Psalm 41:3 “The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will sustain him on his sickbed.”
Have you ever been healed of a sickness?
There is much debate when it comes to the topic of healing. Some believe the gift of healing ended with the Apostles, others believe that God wants everyone to be physically healed. My concern with topics such as these are the emotional ties people carry with them when considering such a subject. You might be suffering from a chronic illness that you have prayed earnestly for or have a loved one going through difficult circumstances, but just because you can’t see God’s hand moving doesn’t mean He’s forsaken you.
Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”
I believe without a doubt that I have been redeemed by God from sin. I can’t show you any tangible evidence to convince you of this but there is an element of God’s Spirit in me that shows Himself to be true. If I allow the perfect qualities of the Spirit of God to manifest in and through my life I might be able to demonstrate how I have been changed. The corrupt nature of sin was once leading me toward eternal death but when the Lord revived me from sin I was given new life and I was spiritually healed.
I believe the Word of God and because of this I believe what God says is true.
When I read a scripture about healing , does it mean that if I pray and ask for healing that the Lord will do it? I know from personal experience this is not true. Besides my own body, I have known many people who have prayed earnestly for healing and it never happened.
Jeremiah sure sounded convinced of God’s healing power…
Jeremiah 17:14 “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.“
If I maintain a view of God that is not in accordance with His Word, I give myself over to an interpretation that gives me a false understanding of God’s will.
If I take scripture out of context or expect God to act in a way that is contrary to His will, I will be left wondering why God doesn’t hear my prayer. It is so easy to draw false conclusions about God if I let my emotions rule my interpretation of the Bible. If I allow my understanding of God to be based solely on experience, I place my understanding over God’s revealed Truth.
So what is the correct position to take?
If God’s revealed Truth is contrary to my personal experience, I need to adjust my position so that it aligns with God’s position. Many try to fit scripture into what they want to believe rather than what is True.
The Lord will Sustain you!
Throughout history, we have seen the Lord sustain His people, even in the midst of suffering. Whether it was physical ailments, or even spiritual struggle, the Lord keeps them.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
There are a couple words in the Hebrew that convey God’s sustaining hand. Both the terms ‘Saad’ and ‘Tamak’ convey a sense of steadfastness in sustaining both physically and spiritually.. When the Lord says that he will sustain those who trust in Him, we can see God acting in accordance with His nature.
Psalm 18:35 “You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds(saad) me, and Your gentleness exalts me.”
David relates God’s sustaining hand with salvation. The power of God is revealed, and His gentleness is made evident in how He upholds His people. In the midst of human weakness, God’s gift of salvation is related to the way He sustains His people. His people are made strong by His strength and by His salvation.
God’s gentleness is revealed by His actions. Another word for gentleness is meekness, it is found in God’s strength and is a revelation of His Sovereignty.
Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
In the midst of God’s strength, let’s consider the weak once more…..
Isaiah 40:29 “He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.”
By the power of God, the Lord gives His strength to the meek by meeting them at their point of weakness.
Justice is a reflection of God’s position, righteousness is a reflection of our position in obedience. As the Judge, God delivers sinners from spiritual death to new life through the blood of the Lamb. God has imparted His righteousness (perfection) to those who believe. The saints of old looked forward to a promise yet to be fulfilled, and the world received the promise when Jesus died upon the cross. Jesus delivered His people from the depths of Sheol into a glorious position by His grace.
When the weak fail, God sustains them.
Psalm 94:18 “If I say, “My foot slips,” Your mercy, O LORD, will hold me up(saad).”
It is by God’s mercy and grace His people are kept as He redeems them from sin.
Proverbs 20:28 “Mercy and truth preserve the king, And by lovingkindness he upholds(saad) his throne.”
God’s forgiveness as judge is a function of His grace and mercy. King Jesus will reign forever and His throne will be established in mercy and truth. Upon God’s throne love reigns supreme and His people are made virtuous through the anointing of His perfection.
An Exhortation
What promise can the ailing believer come to expect?
Psalm 103:1-5 “Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
The wise will recognize how the body is the least of their concerns. People make such a ridiculous amounts of investment into the body only to see them perish in time. If we apply God’s truth to the hope we have beyond the grave, we will see that life has greater meaning.
If our health is tied directly to our happiness or if a loved one dies too early, we might consider it a tragedy and think God has forsaken us. If we draw false conclusions or think that some evil power has triumphed, we lose site of God’s greater plan. Some will even relegate sickness to unconfessed sin. When belief doesn’t match up with reality, people have to form unscriptural conclusions for their circumstances.
The human body is completely corrupted by sin….why on earth would anyone want to live a second longer than what God has allowed? People who are redeemed of the Lord look forward to a land that God has promised, being given new bodies that will be void of the sinful nature that has caused so much trouble.
For the believer, the sick bed is not a time for mourning but is only a prelude to a coming graduation. The saint who has an illness that leads to death has endured a physical death, not a spiritual one—because they were made alive in Christ they will keep on living…. beyond the limitations of a world that will soon perish.
When we examine the context of the exhortation in Psalms, we recognize the true spiritual implication of sickness.
Psalm 41:4 “As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
True sickness is found in a person who is living in sin.
Sin corrupts and ultimately destroys life. Sin certainly leads to many physical ailments, but the curse of sin is directly linked to mankind’s spiritual condition, not his physical state.
We know that sin leads to trouble because we have all experienced it. For those who partake regularly they find all sorts of mental anguish, sexual diseases, liver disease, heart disease, broken relationships, and the list goes on.
On the other hand, living in righteousness not only leads people in spiritual purity, it also leads to physical well being.
The way God sustains His people is by leading them in righteousness and truth. There are times in His mercy that He heals the physical but there are many times He does not. Whether you live to be 15, 50 or 100 years of age, the span of life is only a blip on the spectrum of eternity.
Living wisely is to live for what is lasting.
Today, God’s people can hold onto His precious promises: As the God who holds all life in His hands, His people are secure in Christ. The Lord has sovereignly ordained their future. In the midst of weakness, He remains strong and He will continue to sustain and preserve His people in love.
God’s sustains His people for eternity!
This is His promise and it is a promise worth holding onto.
U.T. 