As some of you may know, we’re just one week away from the release of my Kindle book, 6 Lies People Believe About Divine Healing. I’ve had a good cross section of people from different denominational backgrounds reviewing the book and poring over it for typos and weak arguments. I’m very grateful for Pentecostals and Charismatics helping me communicate more clearly, and for Evangelical friends who have helped me phrase my point of view more clearly.
This book is strengthened as a result of not rushing it to publish but seeking honest constructive criticism and feedback. But I realize it still won’t please everybody. Especially people who want to continue believing lies.
As a result of volunteers reviewing and proofreading it for me, I’ve had various people write me or talk to me face to face as is the case with some other missionaries who’ve been reading it. One thing that seems to come up without fail, is someone telling me they had their eyes opened about something they’d never thought of before, or that they are immensely encouraged about something, but…
Usually what follows the but is some kind of experiential disappointment, such as the ones I’m seeking to help give clarity to in the book.
“But Steve, I’ve sought prayer many times over the years for my problem and I’m still not healed, how can you say God’s not withholding?”
“Steve, we prayed for so and so and they still died, how do you explain that?”
I realize in attempting to destroy lies, not everybody will want to stop believing a lie, the lie that basically says God is a problem. That He could do good but doesn’t. Or that He failed to come through in a way we expected.
We’ll Never Have All The Answers
One thing we need to remember, especially before reading my book — if you’re going to — is that we don’t have all the answers. But, in my new book, I demolish things that we tend to believe despite actually having Scriptural answers to. And allow me to say without sounding too cliched, we have the One Who holds all the answers.
I just got home from a prayer meeting with other leaders on our team as we pray every weekday morning for half an hour. I go usually just on Mondays and Fridays. Today an image came up of how God’s hand is always outstretched towards us on the earth. But, sometimes we don’t reach back and receive what He’s giving. Then, when we don’t obtain something he’s providing, we assume He’s not “giving it” to us. We neglect to accept what He’s constantly offering and never withholding.
Picture the man at the pool of Bethesda. The Scriptures tell us that an angel came and stirred the water and the first one in would get healed. There was an initiative to be taken on the part of the people — first come, first served. It would have been easy for those who didn’t make it in first to assume God didn’t want them to be healed. But what of the man Jesus seemed to “randomly pick” in order to just give healing to? What if the man refused to allow to Jesus to heal him if He wasn’t going to pick him up and put him in the water? He would have missed what God wanted to do.
I think of the well-known Footprints in the Sand poem, where for a while there’s two sets of footprints in the sand and then the author notes how during the most difficult times of their life, there were only one set of footprints visible. At this, the Lord answers and says it was during those times He was carrying the author. This poem is used to encourage us to see God had His hand on us in every area of life, even if we don’t see it.
Sometimes it’s easy to come to conclusions when we don’t see all that’s going on behind the scenes from our perspective. Those moments we feel as though God’s not answering our prayers or that our expectations are not being met. God’s got the aerial view and knows the full outcome. It’s up to us to decide whether we’ll simply trust Him even when we don’t understand, or get offended with him and let that sink its roots down into our hearts.
I choose to let go and trust Him, even in my disappointment. I hope I can encourage you to as well.
