“By His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5). These vivid words
are a prophetic word of knowledge that through Jesus’ crucifixion we will be
healed, redeemed, made new and whole. God is speaking of being healed
spiritually. God wants us to be healed spiritually
first, because bodily healing is temporary.
What is that all about? Yes, God through Jesus Christ has the power to
heal our bodies and He did it regularly in His ministry on earth. However, we
are eternal beings, regardless of what some atheists say. We will spend
eternity in heaven, in the bright light of the presence of God, or in hell in
damned darkness. It is our choice to receive the gift of healing. God wants to heal us spiritually and
physically. He wants our souls made new, clean in the blood of the Lamb. That means, God wants us to understand the
Gospel. God came to earth in Jesus Christ, the Son of God to live and die for
us that we might be saved or healed, made new through His death and resurrection.
Throughout Scripture God speaks of healing. Starting in
Deuteronomy 32:39 God says He is the one who will wound and He will heal. He
will heal body, soul and land. In 2
Chronicles 7:14 there is the often quoted prayer, “If my people who are called by
my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their
wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will
heal their land.” This is God
speaking to Solomon on the dedication of the Temple. Healing a land speaks of healing souls to return
to God in body, mind and spirit. Even Job, in his pain spoke of God saying, “He
wounds, but his hands also heal.” (Job 5:18).
The Psalms speak of physical and spiritual healing. Psalm
6:2 of David in pain says, “O Lord, heal me for my bones are in agony.” In Psalm 41:4 David again says, “O
Lord, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.” Here
David is speaking of his body and soul being healed of sin. Yes, God heals our
bodies, forgives our sins and cleanses us of all unrighteousness. And this healing
is through His Son, by His death and resurrection of the Cross. Again in Psalm
30:2, the Psalmist David speaks, “O Lord my God, called to you for help and
you healed me.” Yes, the Lord hears the cries of a contrite heart and
brings healing.
There is a Hillsong Music praise song called “Healer.” Ironically, a man supposedly dying of cancer
sings it. He cries out to be healed.
I believe
you're my Healer
I believe
you are all I need
I believe
you're my Portion
I believe
You're more than enough for me
Jesus
You're all I need
This man is not actually dying, but lying. There is an incredible outpouring of sorrow
and love for the man. He is convicted of his sin, yet God healed him of his sin
and God and the Hillsong group forgave him.
Isaiah and Jeremiah speak often of God healing their wounds.
Israel has been in bondage and exile. Yet God says, “Call on me and I will answer you
and tell great and unsearchable things…I will bring health and healing to it; I
will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” (Jeremiah
33:3,6). God brings healing to land,
body, spirit and soul as we seek him. And Hosea 6 says, “Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us.” This is graphic and
metaphoric. The Israelites have been wounded in body and spirit, particularly
because of unfaithfulness to God.
The Psalmist in 103 praises the Lord with all his heart,
because he is the one, “Who forgives all our sins and heals all our
diseases…” You will find a story on the “Living Word” in my book Great is God’s Faithfulness that speaks
of how the Lord instantly healed me from predictably mortal tick-borne illnesses
when I prayed Psalm 103 out loud. The word of the Lord is living and dynamic
and will accomplish its purposes like the rains that fall on the earth.
Then God was incarnated in Jesus Christ to earth. The Old
Testament conceals and the New Testament reveals his healing ministry. There is
in Matthew 8 an incredible story of a Roman Centurion coming to Jesus asking
for healing of a paralyzed servant. “I will go and heal…Go! It will be done just
as you believed it would.” Later,
“
he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.” (Matt
8:17). In Matthew 9 He heals the paralytic,
“Take heart your sins are forgiven.” Yes, He heals body and spirit; He
forgives sins. He healed the blind and the mute and then He sent out the 12 to
do the same in His power through faith.
This is the story and veracity of the Gospel; Jesus is the
Way, the Life and the Truth, no one comes to the Father but through him. If you ask him, he will heal you. It will be in
his way and timing, but it is a done deal if done in faith.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts.