God's Will For Your Health

Here is another post that I have struggled with making and posting. I think it's important to point it out that teachers/preachers of the Word do NOT have it altogether. Sometimes (in fact, many times), we are still struggling and learning about what we teach. Can I get an Amen from a fellow Bible teacher reading this? Lol.

So, late last year, I was falling in and out of illnesses, and every sickness in daycare, my second daughter was catching (still catching, sigh). We couldn't just get a break. Thankfully, one day, I was listening to a sermon by Rev'd Tokunbo Adejuwon (National Director, Rhema Bible Training Center, Nigeria). He said he hadn't used medication in 40 years. And there I was, not even up to 40 years old, lying on the couch like a potato sick for the fourth time in two months, watching this man on YouTube, feeling very sorry for myself. His was not the first story of believers who have lived or still living above sickness that I'd heard. In the words of my father when he was rebuking us for less-than-optimal performance in school, I began to think, "Ah, these people don't have two heads. What is wrong with me?" So, I submitted myself to teachings about healing from the Bible & books, and I am learning a lot, learning to stand against sickness. I'm not there yet. But I thought it'd be good to share some things I've learned from the Word in this article. So, I'm not mocking you if you are struggling with sickness. I've been there and learning too. I pray that God stretches His hand of healing over every sick person reading this, in Jesus' name; and I pray that we all learn to live out the Word and God's will concerning our sound health, in Jesus' name. Amen.

God’s will for the believer is health. When Jesus nailed sin to the cross, He also nailed sickness along with it. There are scriptures that associate the death of Jesus taking away sins with Him also taking away sickness.

• Isaiah 53:5 - But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

• 1 Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

God does not use sickness to “test” a believer, just as He would not use sin to test a believer. He does not tempt anyone with evil. Sickness is evil.

James 1:13 - And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.

How Do We Know This?

1. From The Life of Jesus: everyone who came to Jesus for healing received healing. Everyone. As long as they believed Jesus could heal them, He did. Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
   

2. From The Words of Jesus: when the leper came to Jesus, he said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me whole.” Jesus’ response to this leper was, “I WILL”. Not maybe, not later, not learn a lesson first. No, he said “I will, be thou cleansed.” Jesus even touched the leper. Jews were not supposed to touch lepers who were regarded as unclean. Matthew 8:1-4, “When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” So, sound health is God’s will for us – 3 John 2, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
   

3. From The Lives of The Apostles: After Jesus ascended, we never heard of one single apostle who was sick or battling sickness. They went through several trials, almost all even dying for the cause of Christ, but we never heard of any of them battling sickness. Some have said the thorn that Paul said was in His flesh was sickness. The Bible never said that; even when listed his sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11, he didn't list sickness as one of them. Some have said he had eye problems because of when he got blinded after he encountered Jesus. How can that be true when before the end of that chapter in Acts 9, Bible records that Ananias prayed for him and his eyes were opened that he could see. If we conclude that Paul had eye problems based on that encounter then we inadvertently conclude that his healing was incomplete, that God didn’t do a good job. How dare us? Lol. Lately I have told myself, if other believers can live sickness free, I have to stop accommodating sickness in my body and in my home.
   

4. From the Great Commission: When Jesus commissioned believers to go and preach the good news of salvation, one of the things attached to our actions as bearers of good news was to heal the sick. In fact, it’s interesting to note that as part of that commission, He mentions that believers would drink deadly poison and not get harmed. What was He saying by this? He is saying, “You as a believer will NOT be sick, I don’t expect you to be sick, but I expect you to encounter sick people as you preach, and you should lay hands on them to heal them; but you are not expected to be sick.” Mark 16:15-18 - And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
   

5. From the Provision of Remediation if One Gets Sick: Now, as we already know, God knew that some of us will be sick or have diseases (I have fallen ill a lot lately, and I know It’s not God’s will for me), just as He anticipated that the believer could sin sometimes. God knew, so He provided a way out even though we become sick. Scripture in 1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” God knew that the believer may sin sometimes, so He didn’t just save us and leave us, Jesus is our Advocate to plead our case when we do, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

   In the same vein, when we are sick, there is provision for healing. If sound health was not part of God’s plan for the believer, there will be no provision for healing when we get sick. James 5:14-15 says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
   

Some things to note in this verse.

• James asks, “Is anyone among you sick?” IS ANYONE? Meaning there isn’t an expectation that people should be sick among the believers he was writing to. However, if anyone was sick, this is what they should do.

• Secondly, can we see sickness being associated with sin again here?

I’ll emphasize again, since Jesus dealt with sin on Calvary’s Cross, He also dealt with sickness there. This should be liberating.

