JESUS, OUR GREAT PHYSICIAN—A PERSONAL TESTIMONY (Continued)
The first situation occurred with my esophagus, which closed up so that I was unable to eat solid foods. Dropping down to a weight of less than 90 pounds after a year of depending only on liquids and baby food as my sole nutritional sources, I was desperately sick and weak. The doctors proposed surgery to try to open my esophagus or as a last resort to implant a tube in its place that would enable me to swallow whole foods again.
Two days before the scheduled surgery, I was visiting homes in the neighborhood for my church. As I knocked on one door, a man came out and immediately said to me before I could say anything, “You have something wrong with your throat and the Lord wants to heal you.” Wow! That was a word of knowledge (1 Corinthians 12). He and his wife invited me in and prayed over me. I hurried home and poured myself a bowl of cereal. It went down without any difficulty. Next, I tried vegetables and they went down, too. Finally, I tried some chicken and I was able to swallow this, too. I could eat normally again! Praise the Lord!
Jesus is truly the Great Physician!
The second situation occurred due to a work injury to my back while on my job. My employer took me to a local doctor, who diagnosed me with severe degeneration and injury to the discs in my lower spine. After many weekly treatments and total bed rest for months, the doctor finally told me that they could try surgery, but he could not promise a successful outcome. (Keep in mind that this was over 30 years ago when back surgery was much riskier than it is today.)
Again, as a young mother with two sons that were being taken care of by others because of my incapacitated condition, I cried out to the Lord for help! I had been reading the Bible in James, Chapter 5, that the sick could go to the leaders of the church and be anointed with oil for healing. I thought, “It can’t hurt to try. Things can’t get much worse.” My faith was still only at baby Christian level, but beginning to grow! So, I inched my way to the church, conveniently located a few doors down from my apartment. The pastor and his assistant anointed me with oil and prayed over my back.
Immediately, I could straighten up, turn and stretch. Excitedly, I ran home without any pain or physical limitation. Upon returning to the doctor for a check-up, they took x-rays and pronounced my back to be totally healed!
Jesus is truly the Great Physician!
The Word of God is vital to healing. Jesus is the living Word of God. Let’s look in the Bible at the earthly mission of Jesus: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18–19, NKJV)
This foundational scripture reveals to us the mission of Jesus, who came to rescue God’s creation, hopelessly bound by sin and suffering all forms of sickness, addictions and torment—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Jesus came to bring you and me God’s salvation, healing, deliverance, and restoration as evidenced in Luke 4:18–19. Another well known scripture that shows this is: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10, NKJV)
The devil is the great destroyer! Jesus came that we might have abundant life, which certainly includes the area of healing. It’s hard to live “abundantly” when we don’t feel well and our bodies, minds and emotions are not working properly.
Notice also, John 10:10 gives us a clue where sickness comes from. Here’s another scripture that lays it on the line, showing precisely the diabolical origin of sickness and other troubles you may be facing: . . .how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38, NKJV)
God never puts sickness on people. Some people believe that God may not be the direct executor of sickness but that He allows sickness and other bad things to enter into our lives to help us grow spiritually or for His ultimate glory. No!
Jesus is the Great Physician, not the great destroyer. Sickness originates from the devil. Satan is the great destroyer. We must eradicate mindsets from our thought lives that focus more on man’s opinions and solutions, symptoms, and how things look and feel than on what the Word of God plainly says. I am not advocating “positive thinking,” based on mere repetition, though this is definitely more beneficial than “negative thinking.” However, it has a limited effect. Rather, we want to build a strong faith that grows out of studying, meditating and believing the healing (and other) promises in God’s Word.
There are two problems with the notion that God brings or allows sickness or trials to gain a foothold in our mind, heart, body or life: First, this belief is inconsistent with God’s character of love. After all, you love your children or others who are close to you, don’t you? Would you really make them sick or refrain from helping when you see your son or daughter about to cross the street in front of a 4,500 pound pick-up truck? Of course, you wouldn’t—Neither would your Father, our loving God!
Secondly, to say that you are sick, in debt, or experiencing problems in your marriage because God is going to get glory out of the situation or you are going to learn a good lesson may make you feel better because it relieves you of the responsibility for whatever is taking place. You see, it isn’t God that allows bad things to come our way, it’s us. We step out from under God’s protection. We open the door to the devil’s attacks through unbelief, fear, bitterness, idolatry, unforgiveness, disobedience, rebellion and countless other ways. Putting other people or interests before spending time with Jesus . . .prayerlessness. . .busyness that shuts God out—all of these can open the door for Satan to wreak havoc in your life.
