What does it
mean to “be healed?” And, why are we seeing so many sick people suffering
today?
I am alarmed
over the sickness that I see in all churches today. Those that eat organically
will say it is because of all of the chemicals in our foods. They can be right,
but only to a point. Some will say like Job’s friends: “God struck them
because of their sins!” Then, the scientifically minded will say it was handed
down in their DNA and there isn’t anything we can do about it. The “religiously
minded” will say, “they don’t have enough faith to be healed.”
All those
answers are right, to a degree.
Let’s first
look at the interpretation of the word “heals or healing” according to Webster
himself:
heal
verb \ˈhēl\
: to become healthy or well again
: to make
(someone or something) healthy or well again
Full Definition of HEAL
1
a : to make sound or whole <heal a
wound>
2
— William
Power>
b :
to patch up (a breach or division) <heal a breach between
friends>
3
: to
restore to original purity or integrity <healed of sin>
intransitive verb
: to
return to a sound state
Examples of HEAL
1. You've
got to give the injury time to heal.
3. The
ointment will help heal the
wound.
Origin of HEAL
Middle English helen, from Old
English hǣlan; akin to
Old High German heilen to heal,
Old English hāl whole —
more atwhole
First Known Use: before 12th century
Related to HEAL
Synonyms
Rhymes with HEAL
ceil, chiel, creel, deal, deil, eel, feel, heel, keel, Kiel, kneel,leal, meal, peal, peel, real, reel, seal, seel, shiel, speel, spiel,s...
heal
Medical Definition of HEAL
1
: to
make sound or whole especially in bodily condition
2
: to
cure of disease or disorder <heal injured tissues>
intransitive verb
1
: to
return to a sound state heals
>
2
: to
effect a cure
—heal·er noun
When we are
sick, we are not whole. I once had a toothache whose pain I felt all the way
down my arm. We do not function or focus the way we normally would when we get
sick.
Why do so
many get sick? We all seem to get a cold or get the flu when we over work,
shake that hand or get a cough in our face. It wasn’t our fault, but suddenly
we are eating lots of chicken soup and drinking our mystery concoctions of
lemon/honey/cayenne juice. Does this mean that when we get a cold, flu or even
pneumonia that we’ve been disobedient in God’s eyes? Disobedient to His Word?
No.
A long time
ago I used to work with a young lady whose father taught that none of their
family would die because they were the chosen people. At the time I tried to
imagine how they would be affected when the first family member passed over.
There are
way too many scriptures regarding sickness and healing for me to list. I will
give those that I think that will bring an understanding to the reader.
We remember
in the beginning in the Garden of Eden it was good.
Ge. 1:26-31
NKJ
26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon
the earth.
27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he them.
28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill
the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
29And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant bearing seed, which is upon the
face of all the earth, and every tree, which has seed in its fruit; to you it
shall be for food.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and
to everything that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green plant for
food: and it was so.
31And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very
good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Can your mind wrap around the fact when there was a time and
place when our Father God had a special perfect place of blessing? Behold the Garden
of Eden! Everything was multiplying and reproducing. Butterflies were
flittering around, humming birds were doing their thing and everyone was happy
happy! God spoke to Adam and walked with
him everyday. But then, for the first time; our Father God gave an order to
Adam.
17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat
of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
Ge. 2:15-17 NKJ
Our Father God first
gave a command to Adam before Eve was created. He said, “ you Adam can eat
anything in the garden but, not the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you
choose to disobey me and eat from this tree, you will die.” (my paraphrase)
God did not say how Adam
would die. He gave a command and a warning of the consequences of disobedience.
He said, “You will die if you eat of this tree.”
Right from the beginning
we are seeing that man:
1. Was created to work.
2. Was given a set of
boundaries
3. Told what would
happen if he crossed over the “boundary.”
Ro. 5:12-14 talks about how one man brought
death into the world and death through this sin. Sin was not imputed because
during this time, there was not a law.
Three things happened
when Adam disobeyed.
1. He was enticed by Eve
2. He gave thought
to what she was saying
3. He made a
voluntary choice to disobey
3. He followed
through upon his thought
In other words, he
thought about the temptation, deliberately made the choice and then; followed
it through. The courts of today would call it “premeditated.”
