"Why Am I NOT Healed By God ??"

In a conversation recently, I was asked the following question by a friend in the Church: “Why am I NOT healed?” I realized that this person did not really expect me to give a reasonable answer, but this is certainly a reasonable question. This person went on to say, “When I did not know any­thing about God’s Word, I was healed of a condition that threatened my very life. Six years later, having applied myself dili­gently to the study of His Word, and apply­ing all the healing scriptures with faith, my prayers have been unanswered. Why??”

The pat answer which has often been given is that “you don’t have enough faith!” Let me tell you that I don’t have all the right answers, but I sure believe that this is the wrong answer! Certainly, faith is important - not in quantity but in quality. But there is more to God’s purposes in healing.

Let me bring out two concepts which carry me down a peaceful walk on the road of God’s physical healing.

The first understanding I have is that a person’s physical healing or lack of healing by God is not always for that sick person’s benefit. What do I mean by that? When you have a disease and have faith that God can and will heal you, and it doesn‘t happen, a reason can be that God is dealing with someone around you at this time, and dealing with them through you. You may be being used as a channel of God’s grace toward this other person. And how you respond as a “Christian” in the eyes of this other person may deal with their whole concept of Christianity. Do you moan and complain to them about why God has not healed you? Or do you show a quiet serenity and love in the midst of your disease? In other words, your response to your disease as seen by this other person may be more important to God at the time. Do you get it? God sees your faith and will reward you for it - either at a later time by healing you then, or as a heavenly reward.

This first concept is very clear and understandable to me. There is a second concept which is somewhat less clear to me but is being more and more realized. This is the understanding that all healing comes at the point of surrender of self, consciously or unconsciously. Usually it is only in desperation that a person surrenders all hope in himself. It seems to me that when we surrender to Him as our one and only hope, our healing is made possible.

Could it be that my friend who posed the question had this situation? At the point of his first healing, doctors had forsaken him, and he reached out in hope, surrendered to the one hope that was offered, even though he was unaware of what he was doing. But then in his present condition, he is holding back something of self, something of hope in his own strength or ability, something of hope in healing through others.

The Bible tells us about having faith, hope and love. The faith might very well be there in its proper direction toward God. But the hope factor may not all be toward God but still contain remnants of hope in ourselves or other men.

Now I understand the great successes in healing that evangelists have in third-world countries. People there for the most part have no hope. When an evangelist comes to town he offers them hope in Jesus Christ. It is their only hope, and they take it and are frequently healed. That explains why hundreds are healed at their meetings, while here at home only relatively few. Here we have so many ways to turn, so many avenues of help. There always seems to be another way, another hope to put our trust in. Usually it isn’t until we have exhausted every other source of help that we come to the end of ourselves and in desperation turn to God.

And so it all comes down to the fact that only God knows for sure WHY healing does or does not come. But God gave us our reasoning abilities to use. And I like to use mine! These two concepts I have described are the best reasons I have to give my friend and anyone else. One: How is your response to your disease affecting others around you? And two: Where is your hope really placed?

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