Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?
I purchased the perfect mug the other day. Just about anyone who knows me, knows I love coffee and books so if I’m ever missing, try Starbucks or Barnes and Noble. As you might expect, I found the mug in the cafe at B & N.
Of course, the beautiful thing is not the fact that I found something to buy—as I am quite adept in shopping—but it was the message scrawled simply across this cup.
“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.”
Several months ago, I was asked to address a ladies’ meeting. I had recently been through a huge trial and pondered, why would God ask me to address these ladies when I feel so empty right now? I began to pray for God to intercede and give me the words to say; what I didn’t know was that my prayer would lead me to six months of soul-searching and a message that Icouldn’t teach until I had lived it.
Psalm 73:26 states “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”
Lamentations 3:24 says, “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”
The same week that I asked God for a message, I fell. Not once but three times. I’m still uncertain what went wrong. The first time I missed one of the stairs at our home; the second time, I fell four feet face-first off the church platform. I wrenched my shoulder badly. Not only could I not move my arm very well but I couldn’t sneeze, cough, or even breath!
How could I possibly lead our congregation in song when I couldn’t breathe? At the next service, I prayed that God would heal me just so I could minister in song service. Sure enough, I felt instant relief when the service began that night….but after everything was over, the pain returned.
Sitting in my husband’s truck that night on the way home, I asked him, “Why would God do this to me? Why heal me in service and allow the illness to return? What did I do wrong?”
My husband gave a simple shrug and replied, “That’s what you asked for.”
Had I?
You see, we limit our God.
Often, we even think we have to break it down for him or itemize our list of needs. Is he senile that he’ll forget? Is he a government bureaucracy who needs our petitions in triplicate? Are our problems really too much for him?
I’ve even heard preachers guilt saints, persuading them that they cannot ask too much of God. They tell us that God isn’t a ‘glorified bellboy.’ While that is true, we need to firmly understand that He is our healer, our provider, our protector, our savior.
Jesus’ Ministry: Just Who Is He Anyway?
If you want to know how God would love to work in your life, let’s just look at his earthly ministry.
Mark 10 gives us the account of a blind man. He had been blind since birth, never seeing the light of day or even his own mother’s face. Hearing Jesus was passing his way, scripture tells us that he cast away his garment and called out. You see, in those days, beggars wore a particular cloak to mark them as beggars in need of assistance.
But notice, he was so confident that God would heal him that he cast this object that labeled him, that marked him as a VICTIM to the side. We need to cast off our labels today! How do we get them in the first place?
Often, when we struggle, we seek to find a reason. Usually this leads to our selecting a label that fits our condition. “I’m always so burdened down and can’t see the good things in life so I must be depressed.” From that day forward, we stick a flag in the sand marking our identity. “I can’t do this, I can’t do that because I am depressed.” We take on that spirit as our own, not realizing that it is a temporary state; instead, we are adopting it as our identity.
Believe me, I’ve had labels of my own: diabetic, depressed, laid off, personality, anxiety, singlehood, etc. I had so many flags stuck in the sand around me that I was soon compassed about by labels; I had built a prison for myself, unable to minister or live my life because the labels obstructed my faith.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not belittling these very real physical and emotional diseases. They are real…but I know a God who is bigger than they are. And please understand: Just because you battle some of these things does not mean you are not spiritual or living for God. This is simply a time for you to grow and be renewed in the Lord so keep reading.
Just be aware that our labels have a tendency to become our crutch….but they are also what cripples us.
Of course, the beautiful thing is not the fact that I found something to buy—as I am quite adept in shopping—but it was the message scrawled simply across this cup.
“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.”
Several months ago, I was asked to address a ladies’ meeting. I had recently been through a huge trial and pondered, why would God ask me to address these ladies when I feel so empty right now? I began to pray for God to intercede and give me the words to say; what I didn’t know was that my prayer would lead me to six months of soul-searching and a message that Icouldn’t teach until I had lived it.
Psalm 73:26 states “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”
Lamentations 3:24 says, “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”
The same week that I asked God for a message, I fell. Not once but three times. I’m still uncertain what went wrong. The first time I missed one of the stairs at our home; the second time, I fell four feet face-first off the church platform. I wrenched my shoulder badly. Not only could I not move my arm very well but I couldn’t sneeze, cough, or even breath!
How could I possibly lead our congregation in song when I couldn’t breathe? At the next service, I prayed that God would heal me just so I could minister in song service. Sure enough, I felt instant relief when the service began that night….but after everything was over, the pain returned.
Sitting in my husband’s truck that night on the way home, I asked him, “Why would God do this to me? Why heal me in service and allow the illness to return? What did I do wrong?”
My husband gave a simple shrug and replied, “That’s what you asked for.”
Had I?
You see, we limit our God.
Often, we even think we have to break it down for him or itemize our list of needs. Is he senile that he’ll forget? Is he a government bureaucracy who needs our petitions in triplicate? Are our problems really too much for him?
I’ve even heard preachers guilt saints, persuading them that they cannot ask too much of God. They tell us that God isn’t a ‘glorified bellboy.’ While that is true, we need to firmly understand that He is our healer, our provider, our protector, our savior.
Jesus’ Ministry: Just Who Is He Anyway?
If you want to know how God would love to work in your life, let’s just look at his earthly ministry.
Mark 10 gives us the account of a blind man. He had been blind since birth, never seeing the light of day or even his own mother’s face. Hearing Jesus was passing his way, scripture tells us that he cast away his garment and called out. You see, in those days, beggars wore a particular cloak to mark them as beggars in need of assistance.
But notice, he was so confident that God would heal him that he cast this object that labeled him, that marked him as a VICTIM to the side. We need to cast off our labels today! How do we get them in the first place?
Often, when we struggle, we seek to find a reason. Usually this leads to our selecting a label that fits our condition. “I’m always so burdened down and can’t see the good things in life so I must be depressed.” From that day forward, we stick a flag in the sand marking our identity. “I can’t do this, I can’t do that because I am depressed.” We take on that spirit as our own, not realizing that it is a temporary state; instead, we are adopting it as our identity.
Believe me, I’ve had labels of my own: diabetic, depressed, laid off, personality, anxiety, singlehood, etc. I had so many flags stuck in the sand around me that I was soon compassed about by labels; I had built a prison for myself, unable to minister or live my life because the labels obstructed my faith.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not belittling these very real physical and emotional diseases. They are real…but I know a God who is bigger than they are. And please understand: Just because you battle some of these things does not mean you are not spiritual or living for God. This is simply a time for you to grow and be renewed in the Lord so keep reading.
Just be aware that our labels have a tendency to become our crutch….but they are also what cripples us.
Luke 8 tells us of another man with a need; this time a messenger approached the man while he listened to Jesus teach. His daughter was dead. Jesus, upon hearing of the need, said “Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.”
In Luke 17, we find ten lepers who were healed but one returned to give God thanks. Notice Jesus’ comment to him, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”
What was the common denominator between these healings?
** Yes, they all had needs.
** Yes, they each had faith.
** But notice, in the last account, there was a difference between healing and being made whole.
Jesus didn’t stop at healing the sick or reviving the dead, he took it a step further….wholeness.
I’m reminded of the woman with an issue of blood:
** She sought every doctor, every medical device she could find. Her hours were spent in mental anguish, hoping to find a cure.
** She had spent all of her finances; she was made destitute yet remained ill.
** Having an issue of blood under Hebrew law would have made her an outcast, unable to even enter the temple.
** Everything was against her!
Notice when she approaches the Master though: “And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment.For she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole."
Sadly, she didn’t feel worthy to face Jesus and ask for what she needed; she just knew that if she could touch him, everything would be alright.
“ But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour”(Matt. 9:20-22).
When this woman touched God, she was made whole.
** First, without the issue of blood, her body gained strength. She could reach for her dreams again with new energy and hope. Her mind and body were repaired.
** Second, not only did she regain mental and physical health but she could be accepted into society and into the temple again. She was renewed spiritually and her relationships with others were mended.
** Finally, not having to exhaust her finances seeking medical advice would soon lead to renewed financial stability. Even her finances could be made whole!
