Healing

One of the big proofs to skeptics of the absence of God is the existence of evil. More accurately, it would be the existence of suffering. There is even a skeptic website titled "Why Won't God Heal Amputees?" I am not about to repeat the answer to this question, but I am going to approach the question of healing. Does God heal?

There are a variety of sub-questions here. First, can God heal? It is idiotic for any theist to answer that question with anything but a resounding "Yes!" If there is a God, and if He is the Creator, the All-Powerful One, then healing is certainly within the realm of His capabilities. Therefore, there is no question that God can heal. The next question, then, would be does God heal? Well, according to Scripture He has done it quite a bit. Jesus healed so many that He had to leave town because of so many coming for healing. Beyond that, there have been accounts throughout history of healings, even to modern times. A poll in 2004 said that 74% of doctors believed that miracles of healing still occur. Say what you will, all signs point to the answer that God does indeed still heal today. So ... why are there still sick and infirmed people? That, then, would be the last question. Will God heal? Ah! That's the real question. God can heal and does heal, but will He? Putting it another way, is it His will?

There are many who will argue that God wants (wills) everyone to be healed. If you're not healed, it's either unconfessed sin or a lack of faith. That becomes problematic when you look at the biblical accounts. As an example, in Mark 2 several friends of a paralytic brought him to Jesus for healing. This passage says that it was on the basis of their faith that the paralytic was healed. Mark 8 has another story of a centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant. When Jesus said He would come, the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed" (Mark 8:8). This servant was also healed on the basis of another's faith.So apparently it's not necessarily a matter of the faith of the infirmed. Yet, to many it is a point of faith, a turning point. Either God will heal or they will not believe. It is a demand. God should heal, He is obligated to heal. If He doesn't, He's not God.

It's this that I find most disturbing. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote, "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves" (2 Cor 4:6-7). We have a treasure. What treasure? It is "the knowledge of the glory of God". It is "Christ in you, the hope of glory". It is the presence of the Spirit. And yet, here we are, "earthen vessels", cracked and battered dirt pots with this vast treasure in us demanding of God, "If you don't make this cracked pot pretty again, I won't believe in You!" Crackpot indeed! We know we are the recipients of treasure, the possessors of heavenly mystery, the forgiven and saved, the gifted inheritors of God, the brethren of Christ ... but if He doesn't make us feel better, we're not interested, thanks.

David wrote, "Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psa 37:4). "See?" some might say, "If you delight yourself in the Lord, you'll get what you want!" True, but if you delight yourself in the Lord you'll want what the Lord wants. If you delight yourself in the Lord, then "feeling better" will become negligible to the joy of the Lord.

Does God heal? I know there are those who disagree, but I can't imagine thinking He doesn't. Will God heal? Again, if He does, He will. "Will He heal me?" Indeed He will. Of course, when is the next question, isn't it? But if "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9), if "It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes" (Psa 119:71), if we are to "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3), then while we should by all means seek healing from the Lord, shouldn't we also rejoice when He doesn't? Or is the treasure in these earthen vessels not enough?