This is how the curse of
death and sickness came into the world. By one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience the
whole world was cursed and by one man’s obedience (Jesus the Messiah) we have
been redeemed. When Jesus went to the cross the Bible says that He became a
curse for us.
“But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the
law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our
wrong doing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “cursed is everyone who is
hung on a tree.” Ga. 3:13 LB
Although Adam and Eve were
cast out of the garden he lived a long time.
Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died. Ge.
5:5
There is very little
information about the both of them after they left the garden, however there
are scriptures about the lineage.
You
may ask, if Jesus took the curse for us, why are we still getting sick and
dying?
Let’s
look at some people. First the OT.
The
Bible talks about Job being blameless and perfect.
“In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job.
This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” Job 1:1
NIV
Job
was a godly man. The Bible says he shunned evil and feared God. Yet, we can see
how his thoughts patterned his lifestyle, when he said “what I feared
has come upon me, what I dreaded has happened to me.”
Job
although loved God and was a good man, lived in fear and dread. Good people
have fears. Good people can be victims of their worries.
Was
he fearful of losing his wealth, his livestock? Did his imagination work
overtime thinking about what could happen if he lost his home and family? Did
he think about the possibility of losing what he had all of the time? Did his
mind play reruns about getting sick?
Job
sent daily burnt offerings to God just in case his 7 sons sinned. Then, the
very things he was thinking about came upon him. The Bible talks about the Sons
of God and Satan went before the Lord to get permission from God to
smite everything that Job had. First the livestock was taken, then his family,
then; he was stricken with boils from the soles of his feet to his crown.
Grieving and in pain, he still refused to curse God.
9Then his
wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10But he said to her, “You
speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God
and not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job
2:9-10
Job
was a godly man who loved the Lord, yet he worried (thinking habits) about
losing his wealth and his family and it came to pass.
Job
came through the fire and God restored everything that he had:
12The LORD blessed the
latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he
had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female
donkeys. 13He had seven sons and
three daughters. 14He named the first
Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15In all the land no women
were found so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave
them inheritance among their brothers. 16After this, Job lived
140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. 17And Job died, an old man
and full of days. Job 42:12-17
Good
people go through tough times, just like Job. Did Job’s fearful dread bring
about the spirit of fear in his life to self-fulfill his prophetic thinking? A
fearful dread can be anticipated expectations.
Was
it the fear that brought the boils? He was in such pain he wished he’d never
been born.
I
think it is possible that satan and his army was obviously watching Job and
read the writing on the wall as Job was making so many sacrifices to cover for
his sons; just in case they sinned. This is why satan went before the Lord
accusing Job, wanting to prove to God that Job wasn’t all that he seemed to be.
God
did not need any proof about Job, he knew he would come through victoriously.
Do I
understand it all? I wish I did, but I’m working on it.
"For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares
the LORD.”
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than
your thoughts. Isaiah 55: 8, 9.
Jesus
healed a woman that was bowed over with a spirit of infirmity that satan
had bound for eighteen years! He had compassion upon this daughter of Abraham.
Luke
13:11
We
are aware that:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10
Satan and his army come to steal, kill and destroy
everything we have and that includes our health.
Jesus brought life doing the works of His Father. He healed
everyone and those who were under the power of satan. Acts 10:38
7Little children, make
sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous,
just as He is righteous; 8the one who practices
sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of
God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9No one who is born of
God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God. 10By this the children of
God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness
is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.1John 3:7-9
These
verses are rarely if ever preached behind any pulpit because they will offend
the listeners. If you have been born again and are still struggling with a
particular problem, (and who isn’t?) please do not condemn yourself. God’s seed
is inside of you and remember it takes time for a seed to grow. Eventually
your seed will produce enough growth when you will not have that problem
anymore. You will overcome.
Growth
with study = mentorship and learned practiced experience = maturity and to know
the difference in wisdom.
Very
few things are done instantly, except when you go to a fast food restaurant, or
get on your computer (with the exception of mine). We may have been born again,
but it takes time for growth and maturity to come. With the accumulation of
faith, study and experience it will come.
