On Miracles and Healing

Here's a very interesting passage in the Bible, Mathew 13:

"Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”
58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their LACK OF FAITH."

Hm.....

So Jesus could do miracles and had the gift of healing of course, as some do today, but even Jesus could not heal everyone.  Why?  Because some people had too much of a lack of faith.  So faith and healing are connected.  Like the verse about moving mountains with faith the size of a mustard seed.  If you have faith, you can move mountains or be healed etc.  But is this always the case?

The power of healing comes from both the Holy Spirit flowing through a person AND the faith of the person about to be healed.  If someone has the gift of healing they cannot necessarily cause everyone to be healed; it depends on a person's faith if they will be healed or not.  That is very interesting really.  The next book I plan to read is one by Joseph Prince called "Healing Promises."  I am excited about it.  He talks about God's ability and willingness to heal us. 

However, the verses I always get hung up on are about when Paul asked God to take the thorn in his flesh away and three times God tells him NO.  HIM, PAUL, of all people!  With all he did for God and all the faith he had, and God still told him no?!  Why? 

Well Paul says it was because God wanted to humble him on account of the amazing revelations that he had seen.  In Corinthians it says that Paul was taken to the third heaven, forbidden to speak about it, and then God allowed Satan to give Paul a thorn in the flesh, which was probably a physical pain of some sort. 

So there really is a third factor when it comes to faith and healing.  It takes the Holy Spirit moving, the faith of the person being healed, AND God's willingness to heal that person.  And God is actually not always willing to heal someone, as in the case of Paul. 

So it's a complex issue for sure.  Healing is definitely not a black and white subject.  Yes some get healed, but then others never get healed, but their faith is still great.  Not being healed does not mean someone has little faith.  It might just mean that God wants them to be suffer in pain for a time to be a greater testimony, to humble them, or to make them a stronger person. 

"God's ways are higher than our ways."  Amen?  Amen.  We just have to trust that God always has our best interest at heart, whether he chooses to heal us or to not heal us.  God bless! :)