As many as touched it were healed

As many as touched it were healed. 

How many people do you suppose Jesus healed during his time on earth?   Certainly there must have been hundreds — physical healing was a huge part of his ministry.   But you might make a couple of mistaken assumptions if you read only this passage.   On the one hand, you might assume that Jesus performed powerful healings only when he walked the earth.    On the other hand, you might assume that Jesus will always heal every person who asks him, just as he did in New Testament times.

Both assumptions are extremes.   Two thousand years of Church history and current events tell us that many miracles of healing still take place today.   But the same combination of history and today’s news tells us that not everyone who asks is healed.   This is a mystery that we just can’t explain.   We don’t know why some are healed and why some aren’t.   We do know, however, that God is more loving than we can ever imagine and that he always has our best interests at heart.

It is never wrong to ask God for healing.   We should feel free to ask for it boldly, with the confidence of a child asking his father for help.

When Jesus sent his disciples out and told them to “cure the sick,” he wanted them to know that divine healing was something they should expect — even when he wasn’t physically present with them (Matthew 10:8).   This may run counter to our experience, but we should be careful not to put God in a box.   He is still God, and that means that he can and sometimes will do what is humanly impossible.

If you are praying for healing for yourself or a loved one, take heart.   Even if nothing appears to be changing, you are still doing a lot more than you think.   You are taking your needs before the all-powerful, all-loving God.   He hears your prayer, and he will do whatever is best in that situation.   Be open to whatever kind of healing may take place.   It may occur at the hands of the doctor or it may be through your intercession — or it may be both.   Or it may be a spiritual healing where you find new peace in the midst of suffering.

Word Among Us