Peace of Mind, Sickness and Disease

 God still heals.

First, I want to dispel some common misunderstandings about sickness and disease. God is the same, yesterday, today, and forevermore. "How can a loving God, allow sickness and disease?" First? He doesn't make anyone sick. He is a loving God. He is our Father. He does not want us to suffer. It was never His intent. He makes us perfect in His eyes.

God made the earth perfect. He made man in His image. Perfect in every way. He gave man dominion over the Earth and all that is in it. He made him lord over the Earth. Man, in turn, gave that authority over to Satan. Satan, from that point on, is lord over the earth. What God made perfect, Satan corrupts.

Remember the story of Job?

"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord." Job 1:6-12

It goes on to tell us how Satan then destroyed and took everything he could away from Job. Job remained faithful to God. Notice what God said to Satan. "Behold, all that he hath is in your hand" Why? Because he is in the World. Then in Job 2:1-7

"Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to destroy him without reason.” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head."

Now notice again, God said, "Behold, he is in your hand." Did God make Job sick? No. Satan did. "So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown."

Remember what Jesus told Peter?

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”" Luke 22:31-32

Again, like Job, as all of us are, we are in the hand of the devil. Peter was in the hands of the devil. We are in the flesh. We do not have a choice, but to deal with the things of the flesh. Since that original sin in the garden, we are now subject to the things of the flesh. That is why Jesus came. To set us free from the bondage of the flesh. Jesus said this as recorded in Luke 4:18-21

"“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”"

He was quoting Isaiah 61:1-3 Peter passed the test and became so powerful in the Lord, that his very shadow healed people. Job passed his trials and tribulations and became one of the richest and most powerful men ever to walk the earth. You see, not everything is bad, that we call bad.

I want to share a quick story with you. There was a man that was born with no legs. His parents were distraught. The father had a hard time dealing with this. The baby grew and became a boy, and then became a man. Meanwhile, in a war, a soldier loses his legs when he stepped on an explosive. He was confused and depressed. Not knowing if it was worth it to go on. A former football player, now all he could see himself as is a cripple.

One day, the soldier was lying in bed, wishing he would have just died when the man with no legs came into the room. In time they became friends, and the man with no legs, taught the solider that life is just fine without legs.

The point of the story is this. The man with no legs never cared about not having legs. He was born that way. To him that was normal. But because of him, this soldier and many other people have been helped, and perhaps even saved. Was it bad for the man to be born with no legs?

We have a bad habit of looking at something, not seeing exactly what we think it should be like, and calling it bad. Some people even look at someone who is sick, or crippled, and wonder what they did to deserve it. Jesus said this to his disciples when they came across a blind man.

"As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." John 9:1-3

Healing is one of those teachings that some do not accept. They do not understand it. They do not believe it. They think, sadly for good reason, that anytime they see a "Man of God" with a microphone in one hand, and a Bible in the other, they are scamming people out of their money. The reason for this is simple. In too many cases, they are right.

Just because not all men can heal you, I do not believe I have that gift. I think I would probably get arrested because I would be running around slapping people in the head, doesn't mean that God is unable.

"But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”"

Everyone has a purpose and a plan in God's eyes. They are all important. You are the way you are because it fits into that plan. If it IS in God's plan to heal you, not only can He, but He will. The Psalmist puts it this way. Psalm 103:1-4

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,"

When foretelling of Jesus's coming, the Word declares this in Isaiah 53:1-5

"Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."

Jesus is the same today. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He still heals. That is not the question. God makes no one sick. That is not the question. As a matter of fact, God set up a Heaven on Earth. In the Garden, Adam and Eve walked through, wherever they chose. The Lion laid down with the Lamb. No sickness and disease were present. Nothing could harm them. No sickness, sorrow, sadness, nothing bad existed. God himself would speak to them face to face. Once we gave the authority of the earth over to Satan, once we bowed down to, and obeyed Satan over God, is when everything changed.

Another fact of truth about sickness and disease is something people do not want to face. However, that doesn't change the truth. Sometimes, we bring it on ourselves. Smoke for 40 years? Get Cancer? Wonder why? Eat all the wrong foods, get Diabetes? Wonder why? Pollute the air and water that we need to live, wonder why we get sick? Sometimes it is by our own hands we get sick.

So what is the question? The question that Jesus asked many, if not all, that He healed was this. "Do you believe?" In Matthew 9, Mark 5, Jesus asks. "do you believe?" and says "your faith has made you whole." We see it through the faith of a Centurion his servant was healed. Jesus did not even have to go to him. He had such faith that all he needed to hear was Jesus say the words, and he knew his servant would be healed and he was. Matthew 8:5-10

Jesus marveled. Would you not like to do something that makes even God amazed at you. Can you imagine that? It goes on to say that in the same hour that Jesus tells the Centurion his servant was healed, he was. Remember the Woman in Mark 7:25-30

"But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone."

It was the woman's faith that made her Daughter whole again. Over and over again, we see Jesus ask the question, or we see those seeking healing answer the question in various ways. Do you believe it?

Now please do not misunderstand here. If you have sought out a "Person of God" that claims to have the gift of Healing, and nothing happened? It is not you. Most likely, they do not possess that gift. If you go and anyone asks you for money, to heal you, don't just walk, but run away from them. They are not of God. Remember what Peter said to the lame man at the Gate?

"But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" Acts 3:6

When those that do possess the gift of healing, heal, they do so for the glory of God. Not for Profit. However, you do not need a man to heal you. All you need is faith in God. Remember that the Centurion? No one came into his house. No man laid hands on his Servant. Yet the healing took place.

What about those that do not recover? What about those that die? Why would God allow that person to die, and not others? It's not fair. No. It's life. Remember, it is in God's Will. In God's time. We will all die eventually.

Everything, and everyone, has an appointed time. {Ecclesiastes 3} We are born, one day, we will all die. We will leave this earth. Depending on your choice, you go where you go. I can't prove it, but I truly believe that in that Lamb's book of life, is not only your Birthdate, your name, all that is about you, but also your death date. I truly believe that it is already determined. Some go to sleep. Some die in accidents. Some suffer from sickness and disease. But we all die?

That is why it is so important to know, that when you do pass on from here, you will go to be with God. Say this prayer in your own words.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I believe He was raised from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It IS just that simple. Go be Baptized in the way Jesus said to be. Learn who God is. Be the Child of God you have just become. Understand that just because you leave this Earth. It's not the end. Just because "good people" die, doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

When we go to Heaven, we no longer suffer sickness, disease, pain or suffering, sorrow, or sadness. Death does not have to be a time of sorrow. For when a believer dies, it could be considered a time of celebration. They have endured to the end. They have received their reward. They are with God himself. They are surrounded by love, peace, happiness. it is a far better place that we go, than this of which we leave.

Trust in God. Have faith HE knows best. Have faith that He still heals. Know that there is so much more to life than the little things that Satan can throw at us. Even sickness and disease. Even death will never separate us from God. Through your death, others may come to believe. We just do not see the big picture. But what we should do, is trust in Jesus. He said.."Be not afraid, only believe."

Until next time, Be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus IS Lord!