This past week was a challenging week for me and many members of our church. While I have been preaching the message of healing from the pulpit over the past few weeks, the devil is still at work attempting to steal, kill and destroy.
One of the dear sisters of our church and a wonderful mother and wife suffered an undetected heart attack and went home to be with Jesus on the weekend. Another dynamic young Pastor’s wife passed into eternity after battling cancer for several months. Many people prayed fervently, cried out to God and did everything they knew to secure healing for these women of God. But they died. They departed from us and went home to be with the Lord in Heaven.
While we stand firm on the promises of God regarding healing, we are often faced with the conundrum of a loved one who is not healed and dies of disease. This experience can either drive us away from or closer to God. The Bible says to draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). I believe He wants to draw us closer to Himself during these times and whisper in our ears words of hope and comfort.
Although most of our questions about such mysteries will not be answered until we also get to Heaven, some comforting secrets are hidden in the pages of God’s wonderful Word and are given to comfort us in the midst of times that could otherwise be very confusing or damaging to our faith. Here are some of such promises from the Scripture.
Even in the Faith chapter of the Bible- Hebrews 11- the Scripture tells us that some believers died in faith not having received their promises (v. 13). And it says that others were tortured and afflicted (“of whom the world was not worthy”) but they obtained a good testimony through faith (even though they did not receive the promise-v.39).
The Scripture tells us that the “secret things belong to the Lord” and the things that are revealed belong to us (Deut 29:29). There are many things in this life, on this side of eternity that we do not understand, and therefore we must trust in the Lord with all our heart and not lean to our own understanding. We may not know the “why” but we can know the “Who”!
We know we are in a war and a great battle for the souls of men. Our ongoing task is to fight the fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12) and resist the devil- and to destroy his evil works of sickness and death (1 John 3:8). The last enemy to be destroyed will be death (1 Cor 15:26) and ultimately Christ and His church will triumph over that as well. There may be casualties in battle, but we will eventually win this war!
We have the sweet assurance that Heaven is an unfathomable reward for the believer. The death of the saints is precious in the eyes of the Lord (Psalm 116:15). Paul actually says it is far better to depart and be with Christ, and that to die is gain (Phil 1:20-23). He even says that he wanted Christ to be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death!
We have this confidence that nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Rom 8:37-39). Even in death we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us! When we walk through this valley, He promises to be with us (Ps 23:4).
With hearts full of faith and trust in the Lord our Healer we will continue to speak the word of faith and healing for people. We have been commissioned to preach the Word and heal the sick (Mark 16:15-20). These momentary contradictions will not hinder us from obeying the Lord and continuing His work. In fact we will retaliate (2 Cor 10:6) with greater fervor and zeal and continue to destroy Satan’s evil works- by preaching and propagating Christ’s healing message.
We embrace the wonderful goodness of God our Heavenly Father (Matt. 7:11). He is still good and will work all things together for our good (Rom 8:28). And even what the enemy meant for evil, He will turn for our good (Gen 50:20).
Don’t allow the enemy of your soul to dishearten you, discourage you or dissuade you from following the Lord and maintaining a strong stand for faith! Don’t let bitterness get into your spirit and poison your life. God is still God, His Word is still true, and Heaven is still worth waiting for. We pray much more abounding grace on each of you as you continue your faithful fight of faith against the works of the devil. Let’s go to Church this Sunday and pray for some sick folk!