When we examine ourselves in preparation for the Passover, we look for the sin in our lives. Some of that sin comes from our own actions, when we disobey God's law and seek the world more than we seek God's kingdom. Sometimes, too, others' sins can lead to our sickness, even when we have not personally sinned. God's creation has been suffering from sin ever since Satan, the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) rebelled against his Creator, and this world still suffers from the consequences of Satan's rebellion and the sin of Adam and Eve.
We know that in a world free from sin, we would not suffer from disease. As God told the Israelites: "If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you" (Exodus 15:26). Sadly, our world does not diligently heed His voice, and many—even in His Church—suffer the effects of both spiritual and physical sin.
As Christians, we understand that God does not want His children to suffer from the effects of sickness and injury. Christ inspired the Apostle John to write, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers" (3 John 2). So, if we find sickness in our lives, we may wonder: why does God allow physical suffering to afflict His people? How can we eliminate it from our lives? And if we cannot eliminate it, what should we do?
Have You Repented?
Some of us may be paying a physical penalty for bad decisions we are making, or that we made when we were younger. Perhaps in the past we ate too much sugary "junk food," drank alcohol to excess or consumed substances that are illegal in the eyes of God and man. We might carry the effects of old sports or war injuries, which handicap our ability to enjoy life today. No matter what our ailment, God can heal it; He can even restore damaged parts of our bodies. "Then He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other" (Matthew 12:13). Many of us have heard our Presiding Evangelist, Mr. Roderick C. Meredith, tell the story of a woman he met on a baptizing tour who had received a similar healing of a withered arm, after receiving an anointed cloth from Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.
Repentance, however, is a vital element in the healing process. At the pool of Bethesda, after healing a man disabled for 38 years, Jesus emphasized that sin had caused his long-suffered affliction. "Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, 'See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you'" (John 5:14). If, having been healed, we return to our old sinful habits, we cannot expect to remain healthy. And if we have not been healed, we should ask ourselves: "Am I truly repentant? If I were healed, would I go right back to the physical sins I committed when I was healthy, and be worse off than before?"
Christ healed to restore the afflicted, and to reveal God's true nature to the deceived religious leaders of His day. Jesus' healing miracles were a witness that His words and power came from the Father in heaven. "Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.' And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, 'This Man blasphemes!' But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Arise and walk"? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins'—then He said to the paralytic, 'Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.' And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men" (Matthew 9:2–8). Notice that the paralytic's healing took place only after his sins had been forgiven.
But what if you have repented, yet God has not healed you?
God Can Even Use Disease
God uses disease and healing for a variety of reasons—even as one of His many tools to bring us to a deeper repentance. He may allow disease to correct us if we have violated His physical and spiritual laws. God may even grant a healing to someone who does not know Him, as a witness to His great power, as He did for Naaman the Syrian, through His prophet Elisha. For his lying and stealing, Elisha's servant Gehazi received Naaman's leprosy (2 Kings 5:1–27).
Job was not a wicked man, as Scripture tells us: "Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?'" (Job 1:8). Yet this "blameless" man was self-righteous, and God needed to show him his problem so he could repent, be forgiven and be reconciled to his Creator. God allowed Satan to inflict a horrible plague upon Job's flesh, which He knew would help him grow spiritually. "So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he [Job] took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes" (Job 2:7–8).
God took no pleasure in seeing His servant suffer. Rather, He used the affliction to show Job his proper relationship with his Creator, until he finally understood: "Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:4–6). Once Job repented, he no longer considered his righteousness worthy of God's praise. He understood that, compared to God, "we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities" (Isaiah 64:6–7). Once Job understood who and what God was, took his mind off himself and prayed for his friends, God healed him and blessed him with twice the physical blessings he had before (Job 42:10–17).
God does not owe us healing. He wants to see us in vigorous physical health, but His greater concern is for our spiritual health, and He can even use our illnesses for our benefit. As we examine ourselves, let us each ask, "Am I learning every lesson God wants me to learn from my physical infirmities?"
God Favors the Humble
The Apostle Paul came to understand that God withheld a healing from him so he could develop greater humility. "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations [God had given Paul so many spiritual insights, and gifts, that also giving him perfect health might have gone to his head], a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 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. 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" (2 Corinthians 12:7–10).
God reveals His great love, mercy and power as a witness when He shows pity to the humble, weak and helpless. "And when He [Jesus] came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, 'Do not weep.' Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise.' So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother" (Luke 7:12–15).
Do You Have Faith?
When Jesus' disciples could not cast out an evil spirit that was grievously afflicting a young boy, Christ took over, saying, "'O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.'… And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth" (Mark 9:19–20). The father explained to Jesus that his son had been possessed since childhood, and the demon had tried to destroy the youth by throwing him into fire or water. The father pleaded for his son, saying: "But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us" (v. 22). Then Jesus said to him, "'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.' Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!'" (vv. 23–24). The lesson here is that we cannot "work up" the faith we need for healing. The power to believe that God exists, and that He is our healer, must come from Him. However, we can build on—and reinforce—that gift of faith, by reading the Bible's many descriptions of the healings He has performed for others.
This passage also reveals another vital clue about the need to be properly prepared spiritually before we ask for healing. When Jesus was away from the crowd and had gone into a house with His disciples, they asked Him why the demon would not come out at their command? He replied, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting" (v. 29). Fasting to grow closer to our Father is a good way to prepare before we ask for healing for ourselves or others (see "But by Prayer and Fasting" on page 3 of this issue).
Before God will heal us, we need to believe that He will. As His obedient children, we must have faith that He will not withhold from us anything that will be for our ultimate good. "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:11–13). Yes, we can confidently ask our Father in heaven to heal us, and trust that His will be done!
Love Your Neighbor
If we seek healing, we must desire it for others as much as we want it for ourselves (Galatians 5:14). Prayers for our own healing that do not include the needs of others reflect a "get" attitude. God rarely looks with favor upon selfish prayers. "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:3–5). If you are in good health now, are you praying for the healing of those who are sick or injured? When you are in ill health, you will certainly want others to offer prayers on your behalf— but are you showing that same concern for others today?
Trust God for the Best Answer
We have already seen that God wants us to be in good health. However, sometimes, because we need to be humbled or learn lessons in faith and patience, we may not receive the answer we want right away. Sometimes, God may even have decided we have run our course and should rest from this life's struggles until Christ returns (Ecclesiastes 3:1–3). If we have God's Spirit and Christ is living in us, we can be assured that our Heavenly Father and Jesus are doing what is ultimately in our best interest. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:31–32, 35, 37). We need to be deeply thankful that God gave His Son for all of us—for others, as well as ourselves.
Even if we ask in great faith, our prayers for healing can be hindered if we have an unforgiving heart. "So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses'" (Mark 11:22–26). We need to have a continual Passover attitude, if we expect a healing to occur.
Then, when we are healed, we need to express our gratitude to God. After Jesus cleansed ten lepers, only one chose to come and thank Him. "So Jesus answered and said, 'Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?' And He said to him, 'Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well'" (Luke 17:17–19).
Go to God First
God's ministers are saddened when they see some who are ill exhaust every avenue of physical healing offered by human science and medicine, then ask for an anointing only after they have given up on every other alternative. Yet Scripture is clear: "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:13–16). Even if you are far away from one of God's ministers, you can ask for an anointed cloth and trust that God will heal you according to His will (Acts 19:11–12).
Healing in the Last Days
Jesus Christ commanded His chief disciples to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:7–8). Later, He told them that those who believed in Him—and by extension, His message regarding the coming Kingdom of God—would also do the same and even greater deeds than He was doing. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:12–15).
As we enter the last days of this age, God will use those who are diligently seeking to obey Him, and who have the faith, to do "great exploits" (Daniel 11:32)—to perform miracles by the power of Christ in them. The sick will be healed, lepers will be cleansed and the dead will be brought back to life. To perform these exploits, God will never use those who seek healings out of vanity or to exalt self. He will only use those servants who give Him the glory, honor and credit for all Christ does through them, acknowledging that as human beings they can do nothing of themselves. Peter knew who was doing the healing when he said, "'Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.' Then he arose immediately" (Acts 9:34).
As Philadelphian members of God's Church, we need to be striving mightily to prepare ourselves—individually, and as the body of Christ— to take on the great responsibilities that await us. If we do, we can expect an ever-increasing number of much-needed healings in the Church, now and on into the future. And we must remember always, when a miracle of healing occurs, who it is that gets the credit. It is our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24). As we prepare for the Passover, let us never lose sight of Christ's awesome sacrifice— and let us always trust in His promise of healing!