The God Who Heals, Pt. 1

There are two erroneous extremes that must be avoided when dealing with the subject of healing: 1. that God never heals, and 2. that He always heals.

The God Who Heals, Pt. 1

"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."

(James 5:14)

Last Sunday, April 21, at both our church campuses, we had healing services. You read that correctly. We sought to follow James 5:13, and we invited people to come during the time of invitation. We anointed many with oil and prayed for healing in Jesus' name. The response was like I had never seen. Many lined up in the aisles, patiently awaiting their turn to be anointed and prayed over. It was an intense and beautiful time in the Lord. We prayed in faith, asking God to heal bodies, minds, marriages, and homes. I will share with you this week in our devotions what I taught about healing at our church. I hope this teaching blesses, instructs, and encourages you. I hope you will consider having a healing service in your church and follow what Scripture teaches.

The need is great. People are struggling in every way you can imagine. We need churches that resemble more a hospital than a hotel, churches that have a battleship mentality and not a cruise ship approach to ministry. Satan has unleashed a violent surge of attacks all over the world. The only hope for this broken world is the Body of Christ, His Church, loving and healing others in Jesus' name and by His power.

My biblical text for Sunday's message was Exodus 15:22-27, and the title was "Jehovah Rophe—the LORD Who Heals". What a great honor and privilege to study this Hebrew name of God. The first time God reveals Himself as the LORD who heals is in this text, specifically in verse 26. It is a powerful and assuring truth in Scripture that God is the Great Physician who heals supernaturally.
There is much controversy surrounding divine healers, but no true believer in God doubts His ability to heal. Human healers we may be suspicious of, but not of God's supernatural ability to heal those who are hurting and sick. There are two erroneous extremes that must be avoided when dealing with the subject of healing: First, we should not say that God never heals. That is a statement of unbelief. God is the God who heals, as evidenced in the Bible. Many of you, like me, have seen God do miracles and heal sick bodies.

The other extreme we must avoid is saying that God always heals, and we simply must have faith. This is as equally untrue as saying God never heals. I have known people who loved God just as much as you and me and had as much faith or more, yet God chose not to heal them. The greatest Christian to ever live, the Apostle Paul, prayed and asked God to heal him three times, and God said no (2 Corinthians 12:8).

God is sovereign, and He decides who will be healed. His reasons may eventually become clear to us, or they may remain beyond our comprehension. Either way, our responsibility is to pray and trust in Him. Just as more people are saved when we witness, more people are healed when we pray.