but, I am back! I haven’t been that sick in years and have no desire to repeat the experience. But it has, once again, raised the issue about healing.
Do I believe that God removed His hand and/or allowed this sickness. Absolutely and irrevocably – NO! In my understanding, this would be totally contrary to who God is and what He does. I do appreciate that there are countless numbers of Christians (and those who are not) do believe that God ‘puts’ sickness on us to teach us (fill in the blank). One: do you think He would resort to such an approach to teaching? Two: when you are sick, do you honestly learn anything or are you like the vast number of us who only moan? Three: if you do attribute some learning from this experience… is it spiritual? There are other questions I could ask, but these three are foundational to our understanding about who God is, what He does, and how He goes about being and doing God.
Our God is a creative not destructive God. He uses proactive and positive ways to teach and lead us. WHY would He use a negative, sickness, to catch our attention? If this argument doesn’t sway your thinking then look to one of the names He used to describe Himself – Jehovah Rapha, our healer. Certainly we can choose to not follow His pattern for keeping ourselves healthy, but that’s what we do, not what is done to us. Look at Exodus 15:22-26 as to how God explains Himself to His people. Further insight comes:
“In the 16th chapter of Exodus we find a passage of scripture that gives
us a great deal of insight into our Jehovah Rapha. This name of God is
proclaimed to the children of Israel by God through Moses at Marah.”
From a different perspective, I can’t speak of your experience, but when I’m not feeling well I am not open to anything but feeling better. Hindsight? Perhaps. But again, I tend to look at the situation from a secular view – eg. what I might have done to place myself in a position to get sick. I believe that there has never been a situation in which I found myself and turned to the Lord that he didn’t heal me. None. He may not use the same methods, which really isn’t the point, healed me is.
As I’ve grown in the things of the Lord, I have learned to trust and rely on scripture. If He said it… He will do it (Isaiah 55:11). Why would I deny my experience? Too simplistic? Again, perhaps… but I don’t think so. 2Timothy 1:12 speaks to being fully persuaded. That is the foundation to belief. Are you fully persuaded that God puts sickness on us to teach us. If so, then tell me what spiritual insight you’ve learned and applied. The larger question though is – in whom do you place your assurance of healing? If it isn’t God then who do you turn to when you are sick? If He put the sickness ‘on’ you why would He remove it?
