But I Wanted Healing - Day 249 Month 9-5 Week 34-4
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
2 Kings 2:15-3:27, Proverbs 28:1-14, Ezekiel 43:1-17, 2 Corinthians 12But I Wanted Healing
“To keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me - to keep me from exalting myself” (2 Corinthians 12:7).
There are several references in the book of Acts that record instances where God healed people through the Apostle Paul. There was the crippled man at Lystra, people carrying handkerchiefs or aprons, that touched his skin, to the sick resulting in diseases leaving them, The father of Publius plus other Islanders on Malta and restoring Eutychus to life after falling from the third floor window. Yet God would not heal Paul of his “thorn in the flesh.”
We don’t know what the thorn in the flesh was. It may have been a physical ailment, or it could have been some sort of temptation but we just don’t know. Paul uses strong language to describe this “thorn” as being beaten, buffeted or tormented.
As a Jesus follower, I have learned to accept that miraculous healing is not a guarantee. God sometimes heals people and sometimes He doesn’t. I don’t know why he chooses to heal some and not others, but I trust Him. My mother suffered with many ailments throughout her life and was never healed. Sylvia has many physical struggles yet she has not been healed from them. I am part of a “growth group” connected to the church I attend and a woman in that group was healed last year. I don’t know why she was healed and Sylvia hasn’t been. I do know that God is a good God and He loves us.
For those who do not get healed we rely on what God said to Paul. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Joni Eareckson Tada dove into some water at the age of 17. Having misjudged the depth of water, she fractured her back resulting in her being a quadriplegic. God never healed her but He never abandoned her and He was working through her. God has used her story and life. “She has written more than 40 books, recorded several musical albums, starred in an autobiographical movie of her life, and is an advocate for people with disabilities” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joni_Eareckson_Tada). When she was not healed, she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, and religious doubts. Even when her life changed so dramatically, through that experience God has used her accident to reach the hearts of many people. Though her life has been extremely difficult, in the view of eternity, she will walk and dance again.
So, do we stop asking God to heal people? Of course not. We still pray for miraculous healing but accept that God may choose not to. What we do know is that God loves us. We can ask, hope and believe that God will heal us. If healing doesn’t come, we will trust He is still good and He still loves us.
Have a great day!
Steve
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