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Answer
It is not always God’s will to heal a person physically. A person may sincerely pray and truly have faith that God can heal, but if it is not God’s will to provide the healing at that time, then no healing will come “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us:”, (see 1 John 5:14). Sometimes God’s blessings come in other ways besides physical healing.
If it were always God’s will for people to be healed, then everyone would be healed every time he or she became ill. If good health were always God’s will, then Christians should never die. We can’t blame someone’s illness on a lack of faith, for we know, biblically, that God sometimes uses illness to accomplish His will. Also, it’s not just wayward believers who get sick. Paul “left Trophimus sick in Miletus” “Erastus stayed at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick in Miletus.”, (2 Timothy 4:20), and Paul himself had a physical ailment that the Lord declined to heal (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
Often, Christians have an oversimplified idea of healing. They think that, if they are sick, they have only to ask God to heal them and, because God loves them, He will heal them immediately. Healing is seen as proof of a person’s faith and of God’s love. This idea persists in some circles despite the truth that every mother knows: a parent does not give her child everything he asks for every time, no matter how much she loves him.
Joni Eareckson Tada struggled with this issue for a long time. As she recounts in her book Joni, she sought physical healing of her quadriplegia. She prayed and fully believed that God would heal her.
All her. In her words, “I certainly believed. I was calling up my girlfriends saying, ‘Next time you see me I’m going to be running up your sidewalk. God’s going to heal me’” (quoted in an interview with Marvin Olasky, January 17, 2013). Yet Joni is still in a wheelchair today. Forty-five years after the accident that left her paralyzed, God has still not healed her. Her perspective is one of great faith: “God may remove your suffering, and that will be a great cause for praise. But if not, He will use it, He will use anything and everything that stands in the way of His fellowship with you. So let God mold you and make you, transform you from glory to glory. That’s the deeper healing” (quoted on Grace to You, October 16, 2013). Some feel that God will never heal anyone miraculously today. Others feel that God will always heal a person if he or she has enough faith. But God will not be put into either box.
We need to understand that healings, even in the Bible, are very rare indeed. For the first 2,500 years of biblical history, there is no mention of any healings whatsoever. Then during the life of Abraham, we have a possible healing, although it is only implied (Genesis 12:17-20). Then we have to wait until the life of Moses, who performs a number of signs to authenticate his authority as God’s leader. However, the only healing associated with Moses is Miriam’s cleansing from leprosy (Numbers 12:13-15).
In the covenant God gave to Israel, there were a number of provisions to regulate their lives, and there is an emphasis on physicality and material things in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 28, God promises to reward Israel’s faithfulness with freedom from disease. This is the clue to the meaning of miracles in the Bible. God promised Israel health, long life, children, flocks, corn, grapes, etc.—and victory over their enemies—if tThey remained faithful to the Lord. Simultaneously, God warned them about sickness, barrenness, disease, drought, famine, the loss of livestock, and enemy occupation if they abandoned the Lord. This is the backdrop of Israel’s connection with sickness and recovery. The assurance of being kept “free from every disease” in Deuteronomy 7:15 was particularly a part of the Mosaic Covenant with Israel under the theocracy; such a pledge is not extended to the church.
With the arrival of Christ, we witness the realization of the Mosaic Covenant « Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. », (Matthew 5:17) and a reversal of the consequences of Israel’s spiritual decline. Wherever Christ traveled, He healed the sick, but this was not merely out of kindness; His healings always served as a heavenly sign of Christ’s authority as Messiah «And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done? », (John 7:31). He was offering Israel a glimpse of the kingdom of God «But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. », (Luke 11:20). Those who rejected His authority were often left ill «And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.», (Matthew 13:58). For instance, at the pool of Bethsaida, Jesus healed only one person among a large crowd (John 5).
The apostles were also granted the specific ability to heal the sick, and for thirty-seven years, they traveled everywhere curing those who listened to their message. Once again, their miracles, which included healing, served as confirmation of the truth of the gospel.Spell the apostles proclaimed.
The twelve apostles did not heal everyone, either. Often, there were Christians left unwell despite the apostolic power. Paul advised Timothy, “Use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” «Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities. », (1 Timothy 5:23). Why didn’t Paul just lay hands on Timothy and heal him? It wasn’t because Timothy lacked faith; it was because it was not God’s will to heal Timothy in that manner. The healing ministry was not for personal convenience but rather a sign from God—primarily to the Jews of the Old Covenant—validating the apostles’ message.
We do not live in the apostolic era today. Certainly, God can and does heal when He chooses to. The question we must ask in any situation is, what is God’s will? Does He intend to heal the individual in this life, or does He have a different plan to display His glory through weakness? Eventually, all sickness and death will be eliminated, as stated in Revelation 21:4. Joni Eareckson Tada will walk again. Until then, there is a more profound healing: the purification of sinful hearts, which God performs daily.
