As we learn how to get healed both physically and soulically, we also learn why we don’t get healed in the way or the timing we expect. We want to look at this objectively, not taking things personally, so we can begin to see things from God’s perspective. This is another area where we want to be free to make mistakes, letting God train us and teach us what He wants us to know. We also want to pursue Him with our time and attention; very often we learn more through trial and error than by “getting it right” the first time. Remember that the goal isn’t to get healed, but to learn to depend on God. Our need and desire for healing just happens to be one of the main ways God draws us into this purpose.
1. We’re Not Healed Because We Need Deliverance
God heals the majority of our wounds as we learn to depend on Him. But there are also those instances where someone is oppressed (no person, Christian or non-believer, can be “possessed” by a demon) and under such a strong influence by demonics that they need someone else to intercede on their behalf before they can begin the learning process for themselves. Most of us have probably fallen into this category at one time or another, and God has delivered us sovereignly or through another person, perhaps without our knowledge. But if you believe you need assistance, and the Lord confirms this to you, ask the Lord to bring into your life the means of deliverance. Remember that it is God Himself Who wants you free, and nothing or no one is able to stand in His way. We will be dealing with this subject at length later, so for now, simply trust that the Lord Himself is delivering you from these supernatural influences, in His timing, and in His way.
2. We’re Not Healed Because The Pain Is Coming From Our Flesh, Not A Wound
Our flesh is not a wound, but is an indicator of a wound, or unmet need, an area where we are believing a lie. A wound can be healed, but there is only one way of dealing with the flesh, and that is for the Lord to remove it Himself, His way. Remember, the definition of flesh is getting our God-given needs met through the resources that are under our control, apart from God. The areas where we are not depending on God are where we’re depending on our flesh to get our needs met. By identifying our flesh patterns—how we react when we are under stress—we can start looking objectively at where we are wounded. The stress points where God is letting our flesh fail indicate areas where God wants to uncover and heal a wound. We will look specifically at ways of identifying and overcoming flesh in a later chapter.
3. We’re Not Healed Because The Pain Is Caused By Our Temperament, Not Something That Needs To Be Healed
Our temperament is the unique combination of strengths and weaknesses of mind, will and emotions that God provides for each of us as He chooses. As we discover the way God created us as individuals, we also learn to accept that the way He made us is exactly what He meant us to be in our soul. Just as our physical attributes—hair color, eye color, gender—can influence our perception of ourselves and others, so our soulical attributes—intellect, sense of humor, productivity—can also impact our identity in a negative or positive way. God does not value one hair color over another, nor does He value one temperament, or personality-type, over another, since He gave to each of us exactly what He wanted us to have. Our temperament ain’t broke, so He ain’t gonna fix it! Like our physical attributes, our temperament attributes interfere with the healing process when we allow them, or what society says about them, to influence our beliefs about our identity and the way we relate to God. As God frees our temperament from false expectations, we become free in our soul to be and do as God intends. Thus we learn to live with a free will, free mind and free emotions—free to be available to God for whatever purposes He has, rather than be bound by what we or others say they should be, or what a good Christian should look or act like.
4. We’re Not Healed Because We’re Relying On Strength, Faith Or Understanding That Comes From Ourselves Or Others Rather Than From God
The Lord is jealous over us and the work He is doing in our lives, and wants to have full privileges over our lives. God doesn’t like to be taken for granted—He likes to be asked for healing each time we are wounded. Though He uses other people at times, He likes to be the One Who directs us to them. No one else has the responsibility for you that He has. When we look to others to provide healing, He may even withhold our healing in order to draw us to Himself. Remember that dependence on Him is the goal, not getting healed.
5. We’re Not Healed Because Of God’s Timing
God knows what He has planned for you and He knows when the healing will come. There is always that timing, but don’t settle for not getting healed. Look at the example of Paul. He sought the Lord for release from a particular affliction. He asked three times, over time—I believe years—until he got an answer from God. In his case, the answer was “No, my grace is sufficient for you,” but we need to be like Paul, and seek God for our release until we hear from Him. So let’s not get into the worldly mindset that says “the Lord’s trying to teach me something; when I’ve learned it He’ll heal me.”
6. We’re Not Healed Because It Wouldn’t Be Good For Us
Sometimes God delays our healing because we wouldn’t know how to handle the freedom and responsibility that comes with it. As God works on our healing, He is also at work on other circumstances of our lives, dealing with our flesh, memories, and circumstances. God may delay our healing until certain elements line up. He wants us to receive the full benefits of being healed, including recognizing Him as the healer, so He may even wait until we’ve tried everything we can think of before stepping in. He knows where we’re coming from, and that most of the time all we want is to be set free from our pain. But He has much greater plans, plans that will not only bring us healing, but plans that bring freedom and wholeness into every aspect of our lives.
7. We’re Not Healed Because We Give Up Too Soon
One aspect of God’s character that we now possess in our spiritual nature is persistence. He also uses our need and desire for healing to make this character available to and through our soul. So we don’t want to assume that God doesn’t want to heal us just because He hasn’t healed us so far.
We spend most of our lives trying to make life easier for ourselves, yet Jesus said that in this world we WILL have tribulation. As we come into freedom, we need to hear from Him, to learn His ways, to see what He’s doing. We need to learn to persist, to endure, to continue pressing in, because part of His purpose for us is to rely on Him for motivation and endurance, and to bring us into an intimate relationship with Him. What we want to be able to do is practically learn how to appropriate His endurance. He is so objective and practical, He knows where we’re coming from, and He knows what encouragement we need. Don’t give up, but learn to rely on His strength.
Is there a time to give up? Yes, but only when He says so…and if He does say, “No, my grace is sufficient,” in other words, “depend on Me to make up for what is not healed,” then let it go at that! God is not under any obligation to explain why He does or doesn’t do what we think He should.
8. We’re Not Healed Because There Is A Natural Healing In Progress
God heals us on both the soulical and natural (physical) levels in a variety of ways. Sometimes God heals in an instant, sometimes over time. In the physical plane, there are physical laws. Sometimes God intervenes in these natural laws, sometimes He doesn’t. If we have been abusing our bodies in one way or another, God is not obligated to repair the damage, to keep us from experiencing the effects of poor choices. Yet as we learn to depend on Him, and our soul and body begin to experience rest, natural healing does often come over time. Let the Lord heal you according to His ways, and according to His loving heart toward you.
These are just some of the reasons God doesn’t heal us. In the next chapter we will look at hindrances that may keep us from being healed when God does want to move on our behalf. Though God could easily overcome these hindrances without our involvement, He often lets them interfere in order to bring us into dependence on Him. Not so that we will learn something, or become stronger in our discernment, or even so that we can hear Him better, but so that we enter into a greater rest and confidence in His love, responsibility and honor toward us.
Adapted from Getting Healed by Dianne Thomas