The subject of divine health and healing has raised no small stir among believers of all denominations. Most of them want to believe that God can and does heal people today. But there are a variety of questions, opinions, experiences and misconceptions about this subject. There are questions such as: Isn't God sovereign when it comes to healing? Doesn't God use sickness to teach or humble us? Isn't salvation more important than healing? What about doctors, hospitals and medicine? What about good Christians who are sick or have died? What about Paul's thorn or Job's boils? If sickness isn't God's will, how are people going to die? What are afflictions, sufferings and chastenings? Is it God's will to heal everyone all the time? We will look at each of these questions in detail.
If you are just beginning to learn that God desires His children to be healthy, this study will help introduce you to the precious truths in God's Word concerning healing. If at one time you believed in divine healing but for whatever reasons have been discouraged about it, this study will help you to regain your confidence in God's Word on healing. If you already believe in God's willingness to heal, you will be further strengthened and established in your faith for this wonderful benefit of our salvation.
Let's endeavor to answer common questions and misconceptions about divine health and healing. As we study God's Word, keep an open mind and heart and trust the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth. The truth will make you free (John 8:32)—free from all religious traditions, free from wrong thinking and free from sickness and disease!
So ... Isn't God Sovereign When It Comes To Health And Healing?
We absolutely believe that God is sovereign. He is Almighty God, and above Him there is no other! When it comes to healing, we certainly believe that God can and does initiate healing in people's lives supernaturally and sovereignly at times. Through the gifts of the Spirit, God may heal an individual who doesn't even believe in healing! We see examples of God's sovereign healing power throughout the Scriptures.
While we believe in God's sovereignty when it comes to some cases of healing, we do not believe that all healing occurs as a sovereign act of God. We see throughout the Scriptures that a believer can initiate his own healing by faith. This idea has been lost in the over-emphasis on God's sovereignty.
There is a train of thought on the sovereignty of God that goes something like this: "We are to accept anything that comes into our lives, whether it be good or bad, because it has already gone through God's "big filter" and He has placed His stamp of approval on it. Therefore, if believers are attacked with sickness or disease, they are to humbly accept it as God's will for them, because it received His stamp of approval before it reached their bodies." The Bible does not teach this.
We certainly believe that God is sovereign and almighty, and we trust in His providential care. For example, where God's will for our personal lives is concerned, He has foreordained good works in His sovereignty for each of us to walk. However, in doctrines where He has already stated His will in His Word, He will not violate Himself by performing "sovereign" acts contrary to His written Word.
Oftentimes, when praying for healing, people will use these words, "Lord, heal me, if it be Thy will." They think that by adding the phrase if it be Thy will to their prayer they give God the option of exercising His sovereignty. After all, they reason, God knows best; maybe He wants us to be sick for some divine purpose!
However, as we study this subject of healing, we find that actually, in His sovereignty, God has already stated throughout His Word that it is His will to heal us of all sickness and disease.
Look up these verses to renew your mind that it is indeed God's will to heal all:
Therefore, there is no need for us to pray, "... if it be Thy will," or leave ourselves in the hand of "sovereign fate" when it comes to healing. God has already bound Himself to His Word and He has already declared His sovereign will.
Let's look at one Scripture in which God clearly gives us the choice for life or death. In Deuteronomy 30:19 and throughout the Word of God, you will notice that, in most matters, God has given us the opportunity to choose. If things were left entirely up to His sovereign will, why would He give us any choice in matters? As we study the Word of God, we will see this is a constant theme. God never violates our free will. He gives us the right to choose life or death.
For further study, I recommend my book, "Getting a Grip on the Basics of Health and Healing."
Copyright © 2007 Beth Jones Ministries All rights reserved.
