CANCER, SICKNESS, HEALING AND WHOLENESS

My Dad’s recent battles with kidney failure and now an aggressive form of lymphoma has motivated me to check out once again what God’s Word has to say about healing. Here are a few thoughts...

First of all, it’s important to remember that what we see and experience today is not “life” the way God intended it. When God created Adam and Eve He created two completely perfect and sinless individuals and then placed them in a completely perfect, sinless environment… No sin! No sickness! No pain! No suffering! Eden was absolute perfection!

Amazingly, Adam and Eve blew it! They sinned… They rebelled against God and their rebellion had cosmic consequences. Their sin introduced death into the world and everything that precedes death… Stuff like pain, sickness, suffering and disease…

But here’s the good news… Before God ever created the first man and the first woman, He knew we would sin... God knew we would rebel against His purpose and plan, and that our rebellion would wreak havoc in the universe and bring about unbearable suffering and pain. So God had already taken steps to make certain that healing and wholeness were available to the people He so dearly loved…

Here are a few examples:

For instance, the Book of Exodus describes the suffering of the people of God in Egypt… Through a series of miracles, God delivered the entire nation of Israel from the tyranny of Pharaoh and out of 430 years of bondage and slavery… As the nation traveled through the desert they became thirsty and came upon a body of water at a place called Marah… Their hopes and dreams were quickly smashed to smithereens, because the water wasn’t drinkable. It was bitter…

All of a sudden God spoke to Moses and gave us an incredible picture of what Jesus Christ would ultimately accomplish through the cross… God said to Moses, “Cut off this branch and throw it into the water…” And the moment the branch touched the bitter waters at Marah, the water became sweet…

This is one of the most beautiful pictures we have in the Old Testament of how the cross of Jesus Christ can transform the bitterness and pain of life itself…

It was on the heels of this miracle that God gave this promise to Israel…

Exodus 15:26 (NIV), “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am [Jehovah-Rapha]… I am the LORD, who heals you.”

It’s interesting that right at the outset of redemptive history, God identified Himself as a HEALING GOD! He said, “This is who I am… This is my very nature… I am Jehovah-Rapha! I am the Lord who heals you!”


A few hundred of years later, David was inspired with the same truth when he wrote these words…

Psalm 103:1-3, "Praise the Lord, I tell myself; and all that is within me, praise His holy name. 2 Praise the Lord I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. 3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases…"

In David’s mind, God’s ability and willingness to heal was just as real and just as certain as God’s ability and willingness to forgive sin…


Psalm 107 was written a few decades later by an unknown author… It’s a psalm of thanksgiving for the faithfulness of God’s covenant love despite the unfaithfulness of His people… It describes the redemptive activity of our great God… It describe how when God’s people experienced the consequences of their rebellion… When the “fallout from the fall” left them feeling helpless and hopeless, and they cried out to God and “…He saved them from their distress.” Then it includes this incredible promise…

Psalm 107:20 (NIV), "He [God] sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave."

I need to read these promises! Especially now!

Everything about God suggests that He longs to heal… His very nature is a healing nature… His very name is a healing name… And his very word is a healing word…

I love the way the Message reads…

Psalm 107:20 (MSG) says, “He spoke the word that healed you, that pulled you back from the brink of death.”


Psalm 147 is another psalm written by an anonymous author at around the same time that Psalm 107 was written… Once again, the author reminds us of the healing nature of our great God… Check out these words…

Psalm 147:3 (NLT), "[God} heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds."

Wow! God not only longs to heal our “outer wounds.” He even longs to heal our heart!


Then, about 700 years before Jesus was even born, a prophet by the name of Isaiah emphasized that the healing ministry of the Messiah… Isaiah 53 is one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible. It’s filled with the language of substitution…

Isaiah 53:5 (NKJ), "…He [Jesus] 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."

The Message says, “…He took the punishment, and that made us whole. By His wounds we are healed.”

The word “whole” is a great word, because the biblical concept of healing refers to “wholeness…” This is so important! God’s desire for you is wholeness… He longs to make you completely whole in every aspect of your being…


Healing is so important to the heart and mind of God that the last prophecy contained in the Old Testament, the last prophecy written before 400 years of absolute silence from God, once again emphasized, the healing ministry of the Messiah… Tucked away in the book of Malachi is this promise…

Malachi 4:2, "…the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy…"


All of these are prophecies… But what’s incredible to remember is that every one of these prophecies got played out, in a very real way, in the life and ministry of Jesus. To say that healing was important in the ministry of Jesus would be an understatement…


More than 40 distinct physical and mental healings are described in the four Gospels… If you count the descriptions of miracles that get repeated, then the number goes up to at least 72.

Jesus ministered healing in a variety of ways… For instance…

• On 21 occasions, Jesus healed through His spoken word.
• On 13 occasions, Jesus healed someone by touching them.
• On 9 occasions, people were healed in the course of his preaching or teaching.
• On at least 8 occasions, Jesus healed people by releasing them from demonic oppression.
• On another 8 occasions, Jesus healed an individual because someone other than the sick person demonstrated faith.
• On 7 occasions, Jesus healed because the sick person had faith.
• At least 4 times, Jesus healed because he was moved by compassion.
• And on at least one occasion, Jesus healed someone when they reached out to touch him.

Here’s the truth I need to remember… Maybe it's the truth you need to read and hear today... It’s the truth I’m holding on to as my Dad battles with kidney failure and lymphoma…

For whatever reason, God loves us. He loved us so much that He sent His Son who gave His life, and through His sacrifice, He not only provided our eternal salvation, He also provided HEALING.

Wherever you are… Whatever the doctor’s diagnosis… As you process the anxiety, fear and uncertainty... Know that God loves you… He longs to heal you… These are His promises…

Healing may come miraculously! Healing may come in a way that you've never even considered… Healing may come through the hands of a gifted physician… But regardless, in the middle of your physical battle, CLING to the God who loves you and longs to heal you.