Just what does it mean to be whole?
free of defect or impairment,
physically sound and healthy,
free of disease or deformity,
mentally or emotionally sound,
having all its proper parts or components,
constituting the total sum or undiminished entirety,
constituting an undivided unit,
constituting the entirety of a person’s nature or development,
including everything without exception,
a state of being to which nothing need be added,
implying that everything has been counted, weighed, measured, or considered and is present and functioning correctly…..Merriam-Webster
That means that when you are made whole, it’s not just physical; there is mental, spiritual, emotional, inter-relational, even financial healing that can—and will—take place.
Often, I’ve heard preachers scoff at ‘prosperity’ churches who only preach about the blessings of God and ignore the plan of salvation, the need for godly living, and the commandments of the Lord. While they are right to assert that we must preach the whole gospel, we must be certain not to shun the benevolent, lovingkindness of our God either just to compensate for their error.
I’m reminded of when King David and his men lost their wives to a band of Amalekites in I Samuel 30. David consulted the Lord and asked that everything be restored to him and his men. This man knew how to pray. He didn’t just ask for the wives: “God, can I just have my wife back—even if she needs a lot of therapy?” No, he asked for complete restoration.
God’s simple response? “Go Up”
Notice, in the earlier examples, Jesus would command them to “go thy way.” We will always be expected to act on our faith!
After the ensuing battle, scripture records “And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken tothem: David recovered all” (I Sam. 30:19).
How did he do it? Was there some special formula?
Really, there isn’t a series of magical buttons to push with God. Instead, there are mindsets within ourselves we must change. We need to change our approach and ourexpectations—or lack thereof.
First, David asked for all that he needed. Stop limiting God; there is no quota or limitation on what you can pray about! Ask him to make you whole!
Second, David acted on his faith. He went to face the enemy on just two words from God: “Go up.” Stop worrying about tactics, preparation, logistics of how it could be done; just act in faith as if your miracle is already visible.
For instance, if you are expecting company at your house, what do you do? You clean the house, vacuum the floors, prepare a meal, or even tidy the guestroom. That’s real faith. Sometimes we put more faith in our long lost Auntie Sue than in God. We don’t see our guest at our home yet but….They SAID they were coming so you BELIEVE it and as a result of your belief, you ACT ON IT!
Jesus said, “I am come that ye might have life and that more abundantly.”
He said it but your actions will tell if you believe it.
** How would you act if you knew your finances were going to be fixed?
** How would you respond if you knew that your body is being completely healed?
Just like the woman with the issue of blood, countless men and women in scripture reached out and received wholeness. Mark 6:56 says, “And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.”
All you need to do is touch him!
It’s similar to the Pool of Silome mentioned in John 5: The sick would gather around it and once a year, an angel would plunge into the pool. “Whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.”
Notice, anyone who got into the flow was made whole. Lepers, instead of just halting the disease through healing, received missing limbs back to life as they were made complete again!
It’s about touching him. Not praying until you just feel better, speak in a heavenly language, or meet your pre-selected time allotment. It’s time to pray until you are saturated with God….until you are so controlled by His Spirit that you no longer exist but it is He who lives through your body.
Finally, we must relinquish the VICTIM mentality. Never did King David whine about his losses; he knew who he was. He was a child of God; he knew he could ask his heavenly Father for anything.
Often, we live just beneath our privileges. I’m reminded of the tribe of Gad after the Israelites were delivered from Egypt. The tribes were required to live just outside of the Promised Land for a time. When it came time for them to go in and take the land for their own, the tribe of Gad had gotten too accustomed to living beneath their privileges. They petitioned Joshua for “grace to stay” in the land outside Canaan. They offered to fight the same battles but rejected vineyards that had already been planted, cities that had already been built, and a land flowing with milk and honey. They rejected God’s divine promises and new life in Him in exchange for “grace” to live like they always had outside the borders of protection and promise.
Abundant Life Through Obedience and Faith Or Grace To Stay Outside, A Victim
Whether it was desire to make their own path aside from God’s plan for them or the possibility that they just couldn’t visualize the promises, they missed out.
So many of us are part of that tribe of Gad. Instead of praying for healing for our bodies, our minds, our families, our finances, and our emotions, we pray: “God, help me just endure it.” We thrive on being the victim when we could so easily be the victor!
John 6:39 says, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing.”
Give your trials, your shortcomings, your problems, and even your misgivings to God; He will lose nothing.
Matthew 16:25 says, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
