The famous Old Testament figure Abraham didn’t start out as a faith giant. But after walking with God for many years, he became fully persuaded that what God had promised He would do. (Romans 4:21) Abraham went through a process of growth in his faith, and it is similar to the process we all go through in learning this walk. We make mistakes, we get off on detours, but God helps us up and gets us back on track until we make it to the finish line.
And Abraham had a glorious finish! In fact, he is called the father of our faith. (That’s pretty good for a guy who started out selling his wife to a king’s harem so they wouldn’t kill him!) Abraham became so convinced that God would provide a miracle son for him that when God asked him to sacrifice Issac, Abraham was willing to do so because he believed God would raise him from the dead. (Hebrews 11:17-19) Of course, God did not approve of human sacrifice. This was a test of the covenant and provided a way thousands of years later for God to sacrifice His Son and bring a new covenant into the earth. This test does demonstrate Abraham’s growth in faith, though, and it’s even more amazing when you consider that no one had ever before been raised from the dead in biblical history.
When it comes to receiving healing, we must first be fully persuaded that it is God’s will for us to be whole before we can go any farther. Faith begins where the will of God is known. Unfortunately, the church has had so much erroneous teaching about this that people’s minds are clouded with doubt and questions on this subject. In fact, if the church taught on spiritual salvation the same way it teaches on physical healing, there would be very few people saved. If Billy Graham stood before the multitudes and told them, “It may be God’s will to save you and it may not. You just never know with God. But we can pray and see if you get saved. If you do, it must be God’s will. If you don’t, He must not want to save you.”
Can you hear the outcry from the Christian community if such a thing happened? But that is exactly how healing is ministered to people in a large majority of the church world. It is no wonder we do not see the miracles and healings that we ought to.
Do we know God’s will concerning salvation? God is not willing for any to perish but for all to come to salvation. (2 Peter 3:9) Do we know God’s will concerning our bodies? Beloved, I wish above all things that you may be in health and prosper, even as your soul prospers. (3 John 2) What questions do you have in your mind that keep you from being fully persuaded that God wants to heal you? Jot those down. Be as honest as you can. And then ask God to give you the answers to these questions so that your faith can flourish. And He will do it!
Confession: I will become fully persuaded that God’s will for me is wholeness in every area of my life.
Scriptures for meditation: Romans 4:13-22; Hebrews 11:17-19, 3 John 2
| Back |
Copyright © 2007 by David Hagni. All rights reserved.