My dear brothers and sisters… Last week I began to share with you what amounts to a sea change in the way I view many things. Many of you posted comments of support and anticipation of my upcoming blogs and others took exception to what I had to share. No worries. I see through a glass darkly and use this blog to share with you what I see with the hope that it will help you on your journey.
I see more today than I did yesterday as I continue to grow in my understanding of His Word. I have no interest in arguing with anyone about any point of doctrine, nor do I wish to convince anyone of a particular perspective. However when an honest question or misunderstanding arises that cries out for more information, I will on occasion respond if I feel it will help the larger body of people reading this blog.
Here’s one example… One of the brothers posting a comment said he believes that God can heal, but that we cannot demand healing from God. I would agree with those statements. However, believing God CAN do something is quite different from believing He WILL do something. And that is quite different from believing that God has already DONE something. Demanding healing or anything from God is folly. It’s right up there with not believing what He says is true. That brother made the point that his wife’s health problem was not a result of a lack of faith on her part. I do not doubt that his wife has faith either.
Does her condition invalidate the word of God? Do we adjust the clear meaning of so many passages of Scripture on this topic? When we reconcile Scripture to adjust to what we see with our eyes, we are reconciling the wrong thing. My wife argued for years that she had plenty of faith and took issue with those who said her physical ailments were because of her lack of faith. Since then we have both come to realize two other things. First of all, you can have faith AND unbelief or doubt at the same time. Unbelief will quench faith.
Jesus could do no mighty works in his home town because of their unbelief. Imagine that. Limiting the Son of God through unbelief… yet they did. The man with the demonized son being cast into the water or fire often, told Jesus he believed (had faith) but acknowledged having unbelief at the same time. Mark 11:23 tells us to believe without doubting. So, while my wife had faith, she has become aware of the unbelief and doubt in her heart as well. The same is true for me.
Secondly, you can have faith in the wrong thing. Believing God CAN heal you will never get you healed. That’s the wrong thing. Nowhere does God indicate just that He can heal. In Psalms 103:2-3 we read, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases;” It does not say that He CAN heal all your diseases. It says He does heal all your diseases. Our problem comes because that does not match our physical reality, so we assume God must mean something else.
We have no problem believing the first part of the verse, that He forgives all our iniquities, perhaps because that doesn’t show up in the physical realm the same way that being healed of a disease would. And listen, the Scripture says that God is willing that none should perish, yet many do. That’s like so many of His promises and provisions. He has made eternal life available to all, but folks don’t believe it. He has made healing available to all, but doubt, unbelief or wrong belief causes us to miss it. The same is true for natural provision. Our unbelief or wrong belief does not invalidate the truth of His Word – just its effectiveness in our life. Our loss. With love and respect to you all.