In the very beginning of Jesus’ three years of ministry, a leper knelt before Jesus and begged him to be healed. This leper probably heard a lot of “no’s” up to this point in his life. If the leper wanted to go into the city to buy food, the answer was “no”. If the leper wanted someone to touch him or just a hug from the people around him, the answer was “emphatically no”. When asked if he could ever live a life without pain or suffering, the answer probably feeling eternal was “no” from the religious leaders and physicians of the day. Hope was completely absent from this leper until he met Jesus.
Mark 1:40-42 NLT
A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” 42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.
Jesus didn’t ask for a resume of the man’s past sins or rebuke him for his lack of faith. No, Jesus, being the author and finisher of our faith was moved with compassion. The man felt human touch after being told “no” for so long. The leper wasn’t sure Jesus was even willing to heal him and Jesus supplied hope by making it clear the answer wasn’t “no” but “yes”!
2 Corinthians 1:20ESV
20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
Do you need hope today? Have you heard a lot of the word “no” in your life? You can be real with Jesus and ask Him real hard questions. Simply meditate on how He is always the same yesterday, today and forever, moving by compassion and saying “yes” to give you hope and healing.
Maybe recently you have heard contemporary worship songs that declare God is capable of healing? When you sing the songs at church, it’s possible you feel the energy and faith rising up in your thoughts. Did you know that declaring God can do miracles and knowing God will do miracles for you are two different things? Declaring God can do miracles doesn’t require a personal relationship but can be information obtained from stories about God and outside sources. The difference in knowing God will do miracles for you is a relationship of intimacy with the Father and knowing how He thinks about you through His word.
James 2:19
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.
You may be aware that even the demons know that Jesus can do miracles. Where Christians can walk in peace and confidence, is knowing that Jesus will supply miracles to them. We see in scripture, the psalmist David knew the heart of God even before the new covenant was in place. Paul said we have a much better covenant than the old, so are the benefits better than what David knew? Yes, they are!
Psalm 103:1-3
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
David knew God as good and forgiving of all his iniquity. As the God who heals all his disease. Jesus hadn’t arrived on the earth to take the sins of the world yet. Jesus had not yet taken the whipping of stripes on his back for healing. Yet David tapped into the character and kindness of God through intimacy. Now fast forward and we have a better covenant with better promises (Hebrews 8:6). Today there are still teachers of the word that teach it may not be God’s will to heal. Because they are moved by their world experience and what they see they are not confident that the desire of God is for healing. Many teachers believe the truth of the word that its Gods desire that no one perish (2 Peter 3:9) so they stick to preach faith in salvation and possibly baptism. Because God desires no one to perish, does that mean everyone will have everlasting life and is saved? The answer is no. The desire of God has been given as responsibility for every believer to share the good news. Not every believer is obedient to share the good news. Not every unbeliever receives the gospel. When we know that healing is the desire of God, we can run with the authority and responsibility to be co-laborers (1 Corinthians 3:9) with Jesus.
Mark 16:15-18
15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
Will everyone be saved because of God’s desire? They must receive by grace through faith in Jesus and this is offensive to the self-righteous. Will everyone be healed? Jesus had people that wouldn’t receive the healing from Him because of unbelief in Jesus, once again pretty offensive to many. (Matthew 13:58, Mark 6:5.)
Refuse to listen to teaching that robs the power of the cross and says it is not the desire of God to heal everyone today, to insinuate that David had a better covenant is demonic. It is absolutely Jesus’ desire to heal you and everyone that He paid for their sins on the cross. Do you physically see that your sins are forgiven or does it take faith in the obedience of Jesus at the cross? Do you see your manifestation of healing or does it take faith as well to know He bore your sickness? This Christians journey takes faith not by sight and that is offensive to the world. Continue like David in intimacy with God to not forget the benefits for you! Jesus is willing to heal you even if you are not fully aware of His goodness. Go ahead and ask Him today for a miracle (Mark 1:40).
Laying my face on the tile floor of a public hospital bathroom felt like a little bit of relief to my overheated body. I remember, that day, praying aloud a prayer that wasn’t successful or faith-filled but was desperate in my pain and suffering. “Lord either heal me or kill me”, was my cry out to God. For nearly three years I would wake up in the middle of the night with a fever and with pain. This particular day I couldn’t keep anything down because the pain in my body was so intense it made me sick. Years earlier the doctor had found kidney stones doing damage but that day, even after running test after test could not pin-point the problems I was having. After visits and running even more scans, for the next few months with no success, I mentally gave up on the doctors.
For years I had seen the power of God heal people and had prayed for so many of those people myself. I had been through the best prayer lines at church and had really powerful people of God pray for me, all without avail. The Holy Spirit encouraged me to go back to the very first message of grace that saved me. The promise that all my sins were washed away because of the obedience of Jesus. Promptly, I began to meditate on the finished work of Jesus and the symptoms of pain completely left my body. Knowing I was healed was the first battle that was won, continuing in healing was the next battle to face.
We often face two battles against the enemy, taking place in the
” hill” of our mind. The first battle is taking the hill, the second is maintaining the hill. Jesus gave his life on the hill of Calvary, in Aramaic “Golgotha” which means skull. Mathew and Mark’s gospels translate the hill to mean “place of the skull”. Jesus completely took all our sins on a hill that represented our mind. He defeated the enemy of death with His body and defeated the enemy of our mind with His love. When we meditate on the love of Jesus for ourself, we are doing battle and maintaining the hill of our mind. The symptoms of pain tried to return after I knew I was healed by Jesus, yet couldn’t remain after meditating again and again on how much love Jesus has for me. It’s been almost ten years since I have experienced any pain thanks to the grace of our Lord Jesus!
Do you need healing today? Do you remember how much Jesus is madly in love with you? Take time today and remember His benefits of His love for you.
Ephesians 3:18 TPT
18–19 Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!
brandonpollard 