There
are many reasons why people get sick. Let us look in Proverbs 13:12 where it
says:
“Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”
When
hope in our lives is prolonged or delayed, the Bible says it can make our heart
sick. Does deferred hope weaken our immune systems? If it stresses us, then I
would say yes. When we begin to lose hope, we become discouraged, depressed (stressed)
or hopeless. We can become “mentally challenged” right about that time. We
begin to lose our focus and when that happens we can easily get sick. One good
phone call from someone who loves us, text or email can pick us up again.
Unforgiveness
is a poisonous intravenous that physically drips throughout your body that will
slowly kill you. If unforgiveness isn’t dealt with, it will produce a root of
bitterness. I can look at people’s countenance and see if they are holding grudges
against another. Unforgiveness is placing yourself up as judge and jury and
passing judgement. Believe me: “there is a payday.” Unforgiveness can give you crippling
arthritis and many other ills. It will shorten your life. There are churches
that are filled with people who are filled with pride and will not speak to one
another because of hurt feelings of misjudged words or no words.
I
once knew an unhappy older woman who rarely smiled. She contacted colon cancer
and then, laid in the hospital not saying a word to anyone. Her face was lined
with anger and hardened with bitterness and that is the way she passed over.
Forgiveness
is the best anti-biotic you can ever have for your healing. One shot of forgiveness
will cause your body to explode with a new immune system; that you can personally
do for yourself. Unforgiveness causes inner anguish and torment. When we do not
have compassion and choose not to forgive we imprison ourselves.
Matthew 18:23-35 The
offender may have no idea that you are holding ill feelings against him. For
your own health, begin a new healthy habit of forgiving quickly. We sometimes
gather many opportunities on a daily basis to practice this new habit. The
quicker we forgive, the easier it will become.
I
will not pray for a healing for someone if I know they are holding
unforgiveness against another. My prayer would not be heard, but bounce off of
the ceiling. This is why we first have to discern and learn why the person is
sick.
Talk
to them. Do they need Jesus? Do they need to confess? Sometimes, they are
holding onto something inside that they do not want to give up and this can be
the very thing that is making them sick.
Another
calamity in the Body of Christ is the overlooked sexual sins. Many of us turn
the other way and think to ourselves “it is their business and between them and
God, not mine.” The truth is, most
people know when they are doing wrong, but do not want to confront the problem
or give it up. It is our task to discern the difference.
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but
whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” 1 Co. 6:18
We
sin against the very bodies that take us around. Sin corrupts and rots. Sin
will lie and tell you, everything is alright; but what does God’s word say? Too
many people do not want to know or do not want to hear it. When we sin against
our bodies, we can get anyone of all the STD’s that are rampant today.
When you cross over the boundary it is almost guaranteed
that your immune system will weaken and you will get sick. Why take the risk.
Judging
someone because of their sexual disease or lifestyle can cause the same
judgement to be returned upon your own head. This is because we are always
sowing seeds in our life. Judgement is planting a seed. The seed will produce
much fruit to come back to you in the measure which you judged. Therefore if
you judged someone because of their sickness or lifestyle, you will find
yourself walking down the same path they have walked. (some of us have had to
walk through this first hand) God wants
you to have understanding with the wisdom that you learn. You will only learn
this by experiences or a mentor.
” For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged,
and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:2 The seeds we plant will return for a harvest.
The
Bible further tells us not to judge before our time. In Revelation it talks
about how we will be judging the angels. We cannot see all the invisible links
that are attached to the things we do in our life. At the same time, nor can we
know all the prayers and purposes that bring breakthroughs and liberty. But, we are assured they are there.
Therefore,
we understand we can get sick over the sins of the flesh
Flirtations
can be deadly and can lead to a life of heartbreak and regrets. One single decision can destroy your
reputation and those who you love. I know of people who have lost every single
thing they had because of where the seducing spirit of flirtation led them.
Be
careful, be aware and keep focused and keep your spiritual antenna up! If you
lose your focus, you could lose your life.
We
have mentioned sexual sins, but what about:
Gossip?
Listening to someone tear down another’s character can make you feel sick!
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go
down into the innermost parts of the belly. Proverbs 18:8
Think
about it. We get wounded just by listening to someone slander another person’s
name. This is not worth it. We do it to ourselves.
