Today we’re going to look at 5 common lies that Christians tend to believe about healing. This is part 4 of our series on the Woman with the Issue of Blood.
By reading this post, you’ll find greater freedom because lies always keep us limited and bound.
Have you ever thought ‘God won’t heal me now because I’ve made too many mistakes…..God is more likely to heal the super spiritual…..My illness is minor compared to others….’
Oftentimes we confuse human nature with God’s, but the Bible tells us God’s thoughts are so much higher than ours.
LIES CHRISTIANS BELIEVE ABOUT HEALING
Was God also more concerned with life-threatening illnesses?
Isn’t it awful when people dismiss and devalue your pain? ‘At least it’s not life-threatening…..’ is a common judgment. ‘Chin up it’s not that bad…’ is another.
Rest assured, whilst those around you may devalue your suffering, God never will.
I think the Holy Spirit chose a woman with an issue of blood to represent chronic illness because blood universally means ‘life’. When you live with chronic illness, you’re losing life.
LIE #1 GOD GRADES ILLNESS
Human nature grades illness. Those people who are either visually ill, or those with anything life-threatening and urgent will dominate people’s prayers.
The first of the lies Christians believe about God’s healing is that God sees illness the way we do. Let me ask you this. Do you think you can get God to heal those you deem to be worse if you focus your prayers in this way?
Thankfully not our Lord Jesus. He made time for both Jairus’ daughter and the woman with the issue of blood. He didn’t think one was worse than the other.
Jesus didn’t say ‘I’m really sorry lady, but a young girl is worse than you and she’s my priority.’
Think about your own church. Let’s say there is a young 12-year-old girl on the brink of death who needs your prayers. But let’s also say there is a woman in your church who has a chronic condition.
Do you give both your same time and attention? Do you pray for the chronically ill as much as the young dying girl?
I used to have a role visiting those in my church family who had illnesses. Of course, it was those with cancer who received cards, flowers and visits from people.
Those with chronic health issues did not. (Of course I do understand that this is just human nature and that it isn’t sustainable for those who are unwell for years)
But I get frustrated. Surely it’s those who have been abandoned by doctors who need support? Surely someone who has been suffering for decades needs more encouragement and help?
I came to the conclusion that all we need are just a few close intimate friends who understand my situation.
URGENT OR IMPORTANT?
And I needed to accept that no matter which church I was in, urgent will always be the focus for the majority. But I take comfort in the following testimony:
I was at a Bill Johnson conference many years ago.
He tells a story of 2 women approaching him after a service one time. They both needed healing. I can’t remember the exactness of their details but in my memory, it goes something like this:
The older woman, let’s say she was in her 60s had a bad leg or knee, and the younger woman in her early 20s had just a couple of weeks left to live.
The Holy Spirit tells Bill Johnson to minister and pray for the older woman who received a miracle healing. The younger woman did not receive her healing, at least not at this point.
When he questioned God about this, he felt God say that when we (as in the church) can genuinely praise Him for what He does, even those seemingly minor miracles, it will open the door to a much greater miracle.
Of course, there is no such thing as a minor miracle, but this is from the human nature perspective.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,”declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.…
Is 55:8
God does not grade illness at all; this is Truth.
LIE #2 GOD IS MORE LIKELY TO HEAL THE OBEDIENT
Back to our inspirational woman with the issue of blood in our series.
How often do we think that God won’t heal someone who’s in sin? Or living their life in an unholy way? It’s easy to think that God is more likely to heal a believer than someone who is unsaved.
The 2nd of the lies Christians often believe about healing is that the obedient are more likely to receive healing.
Jairus was a leader in the synagogue, known by 1000s. Yet this woman was unclean, unpopular and unloved. Jesus is just as concerned about her healing as He is about the young girl.
Healing is always about God’s goodness and not ours. Whether you’re a famous church leader or someone completely ‘invisible’, I believe God wants you well because of who He is.
Human nature would think God is more likely to heal the church leader or the one who’s been in church for many years. But God’s thoughts are higher. Healing is not about us.
When Jesus healed the multitudes, I’m sure plenty of them had unforgiveness, anger, unrepented sin etc. Yet they were healed.
It’s easy to think that the more people who pray, the more likely the healing. Again, I don’t see any evidence of this in Scripture. Otherwise, those in leadership, or public figures stand a greater chance.
