The Hope and Mystery of Healing

Early in my ministry, I had one of those once-in-a-lifetime, transformational experiences with Dr. Billy Graham, his wife, Ruth, and his faithful ministry partner, T.W. Wilson. I had been ordained as a Presbyterian pastor for all of four years when one of my dearest friends from high school, Lane, called to tell me she had been diagnosed with a rare and painful form of cancer. Treatments were becoming ineffective, and she asked if I could come to Dallas and pray for her healing.

I was serving at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church just outside of Chattanooga, where an elder, Reid Henson, had initiated a nationwide healing ministry based on his own experience of having been healed twice from hairy cell leukemia. I asked him if he would be willing to fly to Dallas with me to have a healing service for Lane, and he quickly agreed. However, our plans were interrupted when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people, including 19 children. A public Memorial Service was scheduled four days later, on April 23, 1995, with Dr. Graham as the primary preacher. The plane we were using to go to Dallas was a private jet, which was requested to assist with Dr. Graham’s travel. We were thrilled to add two legs to our trip!

As I sat directly across from him on the plane, Dr. Graham immediately asked me questions about Lane. As I explained the situation and the service we would lead later, he took careful notes. As we neared Oklahoma City, we all joined hands and prayed for Lane. Dr. Graham then pledged that at 5 p.m. that afternoon, when we would be having the service, he would be praying as well.

As we took off for Dallas, I was filled with overwhelming confidence. I had the absolute A-team in place. Reid, himself healed twice, was going to lead the service, and Billy Graham and his wife had already prayed and would be praying at the same time we would be laying our hands on Lane. It was a slam dunk! Lane was going to be healed! I was euphoric, until I wasn’t. Lane died three weeks later.

I have spent years reflecting on the lessons of those few days and the absolute mystery of God’s healing touch. I have seen many people physically healed, and I have seen many more who were not. I even led a service where we prayed for two people at once, both terminally ill. One month later, one was healed, and the other had died. Same prayers. Same people praying. Same oil. Mystery.

How, then, are we to understand the healing ministry of our God, the Great Physician? Several points emerge from a thorough examination of Scripture:

1. Our ultimate healing is the one provided through Christ, our healing from sin and death. In Matthew 9:5, Jesus asks “Which is easier: to say ‘your sins are forgiven’ or to say ‘get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Far too often, we are consumed with being physically healed in this world in order to avoid pain or grief, forgetting that our ultimate healing has already been achieved through faith in Jesus Christ. All those physically healed in this life still die. Lazarus went back to the grave, but his ultimate healing was still secure in Christ.
2. God can and does heal people. Mark 5 tells the wonderful story of the healing of Jairus’ daughter. Jairus asks Jesus to heal his dying daughter, but Jesus is delayed. The little girl dies, but Jesus tells Jairus in verse 36, “Don’t be afraid, just believe.” All the physical evidence said the girl was dead, but Jesus instructed otherwise. In verse 41, he takes her by the hand and says, “Talitha koum!” which means “Little one, get up.” In this, we see the wonder of God’s full nature on display. He heals the girl effortlessly. This is God’s transcendent power and majesty. There are no incantations or formulas, or potions. He does not roll up his sleeves and tell everyone to “Stand back.” He says, “Get up,” as if waking a child for school. In the same moment, we see the imminence of God. He is with us. The word he uses is slang for “Little one.” It would be like someone today saying, “Honey” or “darling.” Absolute power and complete tenderness all in one healing moment. What a God!
3. Sometimes the answer is no or not yet. In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul writes, “…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” While people have speculated about the thorn, the reality is we don’t know what it was. Regardless, God did not take it away, instead using it to teach Paul about His sufficiency even in hardship. I think this text also does away with any notion that healing might not occur due to a lack of faith. Paul was one of the most faithful people in Scripture, and yet God still did not heal him. Further, God is the one who gives faith. As such, God would never give us something insufficient. You have the faith necessary to pray for healing. You have the faith necessary for God to heal; however, that does not mean He will heal in the way you ask. It may be a permanent no, or it may be a healing that unfolds in time.

One of my dear friends, Steve, was paralyzed from the neck down following a motorcycle accident in 2010, and was told he would never walk again. One of his elders told him he would walk one day, but Steve never believed him. His wife, however, never gave up praying. She started a blog about it in their church, which ultimately drew 400,000 followers, and one day in the hospital, she said to Steve, “Move your big toe.” And he did. That one movement led to a healing journey such that today, Steve walks. He still has residual pain. He still limps. His body is by no means perfect, but he walks. He walks.

Physicians at Harvard have said the number one reason why people get better is a faith-based community to surround them. That’s what happened to Steve and it’s how God often chooses to work. The paralytic of Luke 5 was healed by the faith of his friends who lowered him through the roof, not the faith of the paralytic. As such, don’t quit. Never give up on the power of God to heal, physically or spiritually.

Yes, healing is a mystery. There is no formula guaranteeing it will come about, but God does instruct us to pray, to tell him the “desires of our hearts.” So that’s what we do. We pray for the healing of others as an act of obedience knowing that God is able, that He will use the circumstance for His glory and our good, and that ultimately, our healing has been achieved through Christ. Joy!

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