God's Gift of Healing

I'm still working on my response to Van's letter.  But meantime, I just want to review a couple healing miracles that God gave me recently for my own edification and for any who choose to believe.

“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4, 5, NIV.

“When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”” Matthew 8:16, 17, NIV.

 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24, NIV.

About week and a half ago, I started to have recurring chest pains.  The word "angina" kept filtering up into my conscious thoughts.  It used to be only at night, but then became an all-day dull ache.  Then I started to feel pain and tightness in my feet, and thought, "diabetes!" I became moderately alarmed and concerned.  I started to think about how I'm getting older and how maybe I'll need to go to the doctor for this one.  Sure colds and headaches can be healed, but this could be serious and I can't afford to let it go.  I also thought about how unfair it would be for me to cling to my belief in divine healing for every disease and then cost my family the loss of their father.  One evening, the ache had gone on all day, and I'd had periodic sharp pains in my feet.  I was thinking about these things and suddenly realized that this is exactly the kind of fear-mongering that I would expect from the devil.  He's trying to scare me with symptoms, with diagnoses I'd heard about from other people, with old age, and with concern for my family.  Fear, fear, fear!

It occurred to me that this is NOT how God deals with me.  He never works through fear of possible futures.  He is always encouraging and loving.  Sometimes He warns me, but He never condemns, never terrorizes.  And I started to get mad.  I was mad that I had believed the devil's lies one more time.  I was mad that I had let it go on for days unchecked.  I was furious that I had let that loser the devil run me around the block and get me off track. I realized that somehow or other, I'd let my time in the Word get slack over the last few days; my mind felt numb toward the Bible. No wonder the devil took this pot shot at me—I was walking around unarmed!

So I got into the Word.  It was hard at first, and I was plagued with unbelief and inattention.  My trouble seemed bigger than anything I'd faced before.  Then I remembered Mark 11:

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:22-24, NIV.

 That reminded me of a song, "Get Down, Mountain!" (lyrics here).  This is a really upbeat song whose chorus says:

Get down mountain, get down
Go on and fall to the ground
My victory is waiting on the other side
I've got the power to climb
My feet are willing but I'm not gonna waste my time
Get down mountain, get down

The Bible is the power, but that song got the truth out of my head into my heart. My mind, will and emotions were now fully into the battle.  Not only was I mad, I was happy now!  I found myself yelling at the devil and rebuking him and in the next breath laughing and praising the Lord that He had given His little children power over all serpents, lions, and dragons.  We are to crush them under our feet!  Just typing that makes me laugh with joy again.  So cool!

Anyway, my chest still hurt, and I spoke to that pain, just like Jesus spoke to the fig tree and just like He told us to speak to that mountain. I told my mountain about how big my God was and the power he'd given me.  And the pain wavered. I kept it up for about an hour until I started to realize how ridiculously silly it was to think of heart disease trying to stop a child of the Most High God!  That was so hilarious, I just had to laugh out loud.  I am so blessed to be His child!  Anyway, the pain subsided and hasn't been back at all for over a week at this writing. No pain or tightness in my feet either.  And next time it does try to come back, I know just what to do!

The best the devil can conjure is a really convincing lie.  But like spam e-mail, it's not real until you click on the shiny attachment.  I had almost clicked.  I was seriously considering a doctor's appointment.  Some of you reading this may think I was crazy not to go.  But you've got to understand: God beats doctors all hollow.  And going to a doctor only makes it easier to believe in the lie and make it real.  A doctor would have ordered all kinds of tests, made referrals, mobilized the entire medical community on my behalf.  But they don't stand a chance against the devil's lies made real by my belief. Plus, the tests would have just given me more unbelief to counter. They would have gotten me involved in the whole medical process that deals only with the physical and totally ignores the spiritual.  I would have been in for weeks and months of treatment.  The devil would have had me on his terms then.  I needed to go up a whole level and outflank the devil where he doesn't stand a chance.  I took it to my Savior, and He did what He always does: He filled me with joy and abundant health. And it only took about an hour.  Now that's out-patient surgery!

Now a warning I did receive from God about from this experience: God will heal me, but I'd do better not to fight against Him in my day-to-day behavior.  He showed me how I'd been seriously overeating for years now and that by doing that I was making opportunity for the system of this fallen world to start working death in me (Romans 8:5-6).  And that gives the devil room to operate through fear and lies.  So I asked God to help me control my out-of-check desires and help me eat sensibly.  I owe Him the respectful use of my body, not out of fear of disease, but out of love for the God who loves me!

OK, so I only got to the first miracle.  Hopefully I'll post about my 24-minute flu later. :-)