I believe in healing, but I’m sitting here in a wheelchair.
There was a time in my life when I was totally unsure about healing. I knew that some got healed, but I also knew that most went without. I put all the responsibility on God. If He wanted me healed, I’d be healed. If He, for some reason, wanted me sick, I’d be sick. Then along came “The Faith Message”. My wife and I were skeptical at first, but we could clearly see how biblical it was. So we bought in…I mean we jumped in with both feet! And we experienced results. Our financial situation improved as we accepted God’s truth about finances. The entire beginning of Believers Fellowship Center, the church we founded and pastor, was a faith venture, with one miraculous manifestation after another.
Now here we are over 30 years later, and the manifestation of healing seems as far away as ever. When faced with this type of dilemma Christians generally choose one of two paths. Most choose to blame the message. They feel that they “dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s,” and yet it didn’t work. Their feelings are usually so strong that they leave the group or church they’ve been in and go somewhere where a different message is preached. They feel better being told, “God is no longer in the healing business,” or, “God wants you to be broke and poor.” The main problem here is all that biblical truth that must be ignored.
Path #2 is different. This is for those of us who just hate to quit. So, we continue doing what we’ve been doing. We have restructured our lives around the message and we ain’t changin’ for nobody! After a while we lose a lot of our original enthusiasm, but we’re not quitters! The problem here is that we’re still not enjoying a manifestation of the promises. The old adage comes back to bite us: it’s idiotic to think that you can keep doing what you’ve always done and get different results.
Well, if these paths are wrong, what path is right?
Quitting can’t be the answer. God didn’t quit on us. We have scriptural reminders like: “In due season you’ll reap if you don’t faint” and “We aren’t of those who draw back but we go on to the saving of the soul.”
But continuing to do the same thing, over and over, with no lasting results can’t be right either. Proverbs wisely reminds us that hope deferred makes the heart sick. The apostle Paul, among others, reminds us that fleshly works not only have no value but are incapable of producing anything good.
How about instead of quitting or robotically going through the motions we move to adjusting. The truth is still the truth! God’s will is extremely clear in the Word. Health, prosperity, peace, hope, confidence, loving relationships, etc, etc. – these are the will and promise of God for every child of His. If we’re not experiencing His will, WE need to make some adjustments! Neither quitting on God nor trying to change Him will work. The problem isn’t with God, it’s with us.
As I sit here writing this article I am more excited about my healing than I’ve been in a long time. Why? Because I’ve been making adjustments. Where? In my heart. I’ve discovered that much of what I thought was heart faith was really only head faith. I’m learning to get my spiritual mind, will and emotions flowing together so that I can send away the old sickness, poverty mentality and put on the mind of Christ.
One of the basic requirements to move forward is an attitude of humility. Be humble enough to admit you don’t know it all. Be willing to admit that you have attitudes that need to change. Stop thinking that you’re right and God is wrong. Be excited about how wonderful your life is when you’re truly one spirit with the Lord.
The scope of all this is huge. It will require much Bible reading, meditation and application. I’m digging into truth and learning to experience the promises first hand. My faith level and hope level are expanding. Confidence developed from the Bible is an awesome thing.
So, don’t be sluggish, be enthusiastic. God loves you sooooooo much. You are already qualified to receive every promise. Don’t lose hope. The best is yet to come!