Healing

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you by my righteous right hand...

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you,

Do not fear; I will help you."

Isaiah 41:10 ,13

The verses above were deemed the "life verses" of my materal grandmother, Linda Seymour.  She and her husband Arthur went to Chad, Africa as missionaries in the 1920's.  Even after Arthur's sudden death in 1935, grandma spent most of her life on the foreign field, retiring in 1968.  Every card or letter I ever received from her bore her unmistakable script as well as four words in quotes, "I will help thee."  (Isaiah 41:13 )  It was a promise she lived her life by and passed on that faith to us.

Recently I've been experiencing pain in my arms, particularly my right arm; and so I decided to do a scripture word study of "right hand" in the Bible.  God revealed to me that the pain is an attack of the enemy because of the marvelous plans the Lord has in store for us in 2011.  He wants to accomplish mighty works in us and through us, so satan is trying to thwart our effectiveness and energy.

Below is a copy of what I wrote in my journal during that study.  I pray that you will be as encouraged as I was.

Old Testament scriptures listing reference to "right hand."  (These can be easily found by using a study Bible, concordance or an online source.)

Genesis 48:13 Israel (Jacob) pronouncing blessing as he is dying.  His right hand on one's head is the sign of primary blessing.

Exodus 15:6 The Lord's right hand is mighty in power and shattered the enemy.

Psalm 16:8 &11 "I have set the Lord always before me; He is at my right hand.  Therefore I will never be shaken! At God's right hand are eternal

pleasures."

Psalm 17:7 God saves by His right hand those who have taken refuge in Him.

Psalm 18:35 God's right hand sustains me.

Psalm 44:3 God's right hand and His arm "won the land," brought the victory because He loved His people.

Psalm 45:4 [Lord], let you right hand display awesome deeds!

Psalm 73:23 [Lord], I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.

Psalm 91:7 When my support and my strength collapse-- 10,000 may fall at my right hand, but [danger] will not come near me.

Psalm 98:1 The Lord's right hand and holy arm have worked salvation.  (I, too, am holy because I belong to God. So my arm is holy.)

Psalm 110:1 refers to Jesus sitting enthroned at God's right hand

Psalm 110:5 The Lord is at your right hand = near to assist you in battle

Psalm 118:15-16 The Lord's right hand is lifted high and has done mighty things.

Psalm 137:5 If the psalmist forgets Jerusalem he says, "May my right hand forget its skill."

Psalm 139:10 Your hand guides me; your right hand holds me fast.

Isaiah 41:10 & 13        (see above)  God's right hand holds onto my right hand.  His great strength surrounds my own strength.

Isaiah 48:13 God's hand laid the earth's foundation.  His right hand spread out the Heavens! And it is that hand which holds me!

New Testament Scripture references that contain "right hand:"

Matthew 6:5 One's right hand is giving to the needy in secret.

Matthew 22:44 ` Jesus sits enthroned at God's right hand.

Matthew 25:33 The "sheep" (God's children) will be on His right (place of security, safety, blessing, reward).

Acts 2:34 Jesus is exalted to God's right hand.

Acts 7:55 Jesus was standing at the right hand of God.

Romans 8:34 Jesus is at God's right hand and is interceding for us.

Hebrews 1:3 Jesus is seated at God's right hand actively ruling with Him.

Conclusion from New Testament scriptures:  Jesus is the personification of all the Old Testament attributes of God's right hand!  Amen!  Praise You, Lord!

What are the conclusions and applications we can make from these scriptures?  Here are a few I can up with:

What God's right hand does: Displays power, shatters the enemy, kees me strong (never be shaken), saves me, sustains me, "wins the land,"

brings victory (why? because He loves us!), displays awesome deeds, works salvation, does mighty things, holds

me fast and securely, laid the earth's foundations, spreads out the Heavens.

What "right hand" signifies:  blessing, strength, power, action, security, place of honor, righteousness

What is "at His right hand"? Eternal pleasures!

What is said about my right hand? It is a sign of my skill, which is why mine was attacked.   God holds me by my right hand and says to me, "Do

not fear; I will help you."

Lord God, I praise you for who you are!  Thank you for the mighty display of your deeds and your strength!  Lord, I believe that your right hand holds onto my right hand.  I believe that you will give me strength, peace and security to do all that you have called me to do.  I am in Your hands, literally!  I pray that you would cause my arms and hands to come in line physically with the strength you have bestowed spiritually.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

"And we know that in all things God works to the good

of those who love him and who are called according to His purpose."