I hear someone saying, “Then I don’t know what I’ll do again, because I’ve prayed and prayed and nothing is happening”. Or “We prayed and prayed and this person still died”. It’s confusing, I know, and I don’t understand it fully myself. Like I mentioned that recently I got sick a lot, and it wasn’t fun; and I needed to get it. Thankfully, I came across some materials that helped me, and I practiced it, and the Word works, I tell you.

So, What Do You Do If You’re Battling With Illness?

Understand that God’s power is present to heal.

In fact, if you have read up to this point in this article, the power of God has been released into you to heal you. Because wherever the word of God is taught, the power of God is present. So realize that the power of God is present.

Connect your faith for healing with His power.

Two stories in this Bible help to buttress this point; which Reverend Doug Jones of Rhema Training Institute opened my eyes to as I read his book on the Healing Power of God:

• The story of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25-34, “Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.””

  She had faith to receive her healing, because she had “heard” about Jesus (just as you have read this message). She believed that the power to heal was present with Jesus and she connected her faith with this saying, “if I may just but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be made whole”. Jesus confirmed her connection to his power, when after she had turned him, he realized that virtue (power) had gone out of him.
  

• In Luke 5:17-20, “Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.””

  The Bible said Jesus was teaching in a place and there were doctors of the law and pharisees there and the power of God was present to heal them (all of them). A paralytic and his friends heard that Jesus was there, believed that he had healing power, and broke the roof in faith, connecting their faith to his healing power, and the man became healed.
  

In both stories, Jesus’ power to heal was present, but only those who connected their faith with that power received their healing.

Speak what is true, even when you don’t feel like it.

As I mentioned when I started, after I had gotten ill a few times, I heard the sermon from Reverend Tokunbo Adejuwon where he mentioned that he had not taken medication in 40 years. That was not my first time hearing that kind of testimony. I had heard something similar from Pastor Adeboye (the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God), I had heard it from Papa Hagin, and I told myself, these men of God may have had greater anointing, but it’s the same word of God we all have. So, I began speaking what God said about my health. I’d feel so sick, and tell the devil, “I am healed, Jesus paid for my healing, it is done, and I don’t have to feel like it to know it. It’s in the Word, the Word is true and that settles it for me.” And when I’m taking a medication to feel better, I’d say, “this medication is only to make me feel better at this time. My healing is already complete. I don’t need to feel it before I know it’s true. It is in the Word, the Word is true, and that settles it.” I’d say that and lie down back on the bed feeling so sick. But guess what, it wasn’t long before I began to mend. And when I began to mend and satan will bring a bad thought, I’d say, “Jesus said, the sick will recover. Not all healing manifests in the physical at once or immediately. I am mending fine, I am recovering, and I will soon begin to feel a lot better. But as for my healing, it is already complete, because God’s word says so. I believe it, and that settles it.” This is what Papa Hagin refers to as “keeping the switch of faith on.”

Honestly, it can be tough when you consider how you feel. This is where God’s grace comes in. By His grace, you can speak only what the Bible says about you regardless of how you feel. Remember, we are not moved by what we see, feel or hear, we are only moved by the word of God. If His word says it is true, it is TRUE.

Stay in the atmosphere of praise.

It’s hard to praise when you feel sick. But it’s good to praise. Praising God opens your eyes and heart to the reality of who He is – a good, merciful, kind and faithful God, the One who did not spare His Son, but gave Him up to die for your sins and sicknesses. That’s the God you serve. That is your God. Praise Him. If you need help getting the praise going as it should, go on YouTube, and type in the names of great worshippers of God, such as Sinach, Cece Winans,etc. Type on YouTube praise and thanksgiving hymns that can help your turn your atmosphere or environment from gloomy and dejected to gratitude.

Are there still some people (great believers or men of God) who will die from sickness? Yes. Does it mean they lost their faith in God to heal them, I can’t say. But regardless of what happens, is God’s will for believers’ sickness? Absolutely NOT. Healing is available for us all. Let us live in that truth.

NB: I am no expert on this subject, and I am not judging anyone who is sick or struggling with healing. I have been learning a lot on this subject because it’s an area that I need to build my faith in, and I am still work in progress. So, please, my intention is not to judge you or make light of your situation.

Prayer:

Dear Father, I pray for everyone who has read this post and is struggling with illness or has a friend or family struggling with illness. I thank you because your healing power is made available to them at this time, and I pray that they will be able to connect their faith with your power and receive their healing. Give them strength to speak life into their situations even if they don’t feel like it, and help them to be constantly in an atmosphere of praise and thanksgiving. But most importantly, I pray that you will heal them and give them permanent sound and divine health, as your word says, “the prayer of faith will heal the sick.” I pray in faith, that you will heal them right now, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Nourish Your Spirit