My feelings on healings
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Disclaimer: Please read all the way through this post before you even begin to formulate a response to it. Also, as I will probably say several times before I end this post, I am not discounting people who have actually experienced physical healing. I am just addressing my experiences and the experiences of some of my disabled friends. With that out of the way, let the ramblings begin!
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Picture it. Summer of 1998. In a subway station in Washington, D.C. I'm there in my electric scooter and there is a group of excited student missionaries waiting on the same train. A girl not much older than 18 comes over and asks if they can pray for me. I'm a Christian and believe that no amount of prayer is too much so I said "Sure, go ahead." All of the sudden there are about 10 sets of hands on me and the inevitable prayer is said, "Dear God, Please heal this man's legs so that he can walk again. We claim this healing in Jesus Name. Amen." I'm sure there were more words but that was the just of the prayer. At this point my mischeiveous side tells me to get up and do a little dance for them (I can walk but use the chair for longer distances). Instead, I thanked them for the prayers and let them go on their way. Looking back, what I did was just as wrong as if I had gotten up and danced for them.
You see, the Christian church has a very long history of trying to force God to heal anyone with a disability. Yes, He does do it sometimes but many times, He chooses not to do so while the individual is in his or her earthly body. Hence the statement that is, in my opinion, the most harmful to a Christian who has a disability--"If you only had enough faith. . ." If I only had enough faith I'd move that mountain over top of your BMW and drop it.
If I only had enough faith, if my friends only had enough faith, then we'd all be healed? Or are we already healed and all you nondisabled people lack the ability to understand it? The Scripture says "By His stripes we are healed." It doesn't specify what type of healing we will receive nor does it specify where we will be healed. I once read an article that stated that there is a difference between being "healed" and being "cured." Being "healed" means we "do not suffer" from our conditions anymore. Being "cured" means we do not have them anymore. I live every day with countless medical conditions and with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (two very serious psychiatric disorders). I am in more pain at any given moment of the day than most people would live with for 5 minutes without rushing to the ER or the Doctor for narcotics. Yet I keep functioning because my only other choice is to give up and what good is the life that Christ gave me if I give up. You see, I do not suffer from my disabilities anymore. I am healed and one day, when I enter the pearly gates, I will be cured.
"By His stripes we are healed" could also refer to a spiritual or emotional healing. I know that my spirit has been broken down many times and He has put it back together and made me stronger. He is also in the process of healing emotional wounds from my childhood and from other periods in my life. It is taking time but as I slowly give them to Him, He takes them and repairs the wounds. The Scripture calls Him the Prince of Peace, the Wonderful Counselor, and even the Father of the Fatherless. As long as I'm on earth, I will always have the scars from my childhood and from the other traumas I've been through but my Heavenly Father is "healing" those wounds so that I do not suffer from them.
If you're reading this and you're thinking to yourself, "I need healing", please feel free to email me at jrhart1974@yahoo.com I can promise you only that I will try to point you towards the Answer to every need we have, Jesus the Christ. I will try to answer any questions you have and I will try to point you to Scripture verses that can help you but the ultimate answer is in the Three-in-One, The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. Whem you truly seek them, you will never go wrong.
God Bless,
James
Disclaimer: Please read all the way through this post before you even begin to formulate a response to it. Also, as I will probably say several times before I end this post, I am not discounting people who have actually experienced physical healing. I am just addressing my experiences and the experiences of some of my disabled friends. With that out of the way, let the ramblings begin!
--------------------------------------------
Picture it. Summer of 1998. In a subway station in Washington, D.C. I'm there in my electric scooter and there is a group of excited student missionaries waiting on the same train. A girl not much older than 18 comes over and asks if they can pray for me. I'm a Christian and believe that no amount of prayer is too much so I said "Sure, go ahead." All of the sudden there are about 10 sets of hands on me and the inevitable prayer is said, "Dear God, Please heal this man's legs so that he can walk again. We claim this healing in Jesus Name. Amen." I'm sure there were more words but that was the just of the prayer. At this point my mischeiveous side tells me to get up and do a little dance for them (I can walk but use the chair for longer distances). Instead, I thanked them for the prayers and let them go on their way. Looking back, what I did was just as wrong as if I had gotten up and danced for them.
You see, the Christian church has a very long history of trying to force God to heal anyone with a disability. Yes, He does do it sometimes but many times, He chooses not to do so while the individual is in his or her earthly body. Hence the statement that is, in my opinion, the most harmful to a Christian who has a disability--"If you only had enough faith. . ." If I only had enough faith I'd move that mountain over top of your BMW and drop it.
If I only had enough faith, if my friends only had enough faith, then we'd all be healed? Or are we already healed and all you nondisabled people lack the ability to understand it? The Scripture says "By His stripes we are healed." It doesn't specify what type of healing we will receive nor does it specify where we will be healed. I once read an article that stated that there is a difference between being "healed" and being "cured." Being "healed" means we "do not suffer" from our conditions anymore. Being "cured" means we do not have them anymore. I live every day with countless medical conditions and with both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (two very serious psychiatric disorders). I am in more pain at any given moment of the day than most people would live with for 5 minutes without rushing to the ER or the Doctor for narcotics. Yet I keep functioning because my only other choice is to give up and what good is the life that Christ gave me if I give up. You see, I do not suffer from my disabilities anymore. I am healed and one day, when I enter the pearly gates, I will be cured.
"By His stripes we are healed" could also refer to a spiritual or emotional healing. I know that my spirit has been broken down many times and He has put it back together and made me stronger. He is also in the process of healing emotional wounds from my childhood and from other periods in my life. It is taking time but as I slowly give them to Him, He takes them and repairs the wounds. The Scripture calls Him the Prince of Peace, the Wonderful Counselor, and even the Father of the Fatherless. As long as I'm on earth, I will always have the scars from my childhood and from the other traumas I've been through but my Heavenly Father is "healing" those wounds so that I do not suffer from them.
If you're reading this and you're thinking to yourself, "I need healing", please feel free to email me at jrhart1974@yahoo.com I can promise you only that I will try to point you towards the Answer to every need we have, Jesus the Christ. I will try to answer any questions you have and I will try to point you to Scripture verses that can help you but the ultimate answer is in the Three-in-One, The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. Whem you truly seek them, you will never go wrong.
God Bless,
James
posted by Amanda Brady | 4:17 AM
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