The Power of God to Heal

Dear Readers,

God is all powerful, He is all knowing, He is everywhere. These are the three basic characteristics of God. This month, I will talk about certain aspects of God's power. This week, I will talk about the power to heal.

In the book of 2nd Kings, there is a story of a General of Syria named Naaman (pronounced Na - a - man) and a man of God named Elisha. j

"Naaman, commander of the army for the King of Aram, was a great man in his master's sight and highly regarded because through him, the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was a brave warrior, but he had a skin disease (leprosy). Aram had gone on raides and brought back from the land of Israel a young girl who served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would go to the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his skin disease.' So Naaman went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel said. Therefore, the king of Aram said, 'Go and I will send a letter with you to the king of Israel.' so he went and took with him 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and 10 changes of clothes. He brought the letter to the king of Israel and it read, 'When this letter comes to you, note that I have sent you my servant Naaman for you to cure him of his skin disease.' When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, 'Am I God, killing and giving life that this man expects me to cure a man of his skin disease? Think it over and you will see that he is only picking a fight with me.' When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel hore his clothes, he sent a message to the king, 'Why have you torn your clothes? Have him come to me, and he will know there is a prophet in Israel.' So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. Then Elisha sent him a messenger, who said, 'Go wash seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored and you will be clean.' But Naaman got angry and left, saying, 'I was telling myself: He will surely come out and stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and will wave his hand over the spot and cure the skin disease. Are not Abana and Pharper, the rivers of Damascus, better tha all the waters of Israel? Could I wah in them and be clean?' So he turned and left in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you have done it? How much more should you do it when he tells you, wash and be clean?' So Naaman went donwn and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the command of the man of God. Then his skin was restored and became like the skin of a small boy, and he was clean." (2nd Kings 5:1-14, Christian Standard Bible translation)

God chose to heal Naaman through his servant, Elisha. What I find interesting about this event is all Naaman wanted was to be healed. Yet when Elisha prescribed the method, Naaman was very mad. Not only did Naaman want to be healed, but he also wanted the grandious style and hand waving and screaming, "HEAL!" That's why it's important for the servants to point Naaman back to what he wanted. Naaman wanted to be healed. He wanted God to heal him. And that is exactly what happened. Yet Naaman's healing was more than skin. Naaman was healed on the inside. In verse fifteen, God says, "Then Naamen and his whole company went back to the man of God, stood before him and declared, 'I know there's no God in the whole world except in Israel.'" Naaman was healed by God on the inside too. God transformed Naaman and made him a new man.

Now let's move forward into today. God can and does choose to heal people of diseases like cancer. Yet God's greater healing is the power to heal people of the darkness of their sins. God heals by means of baptism. Naaman was healed of the disease when he dipped into the Jordan seven times. We are healed when we are baptized by and in the name of God of our sins and sinfulness. Like the Jordan, was use plain water. But the water doesn't heal. God's Word, in combination with the water, heals. We are healed and forgiven of our sins when we are baptized. God pours out His Word along with the water onto our heads and the Word of God penetrates the mind and heart and converts the person totally and completely.

I hear questions, "Why didn't God choose to heal my mom or dad, aunt or uncle, brother or sister? Why did God let them die?" I answer the questions with this. We will, one day, all die. It is the result of sin and the sinful nature we inherited from our families all the way back to Adam and Eve. Yet God did heal the loved one who died. We believe that death is the means that God uses to ultimately heal those who believe in Him with eternal life. Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 15, God transforms us from mortal to immortal, perishable to imperishable, dead to alive. Jesus states that He is the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Him, even though they die, yet will they live. So God uses death so that He can demonstrate His greatest power, to power to rise people from death into life eternal.

So God does heal. He heals diseases. He heals people of their sin. He heals into life eternal.

Please comment. Let me know what you think.

Your servant in Christ,