Waiting to be Healed

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. I Peter 2:24

Just listen in on any conversation for a few minutes, or scroll through your social media feed, and it won’t take long before you hear about someone who is struggling with a health issue. It can be a personal struggle or it can be a loved one’s struggle. But, no matter what, the struggle is real. All around us people are battling illnesses:  mental, physical, emotional, temporary, chronic, or even terminal.

When sin entered this world through the disobedient choices of Adam and Eve, the world became broken. Man’s infection of sin spread to all aspects of our environment making it ill. Tainted. Damaged. Diseased. Sick.

Struggling to stay healthy is a byproduct of living in a sin infected world. Getting sick should not surprise us. Staying well should motivate us. Healing should humble us.

I don’t know what health issue you may be struggling with today, but I do know there is healing in our Savior. It may not be the kind of healing we are begging God for, but it is the kind of healing we need.

My mom is currently dying from Alzheimer’s. It is so difficult to watch her slowly fade away, to become less and less of the person she used to be. To see the light of awareness dim in her eyes. I wish my mom could be healed from this terrible disease. I wish she could live her remaining years actively and vibrantly. But, she won’t. I have prayed that God would wrap His arms around her and take her home to be with Him where she will be whole once again. But, He hasn’t.

Does that mean he can’t? No.

Does that mean he won’t? Not yet.

So where is the healing then?

The healing is occurring in me. Each day as I die a little more to sin and live a little more to righteousness, I am healed. Each day as I surrender my selfish desires and lean into His ways, I am healed.  Each day as I seek God’s face and pray for those around me, I am healed. Each day as I entrust my life to God to take care of me and to provide for me, I am healed. 

You see, it is because of the struggle disease brings into my life that I am forced to go to my Savior. The struggle makes me return to the overseer of my soul. The struggle keeps me yielded and reliant on my Shepherd.  It is in that total dependence that my healing begins. The healing that truly matters. The healing of my heart and soul. 

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