08/26/2018
Have you ever received a divine healing, or perhaps known someone who did? When this occurred did you praise and glorify God? If not, why? Have you heard tell of people who were miraculously healed, and yet you were skeptical, or doubted they were ever sick in the first place? If so, then why? In our modern society, we are reluctant to acknowledge God when healings occur... why is this so? It is because our faith is under attack by unbelievers and we have succumb to their influence. It is Fear in some form.
“And Jesus said to him, "Recover your sight; your faith has made you well." And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.”
Luke 18:42-43 ESV
We are miraculously healed to give testament to God, and to glorify Him. This man who had his sight restored immediately followed Jesus and glorified God! He was obviously recognized as being divinely healed or there would have been no mention of him in scripture. What about today? A couple of months ago a man in my church had been to the doctor regarding his eyesight... it was failing and he was told that soon he would be blind. In response he came to the altar where the three man team, of which I am a part, anointed him with oil and prayed over him. The next Sunday he came to the altar in total amazement, excitement, and praise... his vision had returned, and he was healed. Yet not a word was ever mentioned about this occurrence from our pulpit. This happens all over America today... healings being placed beneath a basket.
“And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.”
Acts 3:7-8 ESV
Healings occur, and they occur quite often, but little is known of them except in more outspoken churches and denominations. Cancers, blindness, lameness, and too many illnesses to mention; yet they aren’t used for the purpose they are granted... to glorify God. Unless you are immediately involved you rarely hear of them, why?
In some instances those that are healed don’t want to become a spectacle because perhaps they feel they were afflicted because of sin, or maybe they are uncomfortable with being placed under a microscope as today’s society works hard to discredit their healing. Jesus spoke to the occasion of sin as being the reason for sickness... listen:
“Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
John 9:3 ESV
The problem we have is that no one that is healed is pure... we are all sinners, and Satan uses this to stifle the news of miracles that are performed in our lives. Every day we’ve say that we are all sinners, we say it in our churches, and we quote the scripture ad nauseam...
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
1 John 1:8 ESV
So it is so easy for Satan to discredit a healing when the person who experiences it is less than perfect, and yet they see, or walk, or have been cured in some way. The sad thing is that so many churches deny them as well... this is a case of societal, and spiritual ills having crept into the sanctuary, and God’s glory being denied in His own realm.
“So they said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and received my sight."”
John 9:10-11 ESV
Satan uses whatever means available to him to cast a shadow over God’s glory. When was the last time you read of a miraculous healing in a newspaper, or saw a story regarding one on television... never? Fear is a weapon wielded by him as he confronts miracles. People are afraid they will be ridiculed so they remain quiet, and churches accommodate that silence as well... so there is no support from the media, pulpits, or saints, for the healed, and no glory given to God because of fear. The fear of being wrong, the fear of being seen as extreme in their faith, the fear of being ridiculed in the press, or by others.... “Hundreds of people stand on a lawn in Texas to see the image of Christ on the side of a rusty old refrigerator on a porch!” We have all seen such stories, and they are never positive, yet quite often there are healings on those lawns, in those pools of water, or in prayer at the mouths of caves, or other such places where the faithful gather.
So where is the glory that God should be receiving? Well, it is in the hearts, minds, and souls of those who were directly impacted. It is in the faith of the parents whose dying child was healed and went home to the amazement of the doctors. It is within the prayers of thanksgiving of the family and close friends of a man whose eyesight was returned... but sadly, not on the larger stage of Christendom... Fear!
“And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"”
Mark 9:23-24 ESV
So miracles continue today, and not just once in a long while, but every day. When one occurs in your Church, small group, or to someone close to you, are you ready to glorify God? Are you ready to follow Jesus Christ? Are you ready to lift your hands in praise? Are you ready to let your light shine?
“"No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.”
Luke 11:33-34 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the many miracles you perform each day! I thank you Holy Father for those who receive a healing touch from Jesus, and follow Him. I thank you for all those that give glory to you! I thank you for those you rescue from disaster that lift their hands and praise your name. I thank you for the blind, the lame, the cancerous, the sick, the dying, the dead, the vulnerable, those that suffer, and too many others to mention, all who find miraculous relief by your hand. Help us Merciful Father as we pray for your Holy Spirit to strengthen us in our belief, and to embolden us in our faith. Help us to be brave and courageous, as we remove the basket from our lamps. I pray today for the salvation of churches who stifle your glory, and deny your miraculous presence. I pray for those unbelievers who work to disprove your miracles for fear of their disbelief. I pray that you remove fear in all its forms from the hearts of those who witness your mercy and might. You are great Father, and deserving of all glory. You are our Holy, Holy, Holy God of miracles and courageous faith! Praised be your name, and glorious your touch of mercy and grace.
Rich Forbes