Luke 4:37-39

Luke 4:37-39 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area. Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

Luke 11:5-13 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’ “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

God's gift is eternal life. Physical healing many times expedites the gift of eternal life to others, gives the unbeliever faith to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. For Christians, healing should help them serve God better as with Peter's mother-in-law: She got up at once and began to wait on them. However, too often Christians view healing as an end, not a means to an end. We view healing as somewhat of a right, something we should personally enjoy for our benefit. We don't see healing as we should in the context of God's desire to reveal himself to a dark and unbelieving world; rather, we see healing as a promise, as a Christian perk. But Jesus healed to reveal He was God. The Bible says no man had done such things from the beginning of time. He did not heal just to heal: He came to express God's love to the world, to validate himself as sent from God. Divine healing announced to the world that the PROMISED MESSIAH was in our midst.

Eternal life is THE GIFT God promised to the world. We will all die of something someday. As Paul and Timothy before us, we should pray fervently to be healed, but if we are not, we should proceed in life with the joy God has set before us, demonstrating God's goodness and mercy to the world, even though we are frail in the flesh. Paul with a thorn in the flesh and Timothy with a stomach ailment did that. And throughout history, many faithful and wonderful Christians did that also. If we are chronically ill and have prayed long and hard for healing but still find ourselves without an answer, we should get up, wash ourselves, and move on. Some of us cannot get up physically because of our illness, but we should get up emotionally and move on. We should determine in our hearts to bring glory to God in spite of our sickness. We should let people know that God is greater than our sickness.

Regretfully, if we tarry too long at the altar of sickness, if our demands are that we MUST BE HEALED, we become weaker and more disabled in our spirits. We feed the voracious "why me" syndrome, and the fruit of that syndrome is a lack of joy, more anger, and added bitterness. The "why me" spirit ties us to our beds. Some of us today are too weak to stand, too troubled to serve, too disabled to be what we want to be, but God still has made us to do his will. God is asking us to serve while we yet have breath, for we have received the gift of eternal life. Peter's mother-in-law's intentions to serve Jesus were in her heart before she was healed. After her healing, she had strength enough to do that which was in her heart. What are our intentions today? Will we serve God regardless or only if we are healed? Joy comes out of the heart. Christ's joy was to fulfill God's will on earth even though He suffered greatly. Our joy should be the same.

Today to those who are suffering greatly, God is still on the throne. He knows who you are and where you are; your life is a great savor to him. He has not forsaken you. As the scripture indicates, He is the friend on the other side of the door. You have knocked, you have asked, and He has given you his Holy Spirit, the Comforter. He has given you the precious gift of eternal life. He has made your life worth living. You might say, but He didn't give me healing? No, He gave you a fish instead, food for today. He did not remain in his household with those who were already secure in the household. No, He came to you and gave you the bread of eternal life, that which will sustain you forever. And He will be with you until the end.