Thank you for your words of encouragement and warning (Brenda and bleusky). I agree that the topics of suffering, healing and God are ones that have been used for encouragement as well as used to heap guilt on the sufferer. Someone who is already suffering enough physically does not need this extra emotional and spiritual burden strapped to them. It always grieves my heart when I see a Christian accuse a person who is sick (and I see this frequently) of not having enough faith, or having a sin problem. Honestly, if this were the case, would anyone be well?! I don’t think so. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I think it is the exception rather than the rule that sin or lack of faith is the reason for someone’s ongoing health condition.
I believe some of the danger comes when we look at our circumstances and use them to define God, rather than looking at the Bible to understand who He is. We have to keep in mind that there is also an enemy, Satan, who loves to be the Father of lies and clouds our thinking about God, and who feeds us lies constantly. So, how can we know what God is really like? We can read His word. He tells us who He is, and we can pray to Him and He reveals Himself.
So when we look at the Bible, the inspired word of God, it is interesting to see what we find out about healing and faith. This is a topic that I am not an expert on, but wanted to share a couple stories regarding healing and faith from the Bible. I think two good examples are the woman who had been sick for 12 years with bleeding, and Paul, who had a “thorn” in his side. Both had faith, but one was healed and the other was not. So to say that if someone on earth “just had enough faith they could be healed” is not supported by the Bible. Many in this illness community have faith in Jesus Christ and are not healed (yet).
Sick Woman’s Story
Here is the story of the woman who was healed because of her faith. This passage reminds me so much of this illness community with verse 26. This woman is healed and I believe God is showing how sometimes He chooses to show the sufficiency of His power in healing. He is the Great Physician.
A large crowd followed and pressed around Him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” His disciples answered, “and yet You can ask, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told Him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Mark 5:24-34
Paul’s Story & Our Story (my husband’s illness)
Here is the story of Paul, who also had great faith. He pleads with the Lord three times to remove the “thorn” from his side. The thorn, although not defined, is thought to have been a physical ailment. God’s response to Paul’s repeated prayer is that His grace is sufficient for Paul. I believe this is the answer He is also giving to my family right now as my husband carries this illness. This is actually my husband’s favorite verse. We have seen God’s sufficient grace during this illness and that is what my talk at the beginning of this thread discusses in detail with personal stories as evidence of His grace.
I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9
In Tom’s case, instead of being immediately healed, we believe that Tom was placed in this illness community, and has remained here, to share Jesus Christ and to bring hope to the hopeless.
So what does faith have to do with healing and suffering?
Everything! Do I sound like I am contradicting myself?
God has the power to heal and He wants to heal. Those who have faith in Him, those who take Jesus Christ up on His offer at the cross to come to Him and confess their sins and believe that He is indeed the Son of God who took their place on the cross, will be saved. Was this act not proof of His love for us? He died so His blood could cover our sins and reconcile us to a Holy God. And this faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will bring a day of healing for those who suffer. It is a guarantee…in heaven…for eternity.
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18
For those who decline Jesus’ free invitation to be covered by His sacrifice, suffering will go on for eternity (even if someone recovers from M.E. during life, suffering will resume upon death, by being separated from God for eternity).
Will healing ever come for Tom and others like him with M.E.?
With faith in Jesus Christ, healing is yours. Will it be on earth? We don’t know. For sure it will happen in heaven, but for some it could happen before.
But what does Jesus do for Tom now? Tom tells me that God equips him to bear this illness. He provides for Tom and our family. Tom says he is blessed to have Jesus guiding him through this confusing illness, and he receives God’s daily strength to endure his suffering, and Tom is at peace (even while enduring pain) because he knows he has eternal life with God through Jesus Christ. Tom wants others who are sick to have this gift of ultimate hope…to set an official “end date” to their suffering.
Many times as people have prayed for Tom to be healed, he has stated that although he would love to be healed, he desires that God would bring salvation to the entire M.E. community and work through Science to bring healing to the entire M.E. community in a way that the hand of God is evident. That continues to be our prayer. And as we wait, His grace is sufficient for those who love Him. He is with us. He is for us.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:31-39
Thank you to those of you who have shared your name with me to be prayed for by our family, and by a group of prayer warriors in our local church. If you would like to be added to this list, comment here, or PM me with your real name.
Tom and Christine