LIE #3 GOD DECIDES WHO TO HEAL
Most people think God is sitting in heaven, deciding who or who not to heal. This is perhaps the biggest of the lies we as Christians tend to believe when it comes to healing.
It just isn’t true. The Bible says that God decided over 2000 years ago that He wanted you and I healed.
The woman with the issue took her healing. She tapped into his power when she touched with intention and expectation. Jesus didn’t know anything about it
And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
Mark 30
Some say that He knew but I’m not so sure. Jesus only knew what His Father revealed to Him. The Woman with the Issue made the decision and not Jesus.
If we think it’s down to God, we’ll be passive ‘God’ll heal me if it’s his will’. But we already know from Isaiah 53 that it’s always His will to heal because Jesus purchased healing for us when we went to the scourging post.
She chose to reach out and take her healing. I believe God wants us to have this type of active healing.
I’ve heard so many times ‘I know God can heal me if He wants to’ yet this is a false belief that will hinder our journey. We make Him responsible.
Yes God is sovereign and all powerful, and most people would say this means He is in complete control. But He gave us free choice.
There is evidence that illness is caused by trauma. What causes trauma? Usually it’s a cocktail of factors that God has no control over.
THE HOLY SPIRIT HEALS YOU (side note!)
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:11
God isn’t sitting on the throne above, healing from a distance. It just isn’t His way. He is a close intimate God who lives on the inside of us through His Spirit.
The healer is in you, healing you. There is no distance.
LIE #4 GOD IS WAITING FOR YOU TO SORT SOMETHING OUT
God isn’t delaying healing because you need to fix something in your life. This adds to the finished work. See BY JESUS STRIPES: DOES THIS INCLUDE PHYSICAL HEALING?
On the healing journey, we can change, grow and learn many things. As a result, some Christians tend to believe that God has a divine purpose in our suffering.
When you understand that Jesus purchased our healing 2000 years ago, it’s unlikely He would delay healing until we’ve learned something or are more sanctified.
Sickness is not a test. Jesus went to a lot of trouble for our healing.
If you believe that your illness is a lesson or a way for God to refine you, it will prevent you from seeking His healing.
“I think the idea that God either causes or allows evil so that we will somehow grow spiritually is the worst heresy in the body of Christ. It renders people passive and takes away their hope.” Andrew Wommack
The Bible refers to the refiner’s fire, but my personal belief is that this isn’t referring to sickness, but to delays, frustrations, disappointments, persecutions and so on.
See ARE THE SICK IN THE REFINER’S FIRE?
Now there may be parts of our personality, strongholds and learned behaviours that God wants to heal because healing is really God healing us back to the person He saw when He laid the foundation of the world.
Sometimes these traits cause our nervous system to be shut down and dysregulated but it is a mistake to believe that there is something in your life you need to deal with.
See WHAT IS THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM?
Our role is to listen and follow his lead.
LIE #5 PAUL’S THORN WAS A SICKNESS
If you believe that Paul’s thorn in the flesh refers to sickness, you will question God’s ability to heal you.
“a thorn in the flesh was given to me….. I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me”. 2 Cor 12:7-8
Why would God send Jesus to die for our healing, then refuse to heal His son Paul?
Paul’s thorn was a person or group of people. If you want to know why I believe this, please see THORN IN THE FLESH. THE BIBLICAL MEANING OF A THORN
Paul was persecuted.
Jesus did not redeem us from persecution which explains why He didn’t remove Paul’s thorn. Christians use Paul’s thorn as evidence that God chooses not to heal people.
It seems to be a lie that has stood the test of time.
This is so sad because Jesus suffered tremendously at the scourging post, specifically for our healing.
Are you believing any of these myths?
What difference would it make if you could have the revelation that it’s God’s opinion that matters?
When we think God ‘should heal because…’, we are making a judgement. We judge if someone’s illness is ‘bad enough compared to so and so’, or we judge if someone is ‘holy enough’ for healing.
Neither you nor I are qualified to make these types of judgements.
God loves you and I believe He wants you well. He doesn’t see the dying as worse off. A lot of those Jesus healed were not dying. The blind, the lame, the withered hand….
Healing will always be a mystery. God invites us to trust Him and honour His ways and at the same time take responsibility for our journeys.
Healing, like salvation, is to do with Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
I hope this gives you some peace today.
Have a great rest of the week
Lorna x
Have you read other posts about this amazing woman? Take a look at