You can be healed.
It’s given to extremes. One extreme cancels it out altogether. They profess faith in God and stand by the Bible ardently regarding morality and the quest to affirm the primacy of Jesus. It’s just that they think it stopped when the apostles died out. The other extreme insists that it should virtually happen all the time, and where it isn’t happening, it suggests that maybe God is not in that place.
Those who see this setup will probably expect a “middle position.” I don’t think the spectrum operates that easily, though. Jesus was not the first person in the Bible to heal as a sign of God's presence. What we refer to as the Old Testament is full of episodes of God working through people to bring about amazing cases of healing, from people having their leprosy taken away to others being raised from the dead.
Jesus' ministry effectively carried on and highlighted that aspect of how God interacts with people. He was not in the business of sickness management; He was in the business of healing. If the woman had been in that bent position for years, He thought it was time she completely experienced freedom from that condition. His point had a powerful impact on the witnesses. It should have a similar impact on us who read it today.
We don’t do any favours by behaving in a kind of guilt-trip manner that demands that healing should take place all the time, and failure for it to take place is an indictment of our faith or the faith of the ones we hope to be healed. Neither do we do ourselves any favour by behaving in a way that suggests that we shouldn’t have an expectation and hope for God to break through. That’s part of the point of the praying; that’s part of the delight of knowing that in God’s plan is healing. It’s a great sign that God’s Kingdom is expressed.
As far as I understand, nothing in the New Testament, post-Jesus's ascension, suggests that saints should anticipate a time when healing won’t occur. This reaffirms the enduring power of faith and the continuous expectation of healing.
It’s been my privilege to witness people healed. It’s also been my experience to see people earnestly praying and crying out to God for healing, which is not happening. It hurts not to see the healing take place – it really hurts. That hurt doesn’t lead to despair only because of the focus – that focus is on Jesus, who did not heal everyone He ever encountered. This focus is on Jesus, who expresses His goodness in healing now and offering something even more glorious for those who take Him seriously and don’t limit Him or hold Him to a “what have you done for me, lately” kind of arrogance.
The hope and expectation in Jesus as a healer are so important in a day where the prevailing dependency is on pain management and moderating decline rather than being committed to healing. I’m grateful for the medical profession, and I don’t question those who are totally devoted to it. It is to view them, however, in the context of the bigger picture of being servants of God as He sees fit to use them whilst not dismissing or belittling the reality that He can move in His own way to bring about healing – far deeper, more profound and of a sort that modern medicine will never reach.
My demand is not that God heals as I command. My hope is that God will heal for His glory. Knowing that He is much more than a Healer and having the grace to trust Him more helps with expectation and trust.
You can be healed.
For His Name's Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
