For I, the Lord, Heal You!

With those words recorded in Exodus 15:26, God proclaims to man the source of all healing...Himself!

Healing is not found in a bottle or pill, it's not found in some far off new age or medical technique...Healing is found only in the living God, the One who knit our bones together. Only God knows how to heal in body, spirit and soul. Only He, has made for our every provision.

All throughout Scripture the same message is echoed...

"The Lord will keep you free from every disease." (Deuteronomy 7:15)

"Praise the Lord...who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases." (Psalm 103:2, 3)

"Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding...This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones." (Proverbs 3:5-8)

"Listen closely to my words...for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body." (Proverbs 4:20-22)

"...by his wounds you have been healed." (I Peter 2:24)

But we are a stubborn lot, aren't we? We've looked under every rock and have searched the collective knowledge of mankind to find healing, all the while ignoring God's Word. Oh, no...I'm not speaking about pagans here, I'm talking about born again Christians.

Christians today are bombarded with television commercials on the virtues of prescription drugs for every malady from A to Z. The evening news frequently tells us of some new surgery technique, or medical scientific breakthrough that promises to make life better for us all. The message is that modern medicine has an answer for whatever ails us...and the message works.

Church denominations, once known as centers for healing, today routinely relegate healing to medical professionals in the secular world. The word "secular" means "Without God", by the way. It's sad, because secular medicine treats man as any animal, subject only to proven scientific law.

For Christians, the problem is especially agonizing. On the one hand they have faith in God, but struggle to know His will in their lives. They want to believe God's promise of healing, but have become so conditioned to how we do church, they pay little attention. For there is little discussion on the subject of healing from a biblical perspective in our churches.

We know God's Word is living, but how do we reckon with passages that seem so...so out of this world to believe? When God says He will heal us of disease and sickness, does He mean literally? And if so, how is this possible in today's age of rampant chronic illness?

After all, we reason, if modern medicine cannot stop the spread of chronic illness, why hasn't God done it for us?

Modern medicine can be a wonderful tool for healing when applied correctly. But have you ever considered that modern medicine can also be a curse, an abomination unto the Lord? Healing is the most sought after commodity on earth. So it is sad when mankind looks everywhere but to the one source who provides it.

Christians know God has conquered death and they share the hope of the resurrection. What we do not know is God's Word provides healing in body in the here and now (Isaiah 53:4-50. He has said, His Word brings health to our body and nourishment to our bones. The problem is not that God said it, but rather how little we believe it or apply it.

If we believe God has overcome death on our behalf, can we not believe His Word can heal our body when we are overcome with a life-threatening illness? Likewise, while God's Word brings health to our bones, we need to know ignorance of His Word brings death (Hosea 4:6).

Many Christians today are challenged to grow in truth and knowledge of God's Word. May you be blessed by God with wellness, and grow in His riches.

Jim Lynn is the publisher of God's Healing Word (a free newsletter) and author of The Miracle of Healing in Your Church Today. http://godshealingword.org