Daily Devotional for Sunday October 11, 2015
Healing - Part Three of Three
(Isaiah 55:8,9)
***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Father, bless me this day to have the courage to stand up for YOUR TRUTH in my daily life. Give me boldness to proclaim YOUR TRUTH when I am with those who mock and demean our faith in Christ and for following the teachings of the Bible. No matter what they may say, let me be not afraid to stand for you. In Jesus name...AMEN!
HEALING (Part Three of Three)
Part Three
*If you missed the first two parts yesterday, go to: http://www.liveprayer.com/ddarchive3.cfm?id=6452
Why God doesn't heal. One of the questions I get asked often is, "why didn't God heal my loved one?" In light of the incredible number of emails we get each day from those who need God's healing touch, I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to tackle that difficult issue today. To understand why God heals some people and not others, you have to have a basic understanding of God. The best verse in the Bible to get a glimpse of the mind of God is in the Book of Isaiah, the 55th chapter, and the 8th and 9th verses.
This passage of scripture tells us clearly that God's thoughts and ways are so much above ours, it is impossible to even comprehend. You see, we have a very finite understanding, and see just that little glimpse of the world that is around us. God on the other hand, sees everything. Not only does He see everything, He knows everything. So many things in our life we question, because we are only seeing that isolated event, whereas God is seeing the big picture and how that one event fits into His overall plan.
Another facet of this question we must understand is the simple fact that one day, we will ALL die. We can never lose sight of this. Even Lazarus, who Jesus raised from the dead, eventually died. That is part of the human condition as a result of man's sin in the Garden, and is inescapable unless we are fortunate to be alive when Christ returns. Other than that glorious event, it is our destiny to one day die. Understanding this fact, the only question then is when. Now we are back to God and His plan. He has a marvelous plan for each one of our lives. If we yield our lives to Him, that plan will unfold throughout the course of our life.
Remember, it is our God-given purpose to serve and glorify Him. Here is the point to understand. When we have fulfilled that plan, when our work here is finished, God calls us home. The fact is, we don't ever know when that time is, when our work is finished. So we faithfully, and diligently work for Him each day, knowing that when HE says our work is completed, He will call us home to be with Him for eternity.
This whole subject gets into the very deep, very divisive theological debate on predestination. The basic argument is that since God already knows everything that is going to happen, why should we do anything, since it will happen anyway. The other side of this debate is man's responsibility. My personal view is that it is the blending of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. Even though God already knows the outcome of everything, we don't. THAT is why we pray. THAT is why we exercise our faith. My friend it is OUR faith that God is looking at.
An act of spiritual maturity then becomes the acceptance that when things don't go the way we wanted, or expected, if we have prayed, believed in faith, then we MUST accept that God had another plan and know His plan, His will, MUST supercede ours. Again, God sees the big picture and has things going on that we don't even know about.
I love you, and care about you so much. The purpose of this Devotional today is not to dampen, but increase your faith. It is our responsibility to do what God has asked us to do. We are told to pray. We are told to exercise our faith. That is our responsibility. Trust me, God honors our faith even when it looks like He is silent.
One thing the Bible clearly teaches us is that God NEVER asks us to understand everything. As a matter of fact, He clearly tells us it is IMPOSSIBLE for us to understand everything because His ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours. But He does ask us to have faith and trust Him. My word to you today is to do your part, and never doubt that God will do His!!
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller