Have you prayed in faith for healing and not received it as you expected? Karlton explains.
“’Where is your faith?’ He asked His disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him'” (Luke 8:25).
Some people living with illnesses and afflictions have felt abused by word-of-faith preachers. God has not always healed us just because we believed that He would. Though we are all spiritually healed through faith in Jesus, our physical healing has not always occurred.
I think the danger in our frustration with faith preachers is that we diminish the power and importance of faith itself. God is sovereign and decides who is completely healed physically and who will need to do as the Apostle Paul and learn to trust God in our afflictions–by His grace to carry us through our afflictions.
We need faith as much for living with illness as to be healed of our illness.
Faith is powerful and important. We cannot please God without faith (Hebrews 11:16). We need our faith in God to carry us through life when God heals us–and when He does not heal us of physical and/or mental emotional difficulties and challenges.
Faith is not just about getting everything we want. It is also about trusting God when we do not get everything we want.
It can be hard not to see faith as a bad word when it is abused, but in our afflictions we need faith more than ever. When we are too weak to even crawl, we need faith in God to pick us up and get us on our feet again. Faith is a spiritual force brought about by hearing God’s word and the activation of the Holy Spirit within us. We cannot live without it as Christians.
Maybe you feel disappointed by faith preachers. Perhaps you did not get the healing you asked and believed for. It may be that God is trusting you to believe in Him even when you have not received everything you had hoped for yet.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to keep our faith in You strong and steadfast, for You are the object of our faith. Amen.
About the Author:
Karlton Douglas lives in Ohio with his lovely wife. His desire is to have strong faith whether or not God heals him on this side of heaven.
Has “faith” become a bad word to you? Have you been disappointed in “faith healers”?
I find it amazing how many kinds of “Christian” music there are now and this one, “When Your Back’s Against the Wall” with Judah and the Lion is a great one! Folk style (a bit like Zach Brown Band) these guys have a wonderful message with a song that may just stick with you throughout your day. Stand strong, hold on, don’t let go. We could all benefit from hearing this message over and over throughout are day, right? When your back is against the wall this song may help you remember who has got your back. -Lisa
Chronic Illness Pain Daily Devotionals 