1. Do
not listen,
2.
Better to get up and leave.
2.
Correct the gossiper
3.
You can always change the subject
Where
there is no fuel given on the fire, there will be no flame. Do not hang out
with gossipers, you will feel better and guard your reputation at the same
time.
Lies.
Did you know that when a person lies often enough, he will believe his own
lies? The world calls it a pathological liar but I call it a Lying Spirit. I
have met many in the course of my life.
My
mother once told me that anyone who lies to you will also steal and cheat you.
She was right!
1But a
man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2and
kept back some of the price for himself, with his
wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the
apostles’ feet. 3But
Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit
and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4“While
it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after
it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived
this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5And as
he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear
came over all who heard of it. 6The
young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried
him.
7Now
there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not
knowing what had happened. 8And
Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a
price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” 9Then
Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have
agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of
those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you
out as well.” 10And
immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came
in and found her dead, and they carried her out and
buried her beside her husband. 11And
great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.
Acts 5:1-11
How
foolish of Ananias and Sapphira to put greed before God. How foolish of them to
think they could actually lie and get away with it. How foolish to allow doubt
and unbelief to enter into their hearts and lose their focus. The disobedience
cost their lives.
Everyone
has assignments, especially the demons. They are sent to entice, seduce, lie
and cheat, steal, divide, destroy and kill everything that you have. They also
want to put you in bondage, paralyzed and behind invisible bars (unforgiveness)
where there seems no way of escape. If you are in bondage how useful will you
be in the Body of Christ? And, they cannot stand in the presence of God’s love.
Learn to discern what is true and what isn’t. God’s wisdom can discern the
difference.
Gluttony.
Very few people want to hear about this vice. They will talk about adultery
first because during church suppers there is usually a host of southern fried chicken
that can be irresistible! Gluttony is the visible sin. I can eat a whole medium
sized bag of potato chips at one sitting. I know I shouldn’t and know it isn’t
good for me, yet; I have done this! Each time I regret I did it. I love salt
and according to many health professionals it isn’t good for you, depending of
course who you talk to. Popcorn, pretzels and chips and a coke to boot! Junkie
junk! I also love pizza but rarely eat it. I could eat a 4X4 inch block of any
kind of cheese anytime and anywhere! That, I do not do! Salt is salt.
All
that junk is entirely vitamin deficient and although I want the munchie
crunchies, I can tell that my body is unhappy when I put it in there. In fact,
all that I mentioned can make me sick, with extra unwanted pounds. Instead I
should be eating lots of fruit and veggies with water.
When I
fall off the wagon and become a chip-a-holic or a popcorn addict. I think: “Betcha,
can’t eat just one! You are so right!”
For me, it is best to not even bring them home.
Famous
celebrity Joan Collins once said, “a slip on the lips is forever on the hips.”
Thanks
Joan.
Over-eating
will make us sick!
I
knew a man who had his own electric company and worked with electrical wires
all of the time, as did his sons. The man was middle aged and contacted cancer
and died. I do not know where he was spiritually, but all that radiation that he
was working with day in and out had to be doing something to his body. Was this
satan? Probably not. Did he die before his time? I personally feel it could
have been avoided. All those electrical
lines and wires are called “progress.” The trouble is, we still do not know
when to stop.
“my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
"Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your
children.” Hosea 4:6
I am
sure if the man knew the dangers of working in such an environment, he would
have stopped.
Today,
many of us think “it won’t happen to me” when we work in unhealthy places, but
do not be decieved. A ditch digger has a healthier work place than the office
worker because the ditch digger is moving around and getting his Vit D-3.
We
need to start using some good old common sense.
We also
get sick because we reap what other people are sowing. For example, it is a
common reasoning that if a terrorist that lives down the block sets off a
nuclear bomb and it goes up into the clouds and then the radiation falls where
you live and you happen to be in the line of this fall out; your lungs will
breathe in the dust and hence you will get ill.
If a
man who is outfitted like an astronaut is spraying poisonous chemicals on their
crop of Christmas trees where do the chemicals go? The toxic waste goes not
just into the air for us to breathe, but also into the water table and people
are drinking this all of the time. People are making other people sick.
