BULLETIN ARTICLE
19 April 2020
DOES GOD ALWAYS HEAL?

Joni Eareckson Tada led an athletic lifestyle in her growing up years. In the summer of 1967, she went diving at Chesapeake Bay. But misjudging the water depth, she hit her head on the rocky floor and was paralysed from the neck downwards. In the early years after the accident, she anxiously sought healing in various church services. Joni wrote in Lost and Found: How Jesus Helped Us Discover Our True Selves, “Does God miraculously heal? Sure, he does. But in this broken world, it’s still the exception, not the rule. A ‘no’ answer to my request for a miraculous physical healing has meant purged sin, a love for the lost, increased compassion, stretched hope, an appetite for grace, an increase of faith, a happy longing for heaven, a desire to serve, a delight in prayer and a hunger for his Word. Oh, bless the stern schoolmaster that is my wheelchair!”

During Jesus’ time, there were many sick people who came to Jesus for healing. In the Matthew 9 passage, those who came to Jesus were healed. Jesus attributed the healing to their faith. In James 5:14-15, it was taught that the sick were to call on the elders for prayer and healing: “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.” This had led some to take the position that if someone is not healed, it is due to the person’s lack of faith.

While it is clear that God does heal, one must not presume that he must. He is the Sovereign Lord and he has the prerogative. The Apostle Paul spoke of the thorn in the flesh that God did not remove. “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (2 Corinthians 12:7b-9) Similarly, as in Joni’s case, God brought her to himself in a way that she would otherwise not have experienced.

We need to continue to pray for the sick and to seek God’s healing. When God does answer the prayers, we can joyfully share the testimony and give God the glory. But if he does not answer the prayer the way we desire, we can also thank God and still learn the lessons that he has for us, just as Joni did learn.