The biblical meaning of healing is a term referring to the atoning work of Christ, which provides healing for both the mind and the body of the believer. It is done with use of biblical principles and the Holy Spirit (Online Farlex Dictionary, 2023).
When we look at the meaning of atoning it is reconciliation back to God through Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. Looking at both of these meanings from a biblical perspective we see that healing is a process.
We also need to understand what hope is as you go through the healing process. Hope from a biblical perspective is the trust and assurance that God will honor His promises to heal us.
Many people teach and set a false sense of understanding about healing. Some people believe that you magically wake up and you are healed from everything you ever went through overnight, but that is not true.
Even when God’s does a miracle most people endured a lot of discomfort and pain before the miracle happened. After enduring much struggle and hardships they got their breakthrough.
This is not to put God in a box and say He can’t do healing that way, but everything with God is a process. If you have lived long enough, you know this to be true. His word says, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10).
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Yes, faith and hope go together and healing ties in because in order to believe you can be healed the way God sees fit you hope for it. In other words you believe what seems impossible through faith.
Why do I say the way God sees fit because we know of Paul’s thorn that was not taken away (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). We also know some areas in our own lives that may or may not be healed the way we see fit. We may have to endure some things long-term. I know this all too well with mental illness.
It does get overwhelming and hard, and people do say the dumbest things as you endure the suffering. It can feel like God is not listening at your moans, groans, tears, fear, worry, and pain. We do hear and see other people say it is no longer their problem. We may wonder God why did you do it this way with me.
You may be wondering how in the world does all this truth make sense to me, I just want to be healed and delivered. I am with you in that same agony. The tears roll on my end too. It gets too hard to bear sometimes. I know where God has brought me though. I have come to far too give up now. It’s hard to stand in this truth sometimes, but it is true.
Hope and healing are closely knitted together spiritually. We need hope to believe God can do what seems impossible which is heal us spiritually, physically, or both.
I had a friend whose mother was dying, and we prayed and prayed. She passed days later, and we were so hurt. Her daughter said “God did heal mama because now she does not have to suffer anymore”. I could not believe she could see it that way, but she did. I love my mama. I don’t know if I would be able to come to that understanding.
I write this to say God’s will is so much greater than what we have in mind (Isaiah 55:8-9). He sees a far off and He knows things we don’t (Psalm 138:6). I learned in my friend’s loss of her mom that God does things how He wills and sometimes it can’t be explained. It often doesn’t fit into a nice little box of understanding. One thing is true, it is all in His control.
This is whether we accept it or not. Acceptance is another aspect of healing and hope. Will you accept if God says “No” and He does it His way and not the way you had in mind. I think some of the greatest hurts we bear is accepting that God’s will is “No”. It leaves a void and often grief.
I leave you with this, I thought at sixteen my mental illness would be healed. I thought I would not have to bear the diagnosis I was given. It has been almost twenty years. I have accepted that if I live the rest of my life with mental health challenges, I am willing to accept that.
In almost twenty years I am creeping into Paul’s realm of learning how to be abased and abound. It is a rocky road, but it is one to travel with a sense that it is in God’s hands. I’m learning to leave it there, but not forgetting the piece of hope that God is a miracle working God.
We must leave the acceptance of God’s will like footprints in the sand and keep the faith that miracles still happen. This is the art of hope and healing.
Resilient Inspired Spiritual Excellence R.I.S.E. 