Faith & Healing
What is Healing?
Before people can have a steadfast faith for the healing of their body, they must be rid of all uncertainty concerning God’s will in the matter. Appropriating faith cannot go beyond one’s knowledge of the revealed will of God. (Bosworth: 15) So, what is the Will of God in relation to healing? Isaiah 53:5 says, but 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 (NKJV). According to this scripture, God’s will is for everyone to live in divine health. To live in divine health is to know that we are healed; not that we will be healed or that we might be healed. Healing defined in the bible is, “to mend, cure, make whole; to return to original state of health”. What does it take for someone to receive the miracle cure? The answer is quite simple; faith!
Faith in the Word
The Message Bible states, the fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see. (Hebrews 11:1-3) We see the miracles of Jesus’ healing over disease, blindness, unclean spirits and sickness throughout His ministry. However, there are two biblical characters that show their faith in Jesus and because of their faith, they receive their divine healing.
Bartimaeus
"Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:46-47)
The simple fact that Bartimaeus called Jesus the Son of David shows that he acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah and that he could heal him. Those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” (Luke 18:39-40) Jesus, the Son of God, the Creator of the universe, the One who knows all, is asking Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” Don’t you think that Jesus already knows what the blind beggar wanted? How many days, months, even years has Bartimaeus been outside of Jericho begging? Yet, what he couldn’t see in the natural, he could feel in the supernatural. Blind Bartimaeus knew, through faith, that Jesus could restore his sight.
Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” (Mark 10:52) His faith in Jesus as the Messiah brought about his divine healing.
Woman with the issue of Blood
And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour. (Matthew 9:20-22, NKJV)
This woman had suffered from a flow of blood for 12 years and had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse (Mark 5:26, NKJV). However, as “unclean” as she was, she was timid to reach out to Jesus in fear that she may make Him unclean. In our times of desperation, do we fear reaching out to Jesus, because what we did or what we are suffering from is to audacious to ask Him for healing from? Like the woman with the blood issue, we don’t have to worry about the correct way to reach out to God. We simply need to reach and He will respond.
We see, from almost every conceivable angle throughout the Scriptures, that there is no doctrine more clearly taught than that it is God’s will to heal all who have need of healing so that they may fulfill the number of their days according to His promise. Of course, we mean all who are in the Word. Now I hear someone say, “If healing is for all, then we shall never die.” Why not? Divine healing goes no further than the promise of God. He does not promise that we shall never die, but He says: I will take sickness away from the midst of thee…. The number of thy days I will fulfill (Exodus 23:25,26) (Bosworth: 50)
Imagine what would have happened if the woman with the issue of blood did not have the faith it took for her to simply reach. Would the number of her days been fulfilled? The answer to that question is no. She would have kept on living a socially awkward, unclean life and perhaps may have died much sooner than what God promised her. Sometimes we are tempted to give up and go the other direction, or give up on a situation that has not changed for a number of years. The crowd before Bartimaeus warned him to be quiet; however, he knew that Jesus could heal him, just like the woman with the issue of blood knew that if she could just touch the hem of His garment, she would be healed. Nothing is too audacious to ask God for healing from.
Faith in the World
If we do not study, meditate and recite the Word on a daily basis; it is quite easy for our minds to fill with doubt and a lack of knowledge regarding God’s promise of Divine Healing. We put our faith and trust in modern medicine, more than we put it in God and His Word. As soon as the first round of chemotherapy doesn’t work, we lose faith. When the cold medicine doesn’t automatically take away our cough, we lose hope. When we rely on the ways of the world, it is easy to get discouraged and give up or throw in the towel. However, John 15:7 says,
"If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you." (AMP)
This scripture shows us that we should have faith in the Word, and that we should not doubt the power of God.
I heard a story that will shed light on doubt. There was a man who was sick and who was confessing the Word over his body, quoting healing Scriptures and believing for his healing to manifest. While doing so, he was intermittently attacked with thoughts of doubt. After he had gone through a hard time and was beginning to get discouraged, God opened his eyes to the spirit world. This is what he saw: a demon speaking lies to him, telling him that he was not going to get healed and that confessing the Word was not going to work. But he also saw that each time he confessed the Word, light would come out of his mouth like a sword, and the evil spirit would cower and fall backward. As God showed him this vision, the man then understood why it was so important to keep speaking the Word. He saw that he did have faith, which is why the evil spirit was attacking him with doubt. (Meyer: 101-102)
If this man would have continued to believe the lies of the enemy, would there have been a manifestation of his healing? This shows us that you should constantly claim victory over your worldly struggles. The best way to claim victory is through our victor, Jesus the Messiah.
Conclusion
In order to receive your divine healing, you must have faith that God can provide you with the healing you seek. True faith transforms our behavior as well as our thoughts.
We must know what God offers to us before we can expect to receive it from Him. The knowledge of God’s will must precede faith for His will to be done. Multitudes today do not know that the perfect healing of their bodies is the fully revealed will of God in His written Word, the Bible. To know this, is the only sufficient evidence for appropriating faith. (Bosworth: 176-177)
God’s perfect will is for you to have divine health, but you must continue to boldly declare the Word of God. To boldly declare His Word, you must flood yourself in scriptures regarding healing and fill yourself with the products of your words as Proverbs 18 says, A man’s [moral] self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil]. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. (v.20-21, AMP)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bosworth, F.F. Christ the Healer. Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2008.
Meyer, Joyce. Battlefield of the Mind – Winning the Battle in Your Mind. New York: Faith Words Edition, 2011.