Have you been seeking your own physical healing for a long time without results? I’ve been there!
In the past couple weeks, I’ve received three e-mails from Christians who have been seeking their own healing for a long time without results. With permission (and a changed name), here’s the first e-mail with my response…
Hi Art, I know you probably get a ton of questions about healing, but I’m hoping you can help me out. If I’m a Christian who needs healing…what am I supposed to do? Short story: I took a medication around a year ago and suffered severe side effects from it affecting my liver and digestive system. I also suffered hearing loss, tinnitus and loss of balance because of damage to my ears. All of these effects have caused significant suffering and inability to live a normal life; doctors can do nothing else for me. My wife also suffers from a chronic illness and has not seen healing yet either. I’m 33 and my wife is 28 and we cannot lead normal lives because we are so sick. I have called the elders to pray for me, I’ve prayed for myself many times, I’ve gone to healing services, etc.; but I’m still not healed (nor is my wife). What should I do at this point? Sincerely, Ben
Here’s my reply:
Hi Ben, That’s a great question. Let me start by saying that I wish I knew why some people are not yet healed. You’ve probably encountered a lot of Christians with opinions (God having a higher purpose, it’s not God’s time, etc.). The trouble is that these people aren’t getting their opinions from the Bible. As far as I can see, every single person who came to Jesus was healed (See the following nine Scriptures: Matthew 4:24; 8:16; 9:35; 12:15; 14:35-36; Mark 6:56; Luke 4:40; Luke 6:18-19; and Acts 10:38). He never turned someone away saying, “My Father is building character in you, so you’ll have to be a leper until you learn your lesson.” (Let me be clear that God can indeed use sickness to build character, but there is no Scripture to support the idea that this is why you’re sick. His ability to “work all things together for the good of those who love Him” does not imply that He is the author of disease or evil. Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing; so if God were busy making people sick to build their character, then that’s what Jesus would have gone around doing…but He didn’t. He only healed.) All that to say, my best answer is that no one has yet adequately represented Jesus to you. I never blame the person suffering for my own inability to represent Jesus effectively. With that said, I’ve been in your shoes–waiting for a healing. I suffered with bulging and degenerative discs in my lower back for four years. People prayed for me hundreds of times with no effect (or there would be a small effect that was only temporary). Here’s what I learned in the process: 1) Faith is the substance of things not seen. So no matter what I see, God is still good, still Healer, and still loving. He still wants you to be healed. Jesus still paid the price. For some reason, it’s not working yet, but that does not make God any less powerful, and it doesn’t change His will. We don’t have all the answers, but we do know The Answer, and He never changes! Hold onto the substance of who God is despite what you have experienced so far. 2) Don’t let the sickness influence your thinking more than Jesus and His Word. This is one of the hardest things to do. In my case, I wasn’t allowed to lift more than 30 pounds or else my back would go out and I’d be bedridden for a couple weeks. I couldn’t pretend that I was healed; I had to be real with people about my limitations. But at the same time, I couldn’t allow my condition to rule my emotions or my beliefs about what is possible with God. My healing ministry started in August of 2009, but my own back wasn’t healed until April of 2011. I refused to let my own experience trump the Word of God, and the result was that many others were healed despite my own condition. If your condition rules your emotions, then it has become an idol because God is the only one who should be afforded that authority in your life. I had my moments of weakness when I became upset about my condition (and the mood-altering effects of the pain meds didn’t help), but I always brought those feelings before the Lord and let Him change my heart. 3) Some things take perseverance. Every time I had the opportunity to receive ministry, I took it. And every day, I would speak healing to my own back in Jesus’ name. It took four years, but it finally happened! If you stop seeking your healing, then it may never happen. But if you keep seeking, then you continue to create opportunities for God to touch you. Again, I don’t know why it sometimes takes longer than others; I just know that it does. Even Jesus had to sometimes minister more than once to see someone healed (See Mark 8:22-25). Jesus taught us to persevere in seeking God’s blessings and promised that everyone who keeps asking with boldness and perseverance would eventually see results (See Luke 11). Every time someone ministers healing to you (even when you speak it to yourself), expect the healing to happen immediately, and try to test something out to see if anything changed. 4) Look forward to the justice of God. God always overcompensates for injustice. When Job was attacked by Satan despite his righteous lifestyle, God restored twofold all the blessings that had been stolen from him. A lack of healing is injustice against Jesus because He has adequately paid the price for your healing. In my case, the man who God used to minister my healing didn’t know how long I had been suffering with my condition, but he prophesied (among other things) that God was going to give me four years of accelerated favor. Four years of suffering injustice resulted in four years of favor! It has barely been more than a year since then, and God has already begun to fulfill His promises in ways I could never have imagined—hundreds of healings, salvations, and miracles; the birth of a nonprofit that will have global impact; and even smaller things like meeting Reinhard Bonnke and having dinner with Daniel Kolenda while visiting Kampala, Uganda. As God promised in Joel 2:25, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” (which implies more than a mere end to famine but also an over-abundance of provision!). 5) If you have experienced healing but the symptoms returned, then command the spirit of infirmity to leave in Jesus’ name. As I said, before my back was healed, I couldn’t lift more than 30 pounds; but after I was healed, I was carrying furniture only a week later. About a month and a half after that, though, I got out of my car, and my back went out. I stood hunched over, wondering how I was going to fall gracefully without injuring myself further. Fear flooded my mind and heart. “Oh great,” I thought, “I was wrong; I wasn’t actually healed!” But then, what I call “Jesus Logic” kicked in. I thought, “Wait a minute…A few weeks ago, I carried a couch!” I placed my hand on my back and said, “In Jesus’ name, spirit of infirmity, leave right now.” Then I stood upright and had no more problems. This has happened five times during the last year with the same results. I have learned that the same way the devil tries to convince you that you’re not saved, he will try to convince you that you’re not healed. It’s all an attack against the same sacrifice of Jesus. In short, keep trusting, keep resting, keep asking, keep hoping, and stand firm. Rejoice in the slightest improvement and feast your mind on the testimonies of others. Jesus wants you to be healed even more than you do, so trust His goodness. God bless! –Art
If you’re reading this and need healing, then let’s create a new opportunity for you to receive right now! I have now seen nearly ten people healed through blog posts, e-mails, and Facebook statuses, so I know God works this way! Place your hand wherever the pain, sickness, or problem exists…
In Jesus’ name, be healed.
Now test it out and let me know if anything has changed.
Be blessed! –Art
