Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for reaching out and sharing something so personal and weighty. To go through extreme surgery and come so close to death in your early thirties is deeply sobering, and it is understandable that you would feel anxious as you wait for news. I am praying with you for help and kindness from the Lord as you go to this appointment, and that you will be able to see more and more of the good and healing work He is doing in your life.
I want you to know that I believe God does heal today. A large part of the Gospels shows Jesus touching and healing people who were sick and afflicted, and Matthew connects that ministry to the prophecy in Isaiah that He bore our sicknesses and infirmities. When Jesus gave His body for us, provision was made for both spiritual and physical healing. That healing is for us now, and God is able.
At the same time there is much about healing I do not fully understand, and I do not pretend to know why some are healed quickly and others are not. The Bible shows that it is not always a matter of faith or hidden sin. Paul prayed three times about his thorn in the flesh and the Lord did not remove it, and though Paul surely prayed for Timothy, Timothy still struggled with frequent ailments. In those cases God had purposes that go beyond what we can see or explain. So please do not carry any burden that if healing is slow it means you have failed or that God is displeased with you.
Scripture also shows us that healing takes different forms. There is the one account where Jesus healed a man gradually and in stages, and that reminds us that gradual healing is still divine healing. Any process of recovery is divine in its own way. Even when doctors operate, remove what is diseased, and close the wound, they do not themselves make the skin knit together and the body restore itself. They are working with the processes of healing that God Himself established in our bodies. He created those processes, and they are no less from Him because they work through natural means. Healing can also reach beyond the physical. The Lord brings healing to the mind and the emotions, mending the wounds and scars that trauma leaves behind.
You asked for favor, and I want to encourage you about what that means. In human terms favor often looks like partiality, where more attention is given to someone because of position or wealth or influence. God is not like that. He does not look upon one person with greater favor than another. In Christ we are equally close to Him and equally the objects of His grace. His favor is not something you have to earn or compete for. The psalm says His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts for a lifetime, and that weeping may remain for a night but joy comes in the morning. That favor is His gracious presence and goodwill toward you as His child, and it endures even while you wait.
I do not believe in stirring people into a frenzy or treating healing as a spectacle. True healing from God does not need that kind of display. It comes from His merciful and sovereign hand, whether in a moment or through a steady recovery.
So I am praying for favorable news at your appointment, for wisdom for your doctors, and for continued healing in your body. I am also praying for peace for your heart while you wait, and that whether the report is exactly what you hope for or calls for more steps, you will know the Lord as your healer, the One who becomes what you need, and that you will see His goodness unfolding in the days ahead. He who has brought you through so much is able to carry you still, and His kindness toward you is not ending.
I want you to know that I believe God does heal today. A large part of the Gospels shows Jesus touching and healing people who were sick and afflicted, and Matthew connects that ministry to the prophecy in Isaiah that He bore our sicknesses and infirmities. When Jesus gave His body for us, provision was made for both spiritual and physical healing. That healing is for us now, and God is able.
At the same time there is much about healing I do not fully understand, and I do not pretend to know why some are healed quickly and others are not. The Bible shows that it is not always a matter of faith or hidden sin. Paul prayed three times about his thorn in the flesh and the Lord did not remove it, and though Paul surely prayed for Timothy, Timothy still struggled with frequent ailments. In those cases God had purposes that go beyond what we can see or explain. So please do not carry any burden that if healing is slow it means you have failed or that God is displeased with you.
Scripture also shows us that healing takes different forms. There is the one account where Jesus healed a man gradually and in stages, and that reminds us that gradual healing is still divine healing. Any process of recovery is divine in its own way. Even when doctors operate, remove what is diseased, and close the wound, they do not themselves make the skin knit together and the body restore itself. They are working with the processes of healing that God Himself established in our bodies. He created those processes, and they are no less from Him because they work through natural means. Healing can also reach beyond the physical. The Lord brings healing to the mind and the emotions, mending the wounds and scars that trauma leaves behind.
You asked for favor, and I want to encourage you about what that means. In human terms favor often looks like partiality, where more attention is given to someone because of position or wealth or influence. God is not like that. He does not look upon one person with greater favor than another. In Christ we are equally close to Him and equally the objects of His grace. His favor is not something you have to earn or compete for. The psalm says His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts for a lifetime, and that weeping may remain for a night but joy comes in the morning. That favor is His gracious presence and goodwill toward you as His child, and it endures even while you wait.
I do not believe in stirring people into a frenzy or treating healing as a spectacle. True healing from God does not need that kind of display. It comes from His merciful and sovereign hand, whether in a moment or through a steady recovery.
So I am praying for favorable news at your appointment, for wisdom for your doctors, and for continued healing in your body. I am also praying for peace for your heart while you wait, and that whether the report is exactly what you hope for or calls for more steps, you will know the Lord as your healer, the One who becomes what you need, and that you will see His goodness unfolding in the days ahead. He who has brought you through so much is able to carry you still, and His kindness toward you is not ending.
