Healing #1
MK 6: 1-6
Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching.
The problem with believing that God can’t or won’t heal a particular person is that this very belief establishes an environment of "preëmptive totalizing discouragement" which blocks the channel of God’s healing power. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy which is found in other arenas of our lives also. Physicians have long recognized that patients with a positive mental attitude heal faster—and the converse is just as true. Good mental health professionals of all ilks use that to advantage. It’s more than seeing the glass half-empty; it’s a matter of learning to trust that God really does have our best interests in mind and will guide us into better things in life than we could possibly conjure up ourselves with our magnificent brains. Even if he only brings us closer to him through our prayers, more attuned to and accepting of his will, He really does come through! And the most remarkable things occasionally result from prayers for healing—things that can in no way be attributed to coïncidence. I know—I’ve seen them in others and in myself. God really does come through!!
Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching.
The problem with believing that God can’t or won’t heal a particular person is that this very belief establishes an environment of "preëmptive totalizing discouragement" which blocks the channel of God’s healing power. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy which is found in other arenas of our lives also. Physicians have long recognized that patients with a positive mental attitude heal faster—and the converse is just as true. Good mental health professionals of all ilks use that to advantage. It’s more than seeing the glass half-empty; it’s a matter of learning to trust that God really does have our best interests in mind and will guide us into better things in life than we could possibly conjure up ourselves with our magnificent brains. Even if he only brings us closer to him through our prayers, more attuned to and accepting of his will, He really does come through! And the most remarkable things occasionally result from prayers for healing—things that can in no way be attributed to coïncidence. I know—I’ve seen them in others and in myself. God really does come through!!
posted by Bill Stecher at 1:44 PM
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