Healing

First of all- I have two confessions. One, this topic is not a topic that I have truly embraced and started to walk in. I believe in everything that I'm about to say, but actually living it is a completely different story. I desire to see hundreds of people healed and delivered from various strongholds, but when it comes down to it, I have a lot of cracks in my own foundation that keep me from stepping out and praying in boldness. I am on this faith journey just like everyone else. Second confession, this material is not original, but I think that it is worthy of being talked about and passed on. I hope you will be encouraged and empowered, strengthened and challenged, edified and sharpened.

When it comes to healing, we are quick to make excuses about why healing doesn't happen. We say that it is God's will for some to be hurt and to suffer. Or that God is more glorified through limps and broken arms. Or that this person doesn't have the faith to be healed. Or that healing isn't for all people. We can go through the list of all the excuses we make, and the more we look at these excuses, we can get a clearer picture of how the enemy has crippled the Body and convinced them that it is not always God's will to heal. That God is not good all the time. That God is not in a good mood all the time. And that we can't always know the heart of the Father.

The closer we get into this issue, we realize that there are cracks in our foundations. Cracks in our identity and who we believe that we are. I believe that Jesus wants to raise up a strong and healthy army, not one that is paralyzed and sick. An army that knows who they are and is confident in the things that God tells them. It is important that we understand Scripture and understand Jesus and the Father to be who they say that they are. Here are some questions to think about that might challenge your faith a little bit:

Is God more glorified when someone is sick or when someone has been fully healed and restored?

If we are the light of the world, what good is busted light bulb?

Did Jesus die for all people? Did He defeat sickness and death for all people?

Is that person who you believe doesn't have enough faith, big enough to stand in the way of God's promise?

Do you believe that God wants to prosper you and not harm you? that He is for you? that He wants you to shine? that He delights in you? that He wants to protect you? that He desires freedom and restoration for all people?

We are made in the image of God. We need to start attacking these ways of thinking that devalue the cross and say that the death of Jesus was not good enough and is not good enough for all of the things of today. Our limits of faith need to be challenged. We need to understand the implications of being made in the image of God. 

"As you go, preach the message: 'The Kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.'" Matthew 10:7-8 It's pretty obvious that Jesus desires for us to do this. 

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Phil. 4:13

"This is the confidence that we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him." I John 5:14-15 No one who came to Jesus sick left still sick. God always came through. So that shows that it is always God's will to heal.

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

"...by His wounds we are healed." Is. 53:5

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to us." Matthew 28:18

"He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12 We will do greater things than Jesus did. things never before seen or documented. 

"...your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." Matthew 6:10 Heaven is perfect. No sickness. No depression. No anxiety. No broken bones. No cancer. 

Fellow brothers and sisters, we carry the power of the cross. The devil only has the power that we believe he has. So we need to be secure in who God says that He is and who God says that we are. Let's enforce Christ's victory over the power of sin and death everywhere we go. It is God who heals the sick, not us. That has to take some pressure off! Jesus paid for us to walk in power and to put the power and love of God on display for all to see. It is the time of "greater things," so let's not go back and limit those greater things. We can't have a comfort zone of unbelief and be afraid of freedom any longer. It is time for the chains to be broken on all those being held captive. It is time to rise up. to be free. to be healed. to be delivered and restored. to walk in boldness. No one will be healed if we don't ask. So let's start asking.