“Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.” (James 5:15 MSG)
Hundreds of people have been praying for my friend who has been fighting cancer for the last four years. We have joined together, in one accord, devoting ourselves to constant prayer for her. She is still sick. How do we make sense of this? No one would say that she is still suffering because of a lack of faith or devoted prayer, nor because of a sinful nature.
Jesus prayed. He was faithful. He was blameless. He still suffered and died. Yet, Jesus was also healed and whole--inside and out. He was raised up, on His feet, in union with the Father.
Physical healing is sometimes part of God’s plan. And, these miracles often enlarge our faith. However, while we pray about short-term issues of earthly magnitude, God concerns Himself with long-term matters. We pray for physical healing, while God is focused on the soul. He repairs the schism between our spirit and His Spirit. God cares more about healing our brokenness, making us whole, and preparing us to join Him eternally.
I thank you for this post to remind me of the Bigger Picture when Cancer seems to be so extreme and painful and a way of making those who least deserve to suffer, suffer. You have made me realize with this post that Jesus did indeed rise, as all of our friends and family who suffer and have suffered will. I send this after my post on PraiseBook.
ReplyDeleteI thank you for being a vessel for a message I dearly needed to hear from God today.
Laura, I pray that all of us may be comforted by knowing that life on earth is merely a prelude to what is coming.
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