But the good news is that there is always hope! God is merciful and full of grace. He makes a way for us to get right again so that there is nothing standing between Him and us: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9, NKJV)
There is no accusation the devil can bring against us to try to deceive or stop us from receiving our healing from God: Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. . . (Revelation 12:10–11, NKJV)
I must make mention here: The devil is not always the culprit. Sometimes, we fall prey to natural causes such as overeating or eating foods harmful to our bodies, not getting enough exercise or rest, or succumbing to the stresses of our cataclysmic world.
However, avoiding the “door-openers” referred to in the previous paragraph, yielding to the fruit of the Holy Spirit, having a thankful heart, and focusing your attention on Jesus can keep us living in divine health: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–8, NKJV)
It is always God’s will to heal you! Jesus never turned anyone away who came to Him trusting and believing that He could and would heal them. A good example of this truth is found in Matthew, Chapter 8: When (Jesus) had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matthew 8:1–3, NKJV)
The leper in this story said to Jesus, “If you are willing,” which showed that he knew that Jesus could heal, but wasn’t quite sure if Jesus would heal him. Lepers were outcasts in society, so maybe he thought he wasn’t good enough to warrant Jesus’ attention. The text doesn’t really disclose the motivation behind the leper’s timidity, but whatever the reason was, he was about to receive a miracle!
What did Jesus say? Our kind and loving Lord immediately acted with great compassion, saying, “I am willing. Be cleansed.” My friend, know that it is Jesus’ desire to heal you, too. He is saying to you today, “I am willing. Be healed!” Jesus is truly the Great Physician! Jesus is our Great Physician.
This is confirmed in the Old Testament and the New Testament—before Jesus came to earth, during Jesus’ earthly ministry of preaching, teaching and healing the sick, and after Jesus was resurrected and had ascended to heaven.
Let’s look first in the Old Testament at a portion of often- quoted scripture, prophesying the devastating punishment Jesus would endure to pay the price for our forgiveness and reconciliation to God: Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows. . .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. (Isaiah 53:4–5, NKJV)
Isaiah 53:4–5 declares the prophetic promise of the first coming of Jesus, our Savior and Healer. Not only did Jesus pay the price for our salvation, but He paid the price for our healing: emotional (griefs and sorrows), spiritual (transgressions and iniquities), mental (peace) and physical (stripes) as vividly portrayed in these verses looking forward to the cross.
Now, let’s look at the fulfillment of this prophecy in the New Testament: When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.” (Matthew 8:16–17, NKJV)
Matthew 8:16–17 refers directly back to the prophecy in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, confirming and validating what the prophet Isaiah spoke. In Matthew, we see this wonderful promise of God being fulfilled during Jesus’ earthly ministry. The sick are healed and those in bondage are set free! Did you notice the word “all?” How many sick people did Jesus heal? A few? Some? Those who were good enough? No, all! He healed them all!
If Jesus healed them all then—before the cross—how much more will He heal you now that you have been redeemed by His precious blood? Today, we are looking back at the cross. Jesus is with the Father, interceding on your behalf, as passionate about healing you. . .meeting your need. . .or setting you free from whatever is holding you captive as He was when He walked the earth, demonstrating God’s love, power and glory in the lives of ordinary people like you and me. Here is one final confirmation of the ministry of Jesus that was prophesied in Isaiah 53: . . .who 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. (1 Peter 2:24. NKJV)
The Bible states that a thing is established by two or three witnesses. These three scriptures agree and make it very clear that Jesus came not only to save you, but to heal you. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ will change your life, whether you are coming to Christ for the first time, or whether you have been a Christian for many years and your relationship with Him has become stale, routine and distant.
Will you pray this prayer with me today? “Jesus, I believe that You were crucified on the cross for my sin and rose again from the grave so that I might be saved and have eternal life with You and our Father. I confess my sins to You and ask You to forgive me and be the Lord of my life. Change me and fulfill God’s wonderful plan for my life. I also believe that You are the Great Physician, and I ask You to heal my (body part) from (disease or affliction). . .deliver me from (addiction or trial) and restore my (family, finances or whatever other need you may have for provision or restoration). Father, I believe You love me and want me well in every area of my life. I receive my healing (or whatever you are praying for) now! In Jesus’ Name, Amen!”