Romans 8:28

God's timing is interesting.  Just as I was beginning this study on the topic of healing, I attended the final session in a weekly Bible study that I have been attending for the past several months.  It is a study called, "To Live is Christ," written by the popular Bible teacher Beth Moore.  Delving into the life of the Apostle Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, we have gained insight into many wonderful topics.  One that was discussed in great detail was suffering and trials in the life of the believer.  For those of you who are familiar with the Bible, you know that perhaps no one was persecuted more for his/her faith than the Apostle Paul.  Read 2 Corinthians 11:24-26 .

What a commentary!  Can you imagine such trials and suffering and difficulties in your life?  Although I have experienced my share of suffering, I could not begin to say that my faith has been tested to the point of Paul!

I'm sure you are familiar with the teaching that Christians do not have to put up with suffering in their lives-- that all such things are just an attack from Satan and that we just need to exercise our God-given authority through Jesus Christ and pray those circumstances out of our lives.  In other words, if we have enough faith and pray diligently enough, then suffering, pain, sickness, poverty, trials will be erradicated from our experience.

Although there are aspects of this teaching that are true and in line with Scripture, there are nuances and implications which simply do not line up when viewed through the wide lens of God's sovereign word.

I realize that I am embarking on territory which can lead to heated debates among believers.  It is not my intention to stir up quarrels or arguments.  It is also not my intention to offend or attack anyone for his/her beliefs.  I am seeking to weigh this issue in my own mind and heart, and through prayer and study have wrestled with this topic time and time again through the last 14 years.  My intention is to share what I have found to be true in the Word of God - which has been confirmed by many faithful and godly teachers, theologans and authors.  Above all, I encourage you to do a thorough study of the Bible as well and to seek out information on this topic, so that you may reach your own conclusions through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Please accept my statements as one whose only desire is to know and understand her Lord.  As said in Day 29 (Healing Part 1), I believe that God is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.  Therefore, I believe as humans we can never fully understand Him!  If we could, why would we worship Him? Why would we want to worship and serve a God who can be explained or totally understood by a limited, finite, flawed human intellect?   I for one want the One who I trust for my salvation, the One in whom I place confidence of eternal security, the One whom I pray to for healing of all kinds, the One whom I trust to be my Provider to be so much bigger than what my little mind can conceive!  (Isaiah 55:9-11 ; 1 Corinthians 2:8-10 ; Isaiah 40:27-29 to name a few)

I was raised in a rather conservative church.  Emphasis was on an overall understanding of scripture as a whole, a Biblical world view, and practical daily life applications in living out our faith. We were encouraged to read the Bible for ourselves, memorize scripture and use God's Word as the immovable foundation for our lives.  Prayer was key, and we were taught that nothing was impossible for God.  Although the Holy Spirit was recognized, the gifts of the Spirit were not overly emphasized.  Several in my family of origin have been foreign missionaries, and I was well acquainted with stories of God's miraculous provision, healing, and guidance through countless situations.

Incredibly grateful for such a grounding in the Christian faith, I have studied and grown in the last several years in my understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life.  (That is a topic for a whole new discussion!)  However, let me state that I do believe many trials, situations of suffering, tragedies, illnesses and pain are the result of Satan's work.  The enemy cannot possess a child of God - one who has accepted Christ as Savior; however he can oppress us. (Ephesians 4:30 )  As we studied in Day 29 (Healing Part 1), sin entered the world through a human's will, and from that point on we have had to live with the consequences. (Genesis 3 )  Through Jesus' death and resurrection, sin was defeated and we were given victory as believers.  (Romans 5:11-13 ; 1 Corinthians 15 ; 1 John 5:3-5 )

Therefore, we can and should pray diligently again evil in the world!  God tells us to put on His armor and stand our ground against the enemy's schemes (Ephesians 6:10-20 )  It is true that "no weapon formed against me shall prosper." (Isaiah 54:16-17 ; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 )

As believers in Christ Jesus, we are instructed to "pray without ceasing" and to "give thanks in all circumstances," (1 Thes. 5:17-19 ), to exercise our faith (Matthew 17:19-21 ).  We are encouraged to use those weasons of warfare to do battle with the forces of evil in this world.  (Ephesians 6:10-20 )   Yes, it is true that some of our suffering in this life is spiritual attack that can be thwarted through faithful prayer and/or laying on of hands, anointing, and praise and worship.  (James 5:14-16 ; Acts 16:22-26 )  The Bible clearly teaches that we have the authority to pray in the name of Jesus, and we can have faith that the Lord will answer our prayers.  (John 14:12-14 ; 15:15-17; 16:22-27; Matthew 18:19 )

