Can - Does - Will - God Heal?

I am listening to one of my favorite songs right now as I write this. Its called "Healer" and it's sung by Kari Jobe. (If you scroll ALL THE WAY to the bottom of this page, you will find an embedded video of this song.) Healing for me is a REALLY sticky issue and one that I hesitate to tackle, because it is also a daunting one to take on--for anyone.

Do I believe that God heals people? Yes I absolutely do. Do I believe that He does - or should - heal EVERYONE who is sick? No, I do not. I've said it before, and like a stuck record, I'll say it again. God has his purposes which are often (maybe much or all of the time) beyond our ability to grasp or comprehend. HE IS GOD AND I AM NOT!! So who do I think that I am, telling God that He MUST heal me or someone else for whom I am praying ? The only way He would be compelled to do that is if He had somewhere promised it. And I am not convinced that any Scripture clearly conveys that promise. Now God is always very clear about what he promises...in fact, he repeats them over and over in multiple arrangements of words-all very clear- as to what it is he is promising. If God were going to grant the world, or even just his people, the right to blanket health...he would NOT leave us any room for doubt. I mean, that would be a major promise, Right? That is one reason I do not believe it.

Second reason is this: how many times have you been sick in your life? Do you know anyone, even any believers who have asked God for healing , but have not received it? Are there many billions of sick and dying people in this world? God is a big and strong God. If he promised us something like guaranteed health then certainly he is able to carry out that promise! And I just don't see it happening too often. And it is not because people have not prayed for health! I myself have fervently interceded for some people to be healed...and they are either still sick or they have died. Did God not hear those prayers? Did He ignore them? WAs he unable or too weak to carry out his "promise"?

Third reason: We are not promised eternal life on this earth are we? No, we are promised in fact, that "ALL MEN DIE ONCE..." Neither do I see many people like Elisha being taken to Heaven in a flaming chariot. So here's my question put rather crudely: How do you suppose that God plans to get rid of all these people to whom he has indeed promised death?? They don't live a life of health and then evaporate!

NO, I believe that since the Fall of Adam and Eve, mankind has been under the curse of sickness and death. And Jesus,when he came, showed that He was strong enough and able to BREAK that power of the curse, by healing people! It was a foreshadowing on the physical level,of what he intended to - and in fact did- which was to break the spiritual curse of death once and for all... It was a display of his Deity and supernatural power and it was also a method of publicity for his cause. Face it. If Jesus just came and walked around telling people he was God but had no evidence for it...do you think that the birth of a new generation and covenant of faith would have borne such force -? Force enough to propel it into the 21st century? No, healing some people is God's manner in which he displays his love and his ability and desire to grant us LIFE;....life that -in the future- will be free from the effects of Adam's curse once and for all.

So that is the philosophical and theological reasoning behind my position. And when people tell me to "rebuke the demon or the enemy who is causing your illness" or "if you have enough faith, you WILL be healed," or "God has PROMISED you healing" I frankly (and rudely) want to kick them ...(as I told to an elderly woman with whom I share friendship and very poor health recently much to her giggling delight.) How much needless suffering has been added to the burdens of already struggling and suffering sick people by these kinds of incorrect and insensitive remarks!! When you cause someone who is ill; who obviously has begged God to heal them; who believes that He can do so, with all their hearts; and who has been subjected to the TORTURE of rising then waning hope time after time of annointing laying on of hands and intercession for their healing...to doubt themselves, to question their faith...and ultimately TO QUESTION THEIR GOD because they believe that he's broken a promise to them; then friend, I believe you are committing a very grave sin. God said hat "a bruised reed I will not break and a smouldering wick I will not put out"...Jesus berated the Pharisees for their "adding to the burdens of the already bowed down." ...What makes you think it's all right for you to do it and get away with it?? YOUR WORDS ULTIMATELY CAUSE PAIN AND DESPAIR BECAUSE YOU ARE DRAWING ON A PROMISE THAT GOD NEVER MADE...AND IN SO DOING YOU ARE MAKING GOD LOOK LIKE A PROMISE BREAKER.

OK, that's enough of my rant.

I'm just sick of being told that I'm demon oppressed because I'm mentally ill.
I'm sick of being told that the asthma, spinal degeneration and rheumatoid arthritis will leave my body if I just prayed or had enough faith.

And it makes me feel really terrible to believe that what is happening to me is the power of Satan in my life! I really struggled horribly for years with these things. And with my own self doubt and questioning of my faith...and of God!

I would so much rather believe that, "Yes, basically, this sucks. But God is in it. He's behind it and under it and around it...and nothing can or will happen to me that he does not allow. And because HE IS A GOOD AND LOVING GOD NOTHING CAN TOUCH ME THAT WILL NOT ULTIMATELY RESULT IN MY BENEFIT...." That kind of thinking builds rather than destroys my faith. It makes me secure and safe in God's arms. And it does not remove the preogative of God to heal me! Yes! God heals some people. Why? Jesus answered that when the disciples questioned the reason for a man's illness, "That the glory of God might be manifested in him" in that situation and in that illness. And you know what? That answer applies to the illness of EVERY BELIEVER WHO IS SICK...whether they are healed or not. Do NOT remove the right of God to display his glory in any manner that he should see fit! He is God and we are Not!