Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases… (Psalms 103:2-3)
Last time we saw that during this time of Easter, one of our most significant points of joy is that Jesus Christ forgives our iniquities when we come to him. This truth stands at the beginning of salvation, sustains us in salvation and will finally bring us home when our salvation becomes complete. Praise Jesus for the forgiveness of sin.
However, this is just the beginning of it all. In Christ, we have healing of all our diseases. Trusting in Christ assures the saint that whatever befalls them, Jesus shall heal them. It sounds contradictory in our day today when word of faith preachers have duped many into their death beds. God heals all our diseases! It is a fantastic benefit of being called his own. People who are skeptics mock Christianity saying that it is a way of running away from reality. Well, one of the truths that we see here is that God does heal diseases. Two ways in which we experience healing:
1. Bodily Healing:
From the time Jesus walked the face of the earth to date, God is healing people in their bodies. Yes! Even before the coming of Christ, God had been healing people in their bodies. From leprosy to withered hands, hemorrhage, and lameness. God is a healer. He healed before, and he does so today as he wills. This is a benefit of God to the believer. God’s healing power is not limited to a few. The centurion was healed of leprosy in the days of Elijah the prophet yet he was not a worshipper of Yahweh. God did it as a witness that all other gods are fake and dead, but he is the true and living God! Some times God will heal those who are not necessarily born again to minister his power to them as a way of testimony for them to get saved.
Jesus told us to ask of him, and we will receive if we ask in his will. Of all the things we can ask God for today, healing is not an exception. We can plead with the Lord to restore conditions in our lives or relatives or friends. Our God still heals. Faith in him- that he can do what he says he will do and more- is a critical thing for us. Reading through all the times that Jesus healed people and the apostles as well, should stir in our faith. Faith that lifts its eyes to the giver of healing and trusts wholly in his ability to heal. He still does so today.
Moreover, Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and he rewards those who diligently seek him. We see an open door for us right here- believe that he exists. For the believer, this statement is massive. It is the truth! God is a rewarder. Among the things that he rewards those who seek him is healing. We may not have the power to do the work for others, but we know one who has the power to heal- God, in Jesus Christ, through His Holy Spirit.
2. Spiritual Healing:
Secondly, we have inner healing or what we call spiritual healing. It is the most significant healing that we need to experience. When Adam fell, we got infected with the worst disease ever- SIN. This disease affects the heart of man in a more critical way than heart attacks or strokes! Sin is the only disease that needed someone else to pay for, and the healing comes in us! Isaiah 53 reminds us that by his stripes we are healed. It applies in these two ways. That by what Jesus went through we have provision for physical healing and spiritual healing. The latter is the most critical. Why? Because one may receive healing the body all right. However, what is it if the same body must see decay when it dies? It is nothing. However, if one receives spiritual healing and dies of disease in the body, the body will see decay, but their spirit will reign eternally with the Lord.
Jesus tells the Pharisees that he came not for the ones who are well but for the sick (Mark 2:17). The point he was making was that there is a sickness that he came to heal that is beyond the ordinary, worldly kind of sickness. With lots of emphasis on physical healing, Jesus seemed to be even more concerned with the healing of the heart. The disease called sin. It maims and stigmatizes. Many have committed suicide physically because of the effects of this inner disease. Homes have broken, lives lost, and futures spoilt. This disease called sin is terrible. However, thank God that in him there is a healing that no doctor or science can perform. It is the healing that comes by faith in him.
Today we can rest in this confidence- that God is worth the blessing of our souls because he has healed all our diseases. In this physical life, we have many ailments. We may not see healing in our human diseases. Even if we have symptoms now, one day they will be part of us no more. However, in our spiritual life, ALL our diseases have been healed. When he ransoms us, we have released from the grasp of sin in this life and the next. Be encouraged brother. Do not forget the benefit of the Lord. He has healed all our diseases- physical and spiritual!
Bless the Lord!
