Breaking Expectation Barriers In Healing

We talked a little about God's healing nature in our previous lessons. We looked at that in the context that God created medicine to heal our bodies and He even creating our bodies to be "self-repairing" or self- healing. But we did not look at Scripture about His healing nature in those lessons. We are going to do that now, because God reveals Himself to us as a healer over and over in His word.

Healing is in the Bible from cover to cover. We find it in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, when "Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants..." (Genesis 20:17). We find it in last chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation 22, verse 2. "...The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." When God dictated the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai, He made provisions for both natural and supernatural healing. We find them in Exodus 21:19, Leviticus 13:18, Leviticus 13:37, Leviticus 14:3, and Leviticus 14:48. Perhaps most significant is that God ties physical healing into the sacrificial suffering and death of Jesus in both the Old and the New Testament. Isaiah 53:5 says, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." 1 Peter 2:24 says, "He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed."

Just those facts alone should make it clear that healing is important to God. But God goes way beyond that. He literally reveals His healing nature to us in His word. Healing is every bit as much a part of His character as love or truth or mercy or righteousness.

Look at what God says to the people of Israel back when He delivers them from Egypt. He says, "I am the Lord who heals you" in Exodus 15:26b. He declares Himself a healer again in Deuteronomy 32:39, "Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand." He shows His healing nature yet again in Isaiah 57:18, where He says, "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him."

Are you starting to get the picture? Part of God's personality is to heal the sick. It is as natural to Him as breathing is to us. There are even more verses to back this up. Look at Isaiah 57:19, "'...Peace, peace, to those far and near,' says the Lord. 'And I will heal them.'" Isaiah 58:8 says, "Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard."

These verses tell us that healing just radiates from Him because it is a part of who He is.

Do you realize what that means? It means that when God shows up, healings happen. I could tell you story after story of God's healing anointing showing up during worship, and people getting spontaneously healed. Why does that happen? The Bible tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. That means that when we worship Him, He shows up! And when He shows up, some aspect of His nature begins to manifest in the room. There are times when He manifests His love, and many people experience deep inner healings during worship. There are times when He manifests the prophetic, and a spirit of prophesy is released over the congregation. And there are also times (in fact there are many times) when He manifests His healing nature. So if you happen to be sick when God does this, then you will most likely get healed as you worship Him and enter into His presence.

I have a favorite saying, "When God shows up, good things happen!"

One time I was attending a conference in Kentucky. I had been fasting much more than I should and I threw my electrolytes of balance for a prolonged period of time, which gave me rather serious heart palpitations. My doctor told me that he thought this would probably be a permanent condition, and I was a waiting list to see a specialist about it. I had to be very careful to move slowly and not to overexert myself, because once my heart started beating quickly, it was very hard to slow it down again.

We were worshipping and I could feel God's presence in the room. I got so carried away by the sense of His nearness that I forgot about my condition and started dancing. I danced until my heart started to beat very rapidly and then I was filled with fear. God spoke to me at that moment and said something like, "Don't be frightened, Teresa. I have healed you. But you have just been jumping up and down and dancing, so it is perfectly normal for your heart to beat faster for a while." I was amazed that it slowed down after a minute or two and went back to normal. God had healed me when I entered into His presence, and I had not even noticed Him doing it. I was too busy focusing on Him to think about my condition. Healing is so much a part of His character that it flowed out from Him as I worshipped in His presence and made me well.

One time I was speaking at a meeting in Canada's Yukon Territory. The worship team was not jiving and the songs they had selected were not working for this particular group. Worship was terrible and it reminded me of a funeral. I asked God what to do. He told me to go up there and to tell the people, "Just begin crying out to God and inviting Him to come. Tell Him how hungry you are for Him. When He shows up, good things happen."

The people responded by crying out to God--some in English, some in their native First Nation language and some in tongues. It was not a pretty sound, but a heartfelt cry for God's presence began to go up in the room. Meanwhile I am praying something like, "Gosh, Lord, I sure hope You show up! After what You had me tell them, it would be really a disaster for this meeting if you did not show up and meet the people." This went on for about ten minutes and then I moved into teaching. At the end of the meeting, several people came up to me to report that they'd been healed. They had not even noticed it happen. They cam to the meeting sick. No one prayed for them and when the meeting was over, they noticed that they were not sick any more! God is a healing God. It is a part of His nature.

Mercy is also a part of God's nature, and at times He heals people because of His great mercy for us. He has special compassion on the underdogs, on widows and orphans. Look at how that plays out in healing in Jeremiah 30:12-13,17:

12 "This is what the Lord says: " 'Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. 13 There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you.

17 But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the Lord, 'because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.'

God gives us another example of this in Jeremiah 33:6. This was speaking to people who had been carried into captivity, plundered and beaten down in many ways. Then He says, "'Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal My people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security."

That is really good news for those of us who are in bad situations and need His mercy, because He has it abundantly for you. He shows Himself both merciful, and willing to heal over and over again. If you are downcast, if you are an underdog, if you are begin taken advantage of, if you are on your own with no one to help you--then you are one of God's special heartthrobs. That means you have an even greater claim on His mercy, because He has a special place in His heart for you.

If you are in that category and you need a healing in your body right, why don't you stop right now and ask Him for it. I would not be at all surprised if He were to give you that healing as you pray because He has a special place in His heart for you because of what you have been through.

For the rest of us, I hope you are getting the idea that God is a healing God because it is a part of His very nature and character. We saw it in the Old Testament, as we can also see it over and over again in the life of Jesus. I can't look at all of the verse that show this, because there are just too many of them, and that would make this teaching unbearably long. So we will just look at a few of them. Let's start with Matthew 4:23-24:

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.

That gives you the impression that Jesus was really into healing the sick, doesn't it? You can see the same thing in Matthew 9:35: "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness."

Jesus' compassion seemed to be the thing that drove Him to heal the sick. Look at Matthew 14:14, "And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick." Now look at Matthew 20:34, "So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him." We see it again in Mark 1:41-43, "40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean.' 41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' 42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed."