I'm going to do something a bit different today. I want to talk about healing. God is the Great Healer. In the verse above He says He is our healer. And He is. Sometimes He uses doctors and other medical professionals. Sometimes He uses parents. Sometimes He uses time. If He doesn't heal immediately there is a reason. In our immediate culture I think that maybe God won't do it so immediately because our give-it-to-me-now mentality needs to be rooted out of us.
I want to quote a story from PrayerPoint, a Samaritan's Purse publication. Check them out at http://samaritanspurse.org. So, here's the story:
When Baariq (not his real name) came from Yemen to a hospital in Jordan seeking treatment two years ago, tuberculosis had already severely weakened one lung and the other showed signs of the disease. Sick for 12 years, his body had developed a high level off resistance to most medications.
"We told his brother who came with him that we didn't think Baariq would recover, but we said we would try," explained the hospital director. "We pray for our patients every day, and trust God to heal."
A devout Muslim, Baariq was resistant to more than just antibiotics. He scoffed at the Gospel message he heard at the hospital. But after several months. Baariq's lungs gradually improved as the staff found an effective course of treatment. His heart was changing too. He participated in morning devotions, praying and singing Scripture to the tune of Jordanian folk songs.
As his recovery continued, one day he told the hospital director, "I want you to know that when I came to his hospital, I was a very aggressive Muslim. Because of the love I have received, that has changed me."
Baariq remained at the hospital for 15 months until X-rays revealed his lungs were clear of infection. Shortly before Baariq's return to Yemen, the hospital director was at a local church service when she heard a familiar cough in the back of the sanctuary. She turned around and saw Baariq sitting there.
"I read in the Bible that Jesus said, 'Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven,'" Baariq told her (see Matthew 10:32). "I came to church today because I wanted to confess that I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ too."
Baariq needed that time in the hospital with all those loving Believers. If God had healed him instantly very likely he wouldn't have come to know Christ. He would have taken the healing and run.
Don't let slow healings or non-healings make you doubt God's healing. God sees the whole picture. Sometimes there is more than we see. But also, don't doubt you are going to be healed. We will all be healed. Healed within and without is what will be our reality.