A Word on Healing and Provision

 

Healing is not a seasonal activity! It is part of God’s nature, His identity! Some things have an appointed time. Jesus was always part of God. John 1 tells us that he was present with God at the time of creation. The Holy Spirit was as well. But there was a time appointed for the birth of Jesus and for the release of the Holy Spirit to dwell within believers. The ministry of the Holy Spirit was not bound to the timing of Pentecost, but Pentecost opened a new era of how humanity related to God. Some things within our Christian spirituality have a time or “season”, but not all aspects of our walk with God are “seasonal”. It is an important distinction to make.

        God has always been healer. That has not changed and will never change. Just as He is always love, righteousness, and truth. He speaks to His people. These are aspects of God’s character and nature. They are unchanging.

Healing is not just an action that God is capable of. It is not merely a possibility. It is who He is! God says in Exodus 15, “I am the one who heals you”. Healing is part of His identity. God is also identified in scripture as love, light, and truth. God does many things and all of what He does flows from His character and nature. But who God is, His identity is different than His actions toward us. The character of God is unchanging and immovable.

God is our provider. It is in His nature to provide for His people. Provision is not an occasional or seasonal occurrence. It is part of the promise of how God relates to us. He provides for us and while we are grateful for what He provides, we do not worship or trust in the provision itself. Our trust and worship is to God, the one who provides! His promise to faithfully provide for us and lead us is where our trust is anchored; in His character as provider.

When we trust in who God is, we are pulled into greater faith. Sometimes our prayers for specific provision or healing seemingly go unanswered. We do not see or experience the answer we were asking, or hoping for. This can be a disappointment and it can also become a reason to doubt. It is in these times especially that it is critical to remember that our faith and trust are in the character of God, not in our prayers or purely in the action of God. We want what we pray for! Why else would we pray, ask, and trust God for it?! But we are ultimately seeking God and our trust and hope is in Him and His promises to us, not merely in what He can do for us.

In times of unanswered prayer, I am confronted by the bold statement the apostle Paul makes about hope in Romans 5. Paul says that “hope does not disappoint”.  Paul is speaking about the relationship we have with God by faith in Jesus. This relationship changes the way that we encounter and endure hardship, adversity, and trials. We have access to peace and can persevere because of the Holy Spirit within us that gives us access to the power and character of God. It is in this context that Paul makes the bold declaration that hope cannot disappoint.  Our hope is not solely in God’s answer to our individual prayers but in His heart, love, and faithfulness to us. It is based in Him, His character. We have a relationship with Him, where we belong to Him and He belongs to us. Even when we do not receive the answer we are asking for, we are not disappointed by hope because we still have the source of all we are looking for in God Himself.

This truth-filled perspective changes our outlook on what we ask and trust God for. Whether we are praying for God’s provision, for healing, or for something else, we focus on God Himself as our answer, not just His action on our behalf. In this way, we also steward the hope we have for the future. We believe that He is faithful, not just in the specific details of what we are praying for, but also in general. He is faithful to us, His children. He is our healer our provider and the one who loves us eternally. This perspective leads to an ever-increasing level of hope in the goodness of God.