The Lord has been stretching me for years in how to pray believing that He will act!  It is an incredible journey, this journey of faith!  I certainly do not have all the answers, but I have seen Him do miracles.  I have seen Him heal.  I have also seen godly, faithful saints and praying servants of Christ die with cancer.  I have heard God say, "No." at times to my earnest prayers.

Friends, what do we do at those times?  What happens to our faith in those moments?  Is it shattered?  Or can we be drawn even closer to Almighty God and gain an even deeper understanding of the mystery of our faith in a sovereign God?  Can we say with Job, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him."  (Job 13:14 )  Like none other recorded in scripture, Job wrestled with this issue of suffering.  Careful study of this book provides amazing insight.  (Be sure not to miss God's response to all of Job's questioning in chapters 38-40.)

A while back I wrote a song entitled, "When God Says No."  It was a response to a time when I had prayed earnestly for several painful circumstances around me.  I had believed that God had good plans and that He would answer these situations in positive ways.  My definition of postive and the Lord's definition of positive were once again vastly different!  The lyrics of the song are as follows:

"When God says no, can I still praise His name and thank Him for the wonders that He's done?  When God says no, can I still raise my hands, knowing that I stand before the throne?  Grace, so amazing, I cannot understand.  But I will trust His heart when I cannot trace His hand.   Paul asked three times for his thorn to be removed.  Me, I know I've asked you a million times or more for an open door.  When God says no, can I still praise His name and thank Him for the wonder that He is?  When God says no, can I still raise my hands knowing that I stand before the throne? Grace, so amazing, I do not understand.  But I will trust His heart when I cannot see His hand, or trace His plan."

Friends, my point is this: If the Apostle Paul, arguably the greatest man of faith who ever walked this earth apart from Jesus Christ, didn't receive deliverance from every trial, didn't receive deliverance from being beheaded by the sword, then could it be that our definition of healing and deliverance needs to be stretched?  Could it be that we must recognize that a sovereign God has plans that are beyond our understanding?

At times we will see miracles.  I believe with every fiber of my being that God is able to do the impossible, and I pray for more opportunities to see it with human eyes.  But I know that I know that I know a greater joy, a greater security... that one day I will see His face.

We must rest in Who He is, the Great I AM.

I intend to continue my own study of what the Bible has to say about this topic.  I hope you will join me.

"In this world you will have trouble, but take heart - I have overcome the world!"

Jesus' words in John 16:33

We began this indepth study on the topic of healing on Day 29.  Here is a recap of where we ended...

The Bible teaches us that we can know that we know that we know that God loves us unconditionally (Isaiah 54:10 ; Romans 8:38-39 ), that Jesus has secured our salvation and is preparing a place in Heaven for us. (John 14:1-3 )  We can be absolutely assured that we will spend eternity with God in a glorious, beautiful place, reunited with others who love Jesus and forever be freed from any pain or sorrow. (Read Colossians 1 ; 1 Peter 1:3-5 ;  Revelation 21 & 22)

Now, with all that said, the Bible is also very clear that we WILL experience hardships in this life, difficulties, pain, sorrow, trials.  These are a consequence of a fallen and sinful world.  (1 Peter 1: 6 -7; 1 Peter 4:1219 ; James 1:2-4 ; John 16:33 )

But, we also know that God has power over and in and through all things.  The Bible teaches us that we do walk in victory and that we can ask for healing.  We know that God can and does heal.  However, we also know that many godly, faithful, praying people do not get healed physically in this world.  Many faithful saints who earnestly pray for healing and believe in the power of Jesus Christ do not receive physical restoration.  They "lose the battle" to cancer, to aids, to sickness.  They are killed in car accidents, in senseless murders, in other tragedies...

Where is God in those circumstances?  Where is the promise of healing in those peoples' lives?

Perhaps it's that our definition of healing is too narrow.  But also, these are valid questions which are worth wrestling through.

