Is Any One Of You Sick?

As I shared HERE last week, I had an amazing appointment with my kidney doctor! He really was quite shocked that I was improving on the meds and didn't need to undergo dialysis. Wow. I have been thinking of that news all week and can't help but go into a little more detail and share how GOD is the center of our healing. 

You see, we can say, "oh, sometimes things just happen like that," or, "you have good luck." But, I see it a little differently now and I pray that you do too. Think of what may be at stake for you.

There are any stories of healing in the Bible. Jesus was the HEALER. The blind were given sight (Mattew 9:27-31), the crippled walked (Luke 13:10-17), the deaf and mute were able to hear and speak (Mark 7:31-37), and so many more! Then to top it off, he goes and raises people from the dead (Luke 7:11-17, John 11:1-44)?!?! What the heck!?! :) 

AWESOME.

Sometimes I think those are really BIG things and God only chooses to do those really big things. But that's silly. I am so sure that there were many more moment of healing he did that were not published in the Bible. Maybe because, for one; he did not know about some of the people that were healed by him. Simply because, he traveled all over the place and people weren't able to track him down, possibly because their healing may have not happened right away; and two; because those stories published in the Bible were those chosen to captivate the audiance with their "shock and awe" capabilities. Just my thoughts.

I know I can testify to many stories of healing in myself and others. Not just because of good luck or "stuff JUST happens," but because;

JESUS IS STILL HEALING.

As I was doing my James, Beth Moore Bible study this week, the Lord was promting me to write about this in more detail. We are wrapping up our study of the book of James. The last few verses in a passage titled "The Prayer of Faith" states:

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

James 5:13-16

I wrote HERE  about a healing service we had at church before Easter. Some of the elders, my family and friends, gathered around me, laying their hands on me, praying for me and agreeing for healing. At that point, we had no idea what was going on. I wept. And there, at that moment, I gave my uncertanties to Jesus. I remember giving him my kidneys that night. As if saying, "they are all yours! Do what you need to, because I cannot!" Pastor John anointed my head with oil. (Just a little swipe of oil across my forehead). Jesus began working on me in that moment and had continued.  

The passage below, always sticks out to me when I think of the miraculous things God still does through US! Here, Jesus is speaking to his disciples, promising them the Holy Spirit after His death. When we turn our lives over to the Lord, asking him to take control, letting Jesus in as King of our lives, the Holy Spirit is given to us. 

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you." John 14:12-20

Just this past Sunday, as in, November 11th, 2012, pastor John (my church pastor) spoke of a woman who was healed of a brain tumor. Let me explain a little. This is incredible! 

The week prior, a woman who has been undergoing treatment for a cancerous brain tumor came to the alter during the service to pray (which she does every Sunday). Pastor J asked my mother-in-love, who was close by, to step in as an elder (because their were none around at that time) and pray for her healing as they anointed her with oil. My mother-in-love willingly prayed. 

Ok, back to this Sunday! Pastor J explains that he got a call from this lady last Monday telling him that the tumor was G.O.N.E! Apparently, after my mother-in-love and Pastor J prayed for her and anointed her, she went back to her seat and felt this tingling sensation around her face and knew something was going on.

She went to the doctor, had an MRI and IT WAS NOT THERE! 

OH. MY. WORD. :) 

You see, if he lives in us, he gives us opportunities to experience his miracles just as the disciples did. The Holy Spirit here now, is the same Holy Spirit that was there then! Did I make sense? I hope so!

I also want to put this out there for any of you who may think like I did. Before I was diagnosed, I believed a lie. The lie was that I deserved sickness, pain, etc. because of the sin I had been caught up in. I remeber being so angry with God when my nephew was born with a cleft lip/palate. I didn't understand why that difficult situation was given to my sister and not me. I thought, "she is not the "sinner" of the family, I am." I remember telling God that I deserved this because of my sin. Let me just tell you, that is messed up thinking! (although, I still wish God would have given me that hardship and not my sister, he knew what he was doing!)  

This is why my thinking was messed up: 

"We're like those first disciples who, when they saw a man blind from birth, asked: "Who sinned, this man or his parents? (John 9:2). To our great relief Jesus answered "Neither this man nor his parents sinned. ... This came about so that God's works might be displayed in him." (v.3) James, Beth Moore

God does not CAUSE us pain and disease. Especially, not because of our sins. 

There are times, like in my own healing, where quick healing does not take place. That does not mean God is not going to heal. Although, He may choose not too. In my case, it took a while, but part of the healing I asked for did happen!

I am still waiting and expecting a complete healing of my lupus. There are days where I am angry with God and I doubt his healing power. I honestly don't know if he will heal me totally, but I know that I am going to continue to expect it! He may choose not to and that hurts a little when I think that He may not. But that hurt does not last long because he ends up revealing something great to me!

As I was laying on my bed one evening, doing my James study, these words pierced through my heart resonating within:

"During His earthly life, He (Jesus) offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the One (God) who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence." 

James 5:7

Beth Moore then states: "Hebrews 5:7 offers us the ultimate example. This was God's very Son. He cried out loudly, tears streaming, and God heard...yet He did not save Him from death. An infinitely greater work was accomplished through the cross. When we cry out, our God hears whether or not He heals. Something greater must be at stake. Something we may not know until we see him." 

After reading this, with tears streaming down my face, I started to sob. I began to picture Jesus, beaten and bleeding to death on the cross. Jesus knew why he was there; for ME and YOU! It was the plan all along. "An infinitely greater work was accomplished through the cross." WOW. It sure was. For Jesus, in that moment, I am sure it was so hard for him to see exactly what that plan was through the pain he was experiencing. 

Thank you God for allowing your son Jesus to be sacrificed for us. We don't deserve it.

Oh what GRACE. Amazing GRACE. 

I think about my life now, the healing I pray will happen and thanksgiving for the healing that has already happened. I think about how something greater than anything I could expect or imagine may be at stake. Someones life perhaps? Something I may not know until I see Jesus face to face. Am I ok with that? Is it worth it? 

As I pondered that statement, while laying on my bed, sobbing, a peace came over me. I felt Jesus holding me in that moment saying, "I got this, and by the way, it's amazing!"

If you need a healing of your own, please don't hesitate to call on the Lord. Ask people who you know, that will stand in faith with you for healing! Seek a pastor who believes in the healing power of Jesus just as it was in those amazing Bible stories! Feel free to contact me as well. I would love to pray for you and stand with you!