Lately I have been thinking about the kind of things that that can keep us from walking in everything Jesus died to give us. Unfortunately, discouragement can send God’s kids into despair. Some of us are physically, mentally, or spiritually ill. I want to point out that the lack of an overcoming, miraculous testimony, is not a sin.
I know some brave, persevering souls who soldier on in the faith, even when everything is not quite so hunky-dory at their house! Sometimes we relegate those people who don’t have an amazing testimony of a miraculous cure, or life-turn around – onto the back burner. Do that at your own peril. These people have been smacked about by circumstances, yet they have learnt to cling to Christ like a limpet. In a storm, they know how to stand on their faith.
It is sad to assume that because these people are physically, or mentally impaired, obviously they have nothing they can contribute. Or perhaps we think we shouldn’t bother them because they are already burdened. In my heart of hearts, I have such a passion for these brave souls, who turn up Sunday by Sunday, simply because they love Him, they love His Presence, and they love the joy of fellowship. When it comes to testimony time, their simple contributions breathe out trust and faith in His goodness.
Maybe they’ve persevered for another day, week, or month, in a marriage that clearly is not working for them. God loves it when we do things in obedience, despite our feelings to the contrary. We might think that a real testimony is about a joyful reconciliation and restoration, but a true soldier of the Lord continues to fight and love the other person even when wounded and under fire. Maybe some other person has their precious child missing, and they don’t know if that son or daughter is alive or dead. So they stand at their door daily, not just actively waiting for the return of their child, but steadfast in their belief of God’s goodness.
We are encouraged in the bible, to weep with those who weep! Our God is a Father, He longs to comfort His children. The thing that becomes incredibly important when you are sidelined by illness, or adverse circumstances is looking after our faith. Faith takes a battering when we don’t get well immediately … or the problems continue over a long period of time. Pray for, and with these people, they need your support.
The Lord was incredibly compassionate toward those who were suffering, no matter what the cause was, even if it was the person’s own sin. Jesus is always truly kind and gentle with the sick. Compassion is a sorely needed heart-action toward those who are living their Christian lives suffering. These dear people live holding their breath, wondering when that next attack, or relapse might happen. But they go on to rebuke those thoughts, and focus on Jesus instead. They already know that focussing on the suffering makes it bigger.
These people are not second-class Christians! The perfectly well, the happily married, the parents with kids who are model children, can never be the criteria. Jesus is! And He loves mankind. He paid for every bit of sickness, disease, unfaithfulness, sinfulness, and suffering in the whole world, and so that love for this world must become the motivation for everything we do toward others.
In John 8:11 He says something so beautiful when He asks where a woman’s accusers have gone. “She answered, No one, Lord! And Jesus said, I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more.” And John 9:3 says this about a blind man: “Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed and illustrated in him.” The Lord’s answer could easily jump all over a lot of people’s theology, yet at the same time it highlights our God’s sovereignty and utter faithfulness. God is not interested in our formulaic approach to faith, He treats each person individually, so we dare not treat any one of them as a member of a herd.
When we make healing into some sort of proof that we are saved and going on with Jesus – we are in error. Our efforts to simplify our faith, can result in over-simplifying it, by attributing blame when there is no blame. And even if we can see blame, who are we to judge? Most of the time these things are just part of this sinful world.. However, we can’t ever afford to stop praying and believing for miracles, healing and we need to do so with compassion. That’s why Christ came here in the first place.
Jesus never tolerated illness or the demonic, so that’s the position we need to occupy too. But at the same time, let’s actively support the person who is suffering. We are oversimplifying the Lord’s work when we claim that nobody should ever be sick, and there must be some hidden sin in the life of the sick person.
Sometimes, because that person is so desperate for their blooming awful lives to change, we can actually harm them with our unbounded enthusiasm for the wonderful things God does. I’ve seen this scenario happen many times. Someone prays, announces that the person is healed, and walks away leaving the sick person feeling condemned. The person prayed for now feels that they are letting God down if they aren’t healed. People lose their faith in these circumstances. People should feel loved after any kind of prayer.
Always pray as the Lord leads you to pray, but please … don’t leave the person in need, worse off than they were before! That is devastating. Let’s remember we rely upon Almighty God, Who is always good! Bye. 👋
