laying the foundation that God is Sovereign.  He does what He wants to do, when He wants to do it, and how He wants to do it, and He does not require any human approval for any of it.  Biblically, He often has chosen to work with and through human “partners” in what He does.  Having said that, let’s look at the subject of divine, physical healing.

            It needs to be said that there is absolutely no cogent foundation to believe the Bible teaches that divine, physical healing ended with the death of the last apostle in the first century AD.  However, for some idiotic and doctrinal reason, there have always been preachers who will teach against the workings of the Holy Spirit since the Bible was canonized; they are called Cessasionists, and today, whole denominations are full of them, and they specialize in turning out unbelieving believers by the droves.

            My first experience with the reality of divine healing was when I was healed.  In early 1971 had been medically diagnosed with a condition known as hypoglycemia.  My healing occurred in early 1972 during a church conference held in Webster Groves Presbyterian Church, in St. Louis County, Missouri.  And prior to it happening, I was curious, but skeptical to any of it.  Dr. Derek Prince was the speaker, and during his message I had already been stunned to hear God speak to me about the truth of Derek’s message.  Towards the end of his teaching he asked for anyone with a blood-related condition who wanted to be healed, to stand. 

            Even though I was still stunned to have just heard from God about the truth of Dr. Prince’s message, I was still a bit skeptical as I, and about 30 others in the congregation stood to their feet.  Derek prayed a very short, verbally unimpressive prayer, and we all sat down.  I wish I could say I felt something dynamic during his prayer, but I felt nothing.  It was only after I went home and tested my “healing” that I found zero side effects to consuming any kind of food or drink that was not on my approved list of “safe” foods.  I had been healed, and remain so today.  One of the key points in that testimony is that I made the effort to stand for healing, and by doing so, I came to Christ. 

            In the Gospel books of the Bible, we find that Christ healed many people.  In fact, as far as it is recorded in the Scriptures, He healed ALL who came to Him.  We also find some, who could not come to Him because of their disability, get healed when He came to them.  He is, as I first stated, sovereign.  It is also Biblically true that He did not heal those who chose not to come to Him.  Just a guess, but I conjecture that although He walked through Israel for almost 3 years, Jesus probably healed much less than half who needed it….but they did not come to Him.

            There is a two-sided responsibility involved in being divinely healed today, as there has always been.  First, Jesus Christ, through His Holy Spirit, is responsible for the work, but just as important, we who want Him to heal us, must assume the responsibility of coming to Him for it, and then receiving it in faith.  Everything we receive from God will to some degree, depend upon our faith.  While we don’t necessarily have to have a lot of it, thank goodness, faith is always required of us.  Just like we have to exercise faith to believe we will be given eternal salvation, it is the same with healing.  The “I’ll believe it only when I see it” crowd is not an example of that faith. 

In my previous testimony, I had already realized the truth that Jesus was able and willing to heal me when I stood up, and although I felt undeserving and skeptical I would be one of the “lucky” ones who would be healed, I did stand up with some small degree of faith – and Jesus met me more than halfway.  He’s very good at that.  Jesus Christ loves to give gifts to us if we would just let Him, AND if we would meet the conditions for receiving. 

If you or a loved one has prayed for healing, but did not receive it, please do not despair.  Jesus Christ does not change His mind – He is always willing and able.  99.999% of the time when healing does not occur, we have not met the conditions.  We have to exercise our faith, and sometimes we have to determine with flinty resolve to hang onto our faith, until the gift is received. 

Technically, the healing I received in 1972 would be classified as a “miracle of healing”, in that it was immediate; many healings today are not necessarily immediate, but we are promised in Mark 16:18 that if we meet the conditions, we ‘will recover’.  I know this to be true, because since 1972 I’ve been healed many times, and most of those times I “recovered”, and I knew I had when it happened!  I have many testimonies I won’t go into now, but believe me, Jesus is true to His divine nature and His divine Word.  Meet the conditions and you will recover.

John