The God who still heals

"News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them."- Matthew 4:24

Some seven centuries before Christ ever touched a sick person or commanded a lame man to walk, Isaiah said, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5, nkjv). Earlier the psalmist wrote, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3).

None would deny that we need healing, and the good news is that He has never turned His back on the suffering world.

Healing which may be emotional, physical, and, certainly, spiritual is all part of what Jesus Christ came to bring. Jesus made that clear. "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted," he said. He healed without considering how serious the situation was. He didn’t differentiate between emotional and physical sicknesses because they are often intertwined. He never considered race, position, or social status. The influential and wealthy were accorded no more attention than the destitute and poverty-stricken.

He spoke as one who had absolute authority over disease. In healing the man born blind, Jesus made it clear that sickness was not the result of personal failure or sin, but part of the curse which came when Adam turned His back on God’s plan for humankind.

What does healing mean? It does not mean being as you once were, but rather being able to function as you are with wholeness and wellness. In some cases it means you get a taste of the grace of God in such wonderful ways that you are able to function with joy and gladness.

Paul saw the miraculous in his ministry. One time he spoke late into the night and a lad by the name of Eutychus fell asleep in a third-floor upstairs window and fell to his death in the courtyard below. Paul threw himself on the youth and the young man was restored completely whole. In contrast, however, Paul’s thorn in the flesh God chose not to remove but gave him grace to cope.

I have known individuals who were so emotionally wounded that they curled into a fetal position, withdrawn, prepared to die, and God healed and restored them. I have also seen more than a few whose cancers went into remission and disappeared and whose eyes, having been blinded, had their sight restored. These instances demonstrate where God takes over at the point where medical science is impotent.

Do we need an awakening to the realization that the same simple faith that received Jesus’ touch when He was on earth is sufficient today to bring the touch of His hand to those living in high rise complexes as well as those who live in squatters’ shacks with no electricity or running water?

If man is a composite of the emotional, the physical, and the spiritual (as he is), then the restoration that we need must touch all three areas. God is still Jehovah Rapha, or the God who heals, as the Almighty chose to reveal Himself to Moses long ago. An unchanging God who still feels your pain. You can experience His healing touch personally. Resource reading: Matthew 4:23-25

Guidelines for Finding Your Way is available in bookstores nationwide. For more information, write to Guidelines Philippines, Box 4000, 1284 Makati City or e-mail [email protected]. Visit our website http://www.guidelines.org.