We all hurt - and each one of us yearns for healing and wholeness.
Today a woman came in the door. An absolute skeleton. She has 6 children. 4 are here. The youngest 2 have just been found to be HIV positive as well. Her husband is a moody drunkard. She is terrified of him - last week he took the two children away somewhere. They were returned, but the incident haunts her. So she came with her husband today. As Sheba was talking to them she noticed that both had their heads down. They had fallen asleep.
Who doesn't want to be healed?
But what are we praying for when we ask for healing?
Reading about Jesus as told through the eyes of Mark we see a whirlwind of healing taking place. Hansen's disease (a.k.a. leprosy) is cured, deformities are righted, the lame walk, the blind see. People crowd in from all around hoping that Jesus' shadow will fall on the sick and heal them. And yet in this maelstorm of wellness their is a shadow - the hostile and outraged reception Jesus got when he came home to Nazareth. Almost no one was healed and he was amazed at their lack of faith.
Do we see people healed at JSK?
Sure.
We have Mr. Tamarind who was admitted at the centre in a semi-concious state. His family had given him up for dead and turned to us as a last resort. While with us he started to lose movement on one half of his body.
Today Mr. Tamarind is so well that we hardly see him other than his regular monthly visit to pick up his ART medications. He is so busy with his fabrication business that we cannot imagine that he would have died but for God's answer to our prayers - one of which was His gracious hand upon our work.
There are others of course. The list goes on.
But then we have those for whom we have prayed - and are not with us any more. Did God not hear?
And till now we know of no known person who was well-documented as being infected with HIV and then being completely and totally cured of the virus after prayer. We would so love to be proved wrong on this, but have not had the privilege so far.
Most people with HIV in the world are Christian. At least to some cultural extent. Many are dearly loved followers of Jesus Christ. All have prayed for healing at some time, in some way. That is millions of prayers for healing. Seemingly unanswered.
What is going on?
I think two perspectives are helpful.
One is that every believer with HIV/AIDS who prays for healing will be totally, completely, outrageously healed.
When the Lord Jesus returns in glory - there will be no sorrow, no sickness, no death, no HIV, no AIDS. The Bible is crystal clear on this - in some amazing way, the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God includes total healing. Across the board. For every conceivable malady and deformity and infirmity. Its all going to be gone. AIDS will be total history. Finished.
The prayers said now will be fulfilled at that time completely.
But what about now?
We do see glimpses of glory even now. There are recoveries which beggar the imagination. People have come back from the brink of death and are walking and talking.
Sadly, physical healing does not always translate into whole-person wellness. A number who were at the doorstep of death, and who fervently prayed and are now well physically - are anything but well emotionally, relationally, mentally and spiritually. More than one family has been heard to bitterly say that it would have been better if their family member would have died then...
We do see what we can term as 'works of God' (the Bible uses the word 'miracle' sparingly) - and of course we yearn to see and experience more.
But what is God's view?
A poignant prayer was said by a man called Nick Vujicic - "Lord, if you help me by growing arms and legs - I will go and tell the whole world about you." The answer: silence. For a 15 year old boy who was born without arms and legs and who was starting to trust in a good God that must have been hard. The long-term answer was this: "I want you to go around the world and tell people about Me - as you are - without arms and legs."
I think that is what we have to see in each of our mixed up lives. Healing is possible - and experienced in different ways in each one of us - but one thing God desires even more than our 100% wellness is for us to understand His glory - even if it means we don't get fully well - for now at least.
Not easy by any stretch. One of my neighbours has been vomitting and having diarrhoea for the last 3 months. Continuously. Its hard to see God in all of that.
At the same time we know that Jesus himself was familiar with this suffering - a man of sorrows, acquainted with griefs, by His stripes we are healed.
Today a woman came in the door. An absolute skeleton. She has 6 children. 4 are here. The youngest 2 have just been found to be HIV positive as well. Her husband is a moody drunkard. She is terrified of him - last week he took the two children away somewhere. They were returned, but the incident haunts her. So she came with her husband today. As Sheba was talking to them she noticed that both had their heads down. They had fallen asleep.
Who doesn't want to be healed?
But what are we praying for when we ask for healing?
Reading about Jesus as told through the eyes of Mark we see a whirlwind of healing taking place. Hansen's disease (a.k.a. leprosy) is cured, deformities are righted, the lame walk, the blind see. People crowd in from all around hoping that Jesus' shadow will fall on the sick and heal them. And yet in this maelstorm of wellness their is a shadow - the hostile and outraged reception Jesus got when he came home to Nazareth. Almost no one was healed and he was amazed at their lack of faith.
Do we see people healed at JSK?
Sure.
We have Mr. Tamarind who was admitted at the centre in a semi-concious state. His family had given him up for dead and turned to us as a last resort. While with us he started to lose movement on one half of his body.
Today Mr. Tamarind is so well that we hardly see him other than his regular monthly visit to pick up his ART medications. He is so busy with his fabrication business that we cannot imagine that he would have died but for God's answer to our prayers - one of which was His gracious hand upon our work.
There are others of course. The list goes on.
But then we have those for whom we have prayed - and are not with us any more. Did God not hear?
And till now we know of no known person who was well-documented as being infected with HIV and then being completely and totally cured of the virus after prayer. We would so love to be proved wrong on this, but have not had the privilege so far.
Most people with HIV in the world are Christian. At least to some cultural extent. Many are dearly loved followers of Jesus Christ. All have prayed for healing at some time, in some way. That is millions of prayers for healing. Seemingly unanswered.
What is going on?
I think two perspectives are helpful.
One is that every believer with HIV/AIDS who prays for healing will be totally, completely, outrageously healed.
When the Lord Jesus returns in glory - there will be no sorrow, no sickness, no death, no HIV, no AIDS. The Bible is crystal clear on this - in some amazing way, the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God includes total healing. Across the board. For every conceivable malady and deformity and infirmity. Its all going to be gone. AIDS will be total history. Finished.
The prayers said now will be fulfilled at that time completely.
But what about now?
We do see glimpses of glory even now. There are recoveries which beggar the imagination. People have come back from the brink of death and are walking and talking.
Sadly, physical healing does not always translate into whole-person wellness. A number who were at the doorstep of death, and who fervently prayed and are now well physically - are anything but well emotionally, relationally, mentally and spiritually. More than one family has been heard to bitterly say that it would have been better if their family member would have died then...
We do see what we can term as 'works of God' (the Bible uses the word 'miracle' sparingly) - and of course we yearn to see and experience more.
But what is God's view?
A poignant prayer was said by a man called Nick Vujicic - "Lord, if you help me by growing arms and legs - I will go and tell the whole world about you." The answer: silence. For a 15 year old boy who was born without arms and legs and who was starting to trust in a good God that must have been hard. The long-term answer was this: "I want you to go around the world and tell people about Me - as you are - without arms and legs."
I think that is what we have to see in each of our mixed up lives. Healing is possible - and experienced in different ways in each one of us - but one thing God desires even more than our 100% wellness is for us to understand His glory - even if it means we don't get fully well - for now at least.
Not easy by any stretch. One of my neighbours has been vomitting and having diarrhoea for the last 3 months. Continuously. Its hard to see God in all of that.
At the same time we know that Jesus himself was familiar with this suffering - a man of sorrows, acquainted with griefs, by His stripes we are healed.
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