Counties test the water safety all of the time and when it becomes out of
kilter, what do they do? They add more chemicals for our safety of
course.
Farms
are feeding growth hormones and chemically treated feed to their livestock for
them to hurry up and be slaughtered so the farmer can make more money in a
shorter time. Meanwhile, the public is reaping their greed by ways of sickness
and disease.
I
knew another gent who went to war and the chemical agent orange was blown into
the air, he like so many others did not realize it at the time; breathed in the
chemicals and many years later contacted a serious cancer. None of the modern
treatments helped and he passed over still a fairly young man.
Remember,
if you get sick; it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve been disobedient or that it
is your fault!
We
reap what others sow!
If
your neighbor has a dog that has rabies and you are bitten, in all practical
terms you will get the disease unless you get the rabies shot. His dog “sowed a
seed” in your life. You reaped the harvest. The rain falls upon the just and
the unjust.
The
Bible is full of lists of diseases and plagues. There were those who contacted
disease because of disobedience and others who were at no fault.
Nations
have fallen to plagues because they turn their back on the Creator Jehovah.
When we open the door to other gods we will also receive their diseases and
plagues. There is always the other side of the coin to contend with.
Few
people desire to hear what God is saying in their lives if they are out of
His will.
If
you have fallen out of the will of God, you have lost your focus and God wants
you to return and repent back to Him, now.
Time
is short and should not be wasted.
Disobedience
always breeds pain and then, we go back to school to learn again. There are
good godly people whose sickly DNA cells were passed down throughout
generations. How do we know the reasoning why their parents parents parents
parents had that disease? We do not know and because of this, we cannot
assume they did something to bring a curse upon their generation. Perhaps they
reaped what another unthinking person sowed. In any event, we are to discern
these things and most of the time it takes prayer and patience.
We
have learned that when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned in the Garden of
Eden, they were cursed, along with everything else upon the earth. They were
cast out of the garden to toil upon a cursed ground. Satan was in the form of a
serpent and seduced Eve and then, she was used to seduce and entice Adam.
Everyone had a choice to make, including the serpent. All three chose the wrong
road. Because of this, we all get sick and eventually Passover. This was where
it all began.
However,
the Bible also says:
Ge. 3:15 And I
will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel.
God
had a plan! Here was the plan to send Jesus the Messiah to be a sacrifice for
all mankind and destroy the works of satan.
Another
OT prophecy of the Messiah coming to be Jehovah Rapha, our healer.
Isaiah
53:5 says “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are
healed.
Jesus
was the complete and perfect sacrifice for our sins. He was the Lamb of God who
takes away the sins of the world. He took 39 stripes so that we are healed.
It is
only by our faith that touches and pleases God’s heart. We can be the best
worker in and out of church, but unless we are exercising our faith backed by
love, there will still be a stalemate in your life.
Jesus
said, “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According
to your faith be it unto you” Mt.9:29
This is what is happening today. We are healed according to
our faith. The bottom line is to trust in God and not the medicine. God can use
the medicine to help, but it is important to recognize, He is the healer. He
has given us everything we need to be healed.
I
want to be fair and say that the word talks about how everything that God has
given is clean as long as you eat in thankfulness and pray over your meal. Ask
God to bless what you eat.
We eat
in faith today more so than ever.
Most
things in our lives are up to us. The decisions we make today will determine
where we will be tomorrow; physically and spiritually. What I determine to do
now will determine my destiny. Who I pray to will decide the whole outcome of
my walk. If my life is filled with idols, I will reap more idols because that
is what I will attract in my life. Wherever your strongest focus, is what is
most important to you.
Jesus
said “according to your faith.” If you
need more faith, study the Word and the Holy Spirit will open up new rivers of
living water. We are washed by the Word and we are healed by the Word.
Trust
God and let Him battle for you. Place all your concerns and worries in His
hands.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me,
the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go
unto my Father” John 14:12
Do
you believe?
I
have a friend who has a daughter who knows and believes in this verse .She said
to her mom: “don’t worry mom, I believe that if I have enough faith I will be
able to pick up a rock and pray and it will turn into a piece of bread.”
We
need mountain moving faith!
If
you lasted this long and read this long article, I wish to congratulate you on
your incredible patience.
God
Bless You
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