Are we afraid of God? Do we doubt his goodness? Or is it that we doubt our worthiness to pursue his healing work in our physical and emotional lives?
We read of the woman who was confident that if she but touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak she would be healed (Mat 9:19-21 NIV). We take stock of our own faith and realize it is nowhere near as robust. So we hang back, waiting until we are more faith-filled. But a review of Jesus’ healing ministry will demonstrate that not all who were healed had the kind of faith that this woman possessed. For example, there was a man who desperately wanted Jesus to heal his son, yet he knew mixed in with his faith was doubt (Mk 9:21-24 NIV). Jesus mercifully helped the man with his unbelief and miraculously restored his son.
I am not suggesting that our attitude toward God has no bearing. It does. Jesus did very few miracles in his home town. The reason was that his neighbours were offended by him. Their hearts were hard and their minds closed off to receiving a work of God from the carpenter’s son (Mat 13:56-58 NIV). Wilful opposition to God is not a posture consistent with receiving a healing work. We don’t need to work up confidence, but we do need to confess our waywardness. Being right with God is a great place from which to seek his miraculous provisions.
A leper approached Jesus for healing with this humble petition:
“Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Lk 5:12 NIV)
That is an approach we should follow. Let’s come to God with our physical and emotional needs, trusting in his goodness and seeking that he would do for us all that he wills. The instructions in James to be anointed with oil symbolize this attitude (James 5:14 NIV). The one anointed in the name of the Lord is being consecrated and set aside for God’s healing purposes to be accomplished.
What else holds us back from pursuing God’s healing work in our lives?
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