This Sunday, as part of our series ‘Matters of Life and Death’, we are looking at the sensitive issue of healing and what the Bible really says. I think this whole area is one of the greatest mysteries we face and maybe that’s a good place to start: healing is a mystery! To try and comprehend it or turn it into a formula is folly.
I’m convinced that God can heal. It is part of his divine nature: in Exodus 15:26 God declares to his people, ‘I am the Lord who heals you.’ Yet the tension we live with is the fact that plainly, those who are healed in the present age are very much in the minority. I don’t for a second think that this undermines God or dilutes his capabilities but it has caused me to think a little deeper about what constitutes healing.
The Bible has quite a lot to say about the subject and covers many angles, and I conclude that in getting a little closer to understanding the dynamics of healing for today, we will draw closer to God’s heart for us. So I encourage you to relax and remember again that God is for you and his love and commitment to us does not hinge on our healing in this life. Let’s always keep central our greatest hope: ultimate and eternal healing is given through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ and, whether it is now or in eternity, it is ‘by his wounds we are healed’ (Isaiah 53:5).