Today let’s meditate about the topic of healing in a broad way because much confusion rages over healing in our time. As there are various kinds of illnesses, there are various kinds of healing gifts. In today’s passage Paul said there are “gifts” (the word is plural) of healing (verse 9), because healing can take place in many areas of our lives: physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, etc… But, my brother, my sister, never forget that all healing comes from God alone! The other truth we should understand today is that while we all have the desire to be healed of sickness, our healing depends on whether sickness, recovery, or even death glorifies God most. Faith or prayer are not always the issue. Abraham, the father of the faith, died! Paul, the apostle of faith, was sick occasionally and he prayed God for his healing, but God did not heal him. This is what he says: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9) and he also died with his sickness, not because of it! Now, God sometimes can heal instantaneously, sometimes gradually, and sometimes through medicine or through the body of Christ. He is sovereign in everything, that is the reason why we should be very careful as we seek healing. And as regards the church, the good example we received is in the Bible, and it is from Jesus: first, note that Jesus did not like crowds around when He healed, unlike today’s ‘healers.’Secondly, He never used posters saying, “There will be a healing service today.” Today, healing as become a topic for evangelism, and a topic of deception, with some churches even selling healing water, healing oil, etc… My friend, have you never heard of a doctor who has helped many people who were healed of a disease, but who dies of that same sickness? If that doctor was the healer, don’t you think they would have started with themselves? Have you never heard of servants of God used by the Lord to heal, but who themselves died without being able to be healed? Only God can heal you! Do you want to know how? You see, our God is so loving that He planned everything for our well-being. When you read the Bible throughout, you will find out that in biblical times, oil was widely believed to have a medicinal value, and it is oil that the Lord says should be used to heal the sick after the prayer of faith (James 5:25-34), which means God was telling us to use medical means too, for He is still the one giving man the intelligence and ability to find the medicine that can heal. Therefore, don’t think that because healing occurred in a hospital it is less a miracle than when it occurs in a church! You see two people can take the same medicine for the same sickness, but only one is healed! My friend, the gifts of healing were given by God to men to authenticate the gospel… so no matter how it happens, it is not for man’s personal gratification or heroism. So, if you are seeking God for healing, remove your eyes from the sickness, then from the pastor who prays, from the doctor who prescribes the medicine but set your eyes on Christ, for it is through His stripes that you are healed today, whether it be by taking medicine or through prayers (Isaiah 53:5). In other words, if God does not heal us directly by His own will, then we should know that our healing comes through being united to Him spiritually by His Son who died and rose for us to have eternal life. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [facebook] [retweet]