I have had the blessing of being part of a Healing Prayer leadership team for the past decade or so.  The minister and mentor of that program always taught us that there are many different types of healing - emotional, physical, spiritual, relational.  When we pray and ask for healing, some kind of healing always takes place!  So often our prayers focus on physical healing, when the true healing that needs to occur is on a much deeper level - spiritual or emotional or relational.  (In my Healing Music Devotional appendix section there is a detailed discussion about what Christian healing is and what it is not.  Go to www.healingmusicvideo.com for more information.)

There have been times when I have experienced physical pain and/or sickness, prayed for healing time and time again, and the healing that first came to me was emotional healing.  As the emotional wounds were treated and soothed, the physical symptoms began to lessen.  I can also attest to times of great pain which I know were spiritual attacks on my physical body.  Spiritual healing came through prayer, putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20 ) and being anointed and prayed for by other believers.  Also, this kind of pain has often been overcome for me simply by being obedient.  I keep doing what God has called me to do (write, play music, speak, sing) regardless of the physical pain it causes.  Eventually there is breakthrough, and I rejoice in not only spiritual and emotional healing, but also in physical healing as well.

Like you, I have known precious saints of God who have died from cancer and other tragedies.  One particularly comes to mind who mentored me for years and was a member of that healing prayer team.  She died from ovarian cancer a couple years ago.  I had watched this woman closely and knew that God had done some real miracles in her life over the years.  She was filled with the Holy Spirit and surrendered to the Lord in every way.  I remember her husband (who is an ordained minister) saying to me at her funeral, "She prayed believing that God could heal her.  She prayed and believed it right up until the final moments."

Why didn't God choose to heal her physically?  I don't know.  Over the course of her battle with cancer He had turned back the tide of the disease more than once, gave her renewed strength and a measure of healing in her body.  Couldn't God have just removed the cancer entirely and completely restored her to optimal physical health?  Of course!  He created every cell in her body; He knit her together in her mother's womb (Psalm 139 ).  He could have completely irradicated her body of all disease in a mere breath.  But He didn't choose to.

Why?

That is the question that always haunts us, isn't it?  Why didn't God heal my friend?  Why was that baby born stillborn?  Why was that child killed in the car accident? Ten minutes spent watching the news on any given day will provide us with plenty of fodder for questions regarding heart wrenching tragedies.  And yet, we can point to hundreds of examples where people were healed miraculously, where barren wombs conceived and birthed healthy children, where individuals were saved from impending destruction by what only can be attributed as an act of God.

I can assure you of this:  my friend did receive the ultimate healing!  As the final earthly breath exhaled from her body, the next inhalation was the pure, eternal air of Heaven!  Her vision darkened in a hospital bed, but her eyes opened to stare into the face of the Jesus she knew and loved.  (2 Corinthians 5:8 ; 2 Timothy 4:18 )

God is reworking my image of Heaven.  Raised in the church all my life, I admit that I have basically pictured Heaven as a place with streets of gold and filled with lots of angels clothed in white and carrying around harps.  Undeniably, the music will be breath taking, but seriously, what will we fill our time with for eternity?  Certainly, God is worthy of worship and the thought of seeing Him face to face is breath-taking, but usually I found myself thinking that eventually we would get bored.  (Please tell me I'm not the only one who has thought this!)

Well, through many experiences and studies of the Word, revelations from the Spirit, my view of Heaven is now drastically different.  I now believe that Heaven is going to be so much greater, more beautiful, more enriching, more rewarding that we can ever imagine!  Sights, sounds, colors, relationships, experiences, intellect will more than fill our minds.  The more I worship here on earth, the more I realize how true Paul's words are, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."  (1 Corinthians 13:12 )  The more I study and grow in my relationship with Jesus, the more I realize that this world is just training ground for eternity.  I am just a pilgrim here, just passing through. (Hebrews 11:12-14 )  If you want to expand your thinking about Heaven, read Revelation chapters 4 & 5 and also 21 & 22.

Okay, so we can certainly take comfort in the promise of Heaven.  We can know that our loved ones are in Christ's presence and that we will be reunited with them one day.

But, what about praying for healing?  Jesus gave us all authority on earth to cast out demons and to walk in victory over the enemy.  (Matthew 10:7-9 )  He even told his disciples (and therefore, us) that we would do greater things than he did here on earth. (John 14:12 )

So, should we pray for physical healing?  If so, how?

The answer is Yes, we should; and we will continue our study in what the Bible has to say about the topic of healing.  Join me on Day 31 for "Healing - Part 3."