Faith for Today!

I could see him trying to make his way to the front of the Crusade Tent where we were standing.  He walked slowly, using two canes for assistance in order to compensate for a definite limp.  Well-dressed and distinguished, he had probably tried everything to find relief.  But on this night, he came in faith to our advertised “Healing Meeting” in Brighton, England.  I clearly remember the man leading the meeting, evangelist Don Double, asking the crippled gentleman to take a seat in the front row.  As Don bent down and raised the man’s legs, it was plain to everyone that one leg was much shorter than the other.  This explained the many years of walking with an extreme limp.

As I think back to the scene in my mind’s eye, I can remember Don saying to me, “Keep your eyes open and watch what the Lord is going to do.”  So, of course, I did just that!  There was no way that I was going to miss seeing the power of God come in visible demonstration!  Suddenly, Don just spoke to the shorter leg, commanding it to grow.  And it did!  Right before my eyes I could literally see the leg grow and line up with the other.  In fact, seeing this almost took your breath away.  It was like, “O my, look at that!  His leg grew!  That’s amazing!”   I had just witnessed a profound miracle.   Shortly after this, the man got up and without assistance, made his way to the back of the tent.

Throughout the New Testament, healing was a very common occurrence.  But there was one occasion as described in the Gospel of Mark when “Jesus wasn’t able to do much of anything” (Mk. 6:5, The Message).  This is a rather strange statement, for it seems almost out of character for one of the Gospel writers to say such a thing.  But in Nazareth, which was Jesus’ hometown, it seemed as if the people were not only resistant to the message of the Lord, but to His healing ministry as well.  There were a few exceptions of course.  Mark tells us that Jesus “laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them” (Mk. 6:5, The Message), but generally speaking, Jesus “was amazed at their lack of faith” (Mk. 6:6, NIV).  It was this lack of faith that seemed to hinder His desire to do the extraordinary.

 

Compare this scene in Nazareth to the healing of the man I just described in the U.K.  The man in Brighton came to the meeting in faith, whereas the people in Nazareth had a noticeable “lack of faith.”  Clearly this gives us a clue to what we should be looking for as we meet people who need healing.  Consider the following examples:

·   To the sick woman, Jesus said, “Take heart, daughter…your faith has healed you” (Mt. 9:22, NIV, italics added).

·   To the woman with the demon-possessed daughter, Jesus said, “you have great faith!  Your request is granted” (Mt. 15:28, NIV).

·   To blind Bartimaeus, Jesus said, “Go…your faith has healed you” (Mk. 10:52, NIV, italics added).

·   To the man with leprosy, Jesus said, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well” (Lk. 17:19, NIV, italics added).

In each of these situations, Jesus simply responded to what was already present.  He saw their faith!  He didn’t need to pray about it or ask some probing questions to see where the person was at.  He simply saw their faith.  This leads me to ask, “What does faith look like?”  Well, part of our answer lies in the story of the sick woman as mentioned above.  Matthew 9:21 in the Amplified Version says, “For she kept saying to herself, if I only touch His garment, I shall be restored to health” (italics added). 

As I think about the story of the sick woman, it becomes clear to me that faith is certainty.   It is knowing deep inside that what I am believing for will actually happen.  This is why the woman could say with absolute confidence, “I shall be restored to health.”  There was no question in her mind as to whether she would be healed, she just knew that once she touched Jesus’ garment, she would be healed.  We see this “certainty” in the definition of what faith is as found in Hebrews 11:1.  The writer says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (NLT).

In his insightful book entitled Christ the Healer, F.F. Bosworth has written, “Before anyone can have a steadfast faith for the healing of their body they must be rid of all uncertainty concerning God’s will in the matter…one needs to know what the Scriptures plainly teach, that it is just as much God’s will to heal the body as it is to heal the soul” (p. 5).   It is the Word of God which creates the certainty in us that God will do what He has promised.  Added to this certainty is the importance of making a right and positive confession concerning our healing.  Matthew 9:21 tells us that the woman who was sick “kept saying to herself…I shall be healed” (AMP).  Faith and confession are really two sides of the same coin, for one will not work without the other.  You cannot on the one hand say, “I am believing to be healed,” while on the other keep listing all your aliments.  The list will sooner or later rob you of the ability to truly believe. 

I never saw the gentleman who came to that “Healing Meeting” ever again.  While I know that his life was forever changed because of what happened on that night, I can honestly say that my life was changed as well.  For on that night my eyes were opened to the power of faith for today – the same kind of faith that Jesus responded to when He said to the sick woman, “your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mk. 5:34, NIV).