The topic of healing can be controversial in Christian circles. There are many questions about healing and many answers to every one of those questions. My purpose in this document is not to persuade you of the rightness of my thinking but just to let you know where I currently stand on this issue.
I believe God designed our bodies to heal themselves in most circumstances. We all have received minor injuries that have healed and maybe only left a scar to remind us of that fact. We all have caught colds, the flu, or other minor illnesses and recovered from those. We also know of those who received injuries or caught diseases that overwhelmed the body’s ability to heal itself and the person died as a result. The real difficult questions come when we try to navigate through the issues about the roles of doctors, modern medicine, and faith.
I believe everything humans know or know how to do, God knew it first and He revealed it to some person who then taught others what they learned. Everything doctors know to do and everything modern medicine can do are all gifts from God and should not be avoided.
I also believe that faith plays a huge role in our recovery from any disease or injury. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke the story is told about a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years. She told herself that if she could only touch the edge of Jesus’ garments she would be healed, and she was. In all three Gospels Jesus does not claim that his power healed her, but tells her, “Your faith has healed you.”
In contrast consider what happened when Jesus visited his home town. In Matthew 13:58 it says, “And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Even when Jesus was present, healing could only come when people had faith that it would come.
Bernie Siegel wrote a book titled “Faith, Hope, and Healing: Inspiring Lessons Learned From People Living With Cancer”. In it he tells the story of a man with a certain type of cancer that had spread all over his body. He had multiple tumors, many the size of oranges. The man had read that there was a new drug for his type of cancer that was just beginning a clinical trial in the hospital where he was being treated. The man believed that this was his best hope so he pleaded with his doctor to help him get into that trial. The doctors had initially excluded this man from the trial because his cancer was so advanced. Because of the man’s persistence, he was eventually included in the trial.
After only his first treatment with the new drug, there was noticeable improvement in his condition and as treatment continued, all of his tumors disappeared. The man was discharged from the hospital and went back home.
Some time later the man came back because his tumors were back. The man had read a preliminary report on that new drug that said the initial results of the trial were not very promising. His doctor told him that they had discovered what the problem was. During the time between manufacturing and use, the drug had deteriorated in the vials. They had a new, fresh batch that had been double-refined that they wanted him to try. The doctor then injected him with sterile water. Again, the man’s cancer went away, he was discharged from the hospital and went home.
Some time later the man’s cancer returned after he read the final report on the new drug that said it had produced no significant results. The man eventually died from his cancer. This man was healed twice by his faith but eventually died because he lost his faith.
Dr Siegel’s conclusion was that a patient’s outcome is significantly better if they have faith in something, whether it is God, prayer, a drug, a treatment, a doctor, a hospital, or whatever.
Faith is such an important part of healing but faith really is a nebulous thing. I sometimes wonder what exactly it is that I truly believe deep down inside. I have always believed that God could heal but for a long time I thought He was capricious about it. Maybe that was because I was only looking for instantaneous healing and discounting the slow, gradual healing. I had overlooked the fact that even some of the miraculous healings described in the Bible took time.
In Mark 8:22-25, we are told that Jesus had to touch the blind man twice to complete his healing. In Luke 17:13-14 ten men with leprosy asked Jesus to heal them but they weren’t healed until after they left to go show themselves to the priests. In John 9:6-7, Jesus put mud on a blind man’s eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The man wasn’t healed until he washed there. In 2 Kings chapter 5 we are told of Naaman who went to Elisha to be healed of his leprosy. Elisha didn’t even speak to him directly but sent his servant to tell Naaman to go wash 7 times in the Jordan. When he did, he was healed.
I was recently told a story by a pastor who used to hold a healing service every month. He said there was a woman who came 13 months in a row to ask for healing for her condition. The last time she came she reported that God had finally healed her but that He had done it gradually over the 13 months.
My own faith has been shaped by my experience over a couple of years with recurring diverticulitis. The first time I got it I went to see my doctor who diagnosed the condition and prescribed an antibiotic. The symptoms cleared quickly but, following directions, I took all of the antibiotic. Just a few weeks after finishing the antibiotic, I experienced the return of my symptoms.
I really did not want to spend the rest of my life taking antibiotics so frequently. Since the pain was not severe and there was no other symptom with it (like fever), I decided to just claim healing from one of my favorite promises. Isaiah 53:5 says in part, “…by his wounds we are healed.” Every time I noticed the pain, I would repeat that verse and thank God for healing me. In a day or two, the symptoms went away.
For the next year and a half, I continued to experience the symptoms of diverticulitis every one to three months and most of the time would just claim that promise. The amount of time it took for the symptoms to go away varied. A couple of times they went away the same day. Once it took 6 weeks. On two occasions, once when the pain was more severe than normal and once when I had a fever with it, I went to a doctor to get the antibiotic.
I don’t know when exactly it occurred but one of those experiences was my last. I believe it has been over a year and a half since my last bout with it. My conclusion is that while there are times when healing is instantaneous, most of the time healing takes time. It is my conviction that if we rely on God’s healing promises and sound medical practice, we will always be healed eventually. It may happen right away or it may take days, months, or even years, but it will happen. Our ultimate healing will happen the day we step through the door of our death into eternal life in heaven because we know there will be no sickness or infirmities in heaven.