“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: By whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24…Never allow a negative report from a doctor to cause you to lose faith in God. Today’s blog entry deals with Healing.
Before I go any further, I want to acknowledge that I understand that this can be a touchy subject. Sometimes questions such as why did person A recover from a certain ailment, while person B didn’t, can be asked. I certainly do not claim to have all the answers, however I do believe the Bible gives instruction and insight on how we should respond if we are given bad news, and today I would like to take a look from a Biblical perspective. I also want to make it clear that I’m not against doctors, but rather pointing out that they don’t have the final say in our lives….God does!
We live in a society that tends to put a lot more emphasis on the natural realm than the spiritual realm. What I mean by this is, a lot of people live their lives as if there is no God (even if they believe in God). If a news broadcast reports that there is no cure for certain disease, many people with just take it as a fact without even taking into account God’s ability to heal. Likewise if a doctor gives a person bad news, the natural human response can often be panic/fear. And while hearing certain types of news can definitely cause concern, a Christian should not allow him/herself to be overtaken with fear (see 2 Timothy 1:7). I’m not saying that we should totally ignore the issue, but rather that we should remain in faith, and not allow ourselves to give up. As it says in John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
As Christians, it’s important that we read, understand, and rehearse God’s Word. We should believe what it says. If the enemy tries to make a Christian think there is no hope of recovery for them, that person should remind him/herself of scriptures such as:
“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.” - Isaiah 53:5
“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” – Matthew 8:17
I think it’s important that we speak scriptures such as these out loud. You may be thinking to yourself, what’s the big deal about speaking it out loud. Proverbs 18:21 lets us know that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” When negative words are spoken over us (whether they are malicious or not) I believe that we should condemn those negative words, and speak what the Bible says. For instance, say you have a child that has been verbally abused by an adult who tells them they will never amount to anything. If the child only hears negative things like that for a long enough period of time, there’s a good chance they will start believing it. However if that child speaks positive words over their life such as “ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13 (or has someone else speaking positive words over their life in their presence) there’s a good chance that the child will start believing those positive words.
Likewise if a doctor tells a person there’s nothing else they can do for that person, and predicts that the person will only live another two weeks, and that person believes that it’s God’s will for them to live much longer, I believe that person should take the same approach and speak the Word of God over their life. While the doctor’s words were not said in an abusive way, they can still cause a person to get into unbelief. The doctor is viewing things based on what can be done naturally not taking into account the spiritual, in essence just doing what he/she is trained to do.
I also want to point out that there are things in the natural that we should be mindful of. For instance, if a person’s health problems have been cause because of an unhealthy diet, they should make the necessary changes to their diet. If their doctor gives them recommendations in that area, they should listen. Once again, I want to point out that I’m not against doctors.
So as we live our lives, let us remember that our faith should be in God, and not in man.
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17
Before I go any further, I want to acknowledge that I understand that this can be a touchy subject. Sometimes questions such as why did person A recover from a certain ailment, while person B didn’t, can be asked. I certainly do not claim to have all the answers, however I do believe the Bible gives instruction and insight on how we should respond if we are given bad news, and today I would like to take a look from a Biblical perspective. I also want to make it clear that I’m not against doctors, but rather pointing out that they don’t have the final say in our lives….God does!
We live in a society that tends to put a lot more emphasis on the natural realm than the spiritual realm. What I mean by this is, a lot of people live their lives as if there is no God (even if they believe in God). If a news broadcast reports that there is no cure for certain disease, many people with just take it as a fact without even taking into account God’s ability to heal. Likewise if a doctor gives a person bad news, the natural human response can often be panic/fear. And while hearing certain types of news can definitely cause concern, a Christian should not allow him/herself to be overtaken with fear (see 2 Timothy 1:7). I’m not saying that we should totally ignore the issue, but rather that we should remain in faith, and not allow ourselves to give up. As it says in John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
As Christians, it’s important that we read, understand, and rehearse God’s Word. We should believe what it says. If the enemy tries to make a Christian think there is no hope of recovery for them, that person should remind him/herself of scriptures such as:
“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.” - Isaiah 53:5
“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” – Matthew 8:17
I think it’s important that we speak scriptures such as these out loud. You may be thinking to yourself, what’s the big deal about speaking it out loud. Proverbs 18:21 lets us know that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” When negative words are spoken over us (whether they are malicious or not) I believe that we should condemn those negative words, and speak what the Bible says. For instance, say you have a child that has been verbally abused by an adult who tells them they will never amount to anything. If the child only hears negative things like that for a long enough period of time, there’s a good chance they will start believing it. However if that child speaks positive words over their life such as “ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13 (or has someone else speaking positive words over their life in their presence) there’s a good chance that the child will start believing those positive words.
Likewise if a doctor tells a person there’s nothing else they can do for that person, and predicts that the person will only live another two weeks, and that person believes that it’s God’s will for them to live much longer, I believe that person should take the same approach and speak the Word of God over their life. While the doctor’s words were not said in an abusive way, they can still cause a person to get into unbelief. The doctor is viewing things based on what can be done naturally not taking into account the spiritual, in essence just doing what he/she is trained to do.
I also want to point out that there are things in the natural that we should be mindful of. For instance, if a person’s health problems have been cause because of an unhealthy diet, they should make the necessary changes to their diet. If their doctor gives them recommendations in that area, they should listen. Once again, I want to point out that I’m not against doctors.
So as we live our lives, let us remember that our faith should be in God, and not in man.
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17