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Prayer Unfiltered: By His Stripes We Are Healed—Does God Promise Physical Healing? · The Father's Business Podcast

0:04
SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, I'm Kimberly.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: And I'm Elizabeth, and this is the Father's Business Podcast, born out of Sylvia Gunter's heart for people to know who God is and who they are in him.
0:15
SPEAKER_01: So wherever you're listening from today, we pray that you will sense his nearness and know that you are his beloved sons and daughters.
0:23
SPEAKER_01: We're really glad you're here with us today.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: Hi everyone, welcome back to the Father's Business Podcast.
0:31
SPEAKER_01: We are continuing our series, Prayer Unfiltered, where we've been answering or attempting to have conversations around questions about prayer.
0:40
SPEAKER_01: And today we really want to tackle another honest conversation about prayer and faith and where they intersect, particularly with regard to healing.
0:49
SPEAKER_01: There is a verse in Isaiah that says, by his stripes we are healed.
0:54
SPEAKER_01: And we want to talk about that today.
0:55
SPEAKER_01: If you've been around church for any length of time, you've probably heard those words.
1:00
SPEAKER_01: Maybe someone quoted them to you, maybe someone quoted them over you when you were sick.
1:05
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've prayed them over someone that you love.
1:08
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've clung to those verses and those words during a frightening diagnosis.
1:13
SPEAKER_01: But what do those words actually mean?
1:16
SPEAKER_01: Do they promise every believer that we will be physically healed in this life?
1:21
SPEAKER_01: And if they do, what do we do with the people who aren't healed or who weren't healed?
1:27
SPEAKER_01: These aren't just theological questions.
1:30
SPEAKER_01: For me, these are very personal questions that I've wrestled with for a long time.
1:33
SPEAKER_01: Can I be honest with you for a minute?
1:35
SPEAKER_01: There was a time in my life when this verse wasn't just something I was studying.
1:39
SPEAKER_01: It was something I was deeply, deeply wrestling with.
1:42
SPEAKER_01: Years ago, my dad was diagnosed with cancer, and like so many families, ours was suddenly thrown into a world of chaos.
1:49
SPEAKER_01: Doctor's appointments, treatments, scans, waiting rooms, decisions, prayers felt more desperate than eloquent.
1:55
SPEAKER_01: And I believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that God could heal my dad.
2:00
SPEAKER_01: I actually believed that God was going to heal my dad.
2:03
SPEAKER_01: Not because I thought faith was some kind of formula, not because I believed I could somehow force God's hand.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: I believed God could heal because I'd read the scriptures where he had.
2:14
SPEAKER_01: I'd read through the gospels where Jesus had healed people.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: I read James, where we're told to pray for the sick.
2:20
SPEAKER_01: And I knew that God was able.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: So we prayed, our family prayed, our church prayed, our friends prayed.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: We asked God to heal my dad, but he didn't physically heal my dad on this earth.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: My dad died.
2:33
SPEAKER_01: And if I'm being completely honest with you, the hardest question really wasn't why didn't God heal my dad?
2:40
SPEAKER_01: The hardest question that haunted me was, God, are you really good?
2:45
SPEAKER_01: I went right to his character.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: And I know that's probably not the kind of thing that we as Christians are supposed to put out on social media and tell the world about.
2:53
SPEAKER_01: It's not the kind of question we usually admit out loud.
2:56
SPEAKER_01: But grief has a way of exposing what's really going on in our hearts.
3:00
SPEAKER_01: And I wasn't questioning whether God existed.
3:03
SPEAKER_01: I wasn't walking away from my faith.
3:05
SPEAKER_01: I was genuinely wrestling with his character.
3:09
SPEAKER_01: Somewhere in my mind, I had connected God's goodness to getting the outcome I wanted.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: If God healed my dad, God was good.
3:17
SPEAKER_01: If he didn't, well, what was I supposed to think?
3:20
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you've been there.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it wasn't your dad.
3:22
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it was your spouse, your mom, your child, the best friend.
3:26
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you prayed with everything you had, and the answer still wasn't what you hoped for.
3:31
SPEAKER_01: Or maybe you're there right now.
3:33
SPEAKER_01: And if that's you, I want you to know something before we go any further.
3:37
SPEAKER_01: You are not alone.
3:38
SPEAKER_01: And you're not a bad Christian because you've asked hard questions.
3:42
SPEAKER_01: In fact, the Bible is filled with people who have asked them.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: David asked them, Job asked them, Jeremiah asked them, even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.
3:54
SPEAKER_01: We have said over and over again on this podcast that God is not intimidated by our questions.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: He's inviting us to bring them to him.
4:03
SPEAKER_01: And that's exactly what I want us to do today.
4:05
SPEAKER_01: You know, I've realized over the years that this conversation really isn't just about healing.
4:10
SPEAKER_01: Healing is the doorway.
4:11
SPEAKER_01: The deeper question is this can I trust the goodness of God when he doesn't heal someone?
4:18
SPEAKER_01: When he doesn't answer the prayer that I desperately wanted him to answer, when he doesn't come through like I've asked him to.
4:24
SPEAKER_01: That's the question beneath the question of where is God when there is no healing?
4:29
SPEAKER_01: Because if we're honest, most of us don't struggle believing that God can heal.
4:35
SPEAKER_01: We struggle trusting him when he doesn't.
4:38
SPEAKER_01: So before we even look at Isaiah 53, before we talk about Hebrew words or theological concepts and principles and truths, I want you to hear this.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: If you've ever stood beside a bed, a hospital bed, a hospice bed, a bed in the bedroom of your loved one, if you've ever sat in a waiting room, if you've ever buried someone that you begged and pleaded with God to heal, this episode is for you.
5:02
SPEAKER_01: If you've ever prayed for God to heal you, this episode is for you.
5:06
SPEAKER_01: And my prayer for you, for all of us, isn't simply that you'll understand a verse better.
5:12
SPEAKER_01: My prayer is that you'll leave, after listening to this podcast, trusting God's heart more deeply than when you started.
5:18
SPEAKER_01: Because by the end of this episode, I hope you'll see something that I had to learn and continue to have to learn.
5:25
SPEAKER_01: But originally I had to learn this through one of the hardest seasons of my life.
5:29
SPEAKER_01: God's goodness isn't measured by whether he answers every prayer the way I want.
5:35
SPEAKER_01: So let's look at scripture and what it has to say.
5:37
SPEAKER_01: One of the things I've learned over the years is that we love our favorite Bible verses.
5:40
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we love them so much that we forget to read the verses around them.
5:44
SPEAKER_01: I've done it.
5:45
SPEAKER_01: You've probably done it too.
5:46
SPEAKER_01: We put verses on t-shirts and coffee mugs, we post them on Instagram, we memorize them, and that's wonderful because we need to call to mind the truth of God's word.
5:56
SPEAKER_01: And yet context matters, because a verse can never mean what it was never intended to mean.
6:03
SPEAKER_01: So before we decide what the phrase by his stripes we are healed means, let's look at Isaiah 53, starting in verse 4.
6:11
SPEAKER_01: Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.
6:24
SPEAKER_01: The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: Notice what Isaiah is talking about grief, sorrow, sin, transgression, iniquity, peace, healing.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: This passage is much bigger than physical sickness alone.
6:42
SPEAKER_01: Isaiah is painting a picture of the suffering Messiah who would come to bear everything that sin had brought into this world.
6:50
SPEAKER_01: The brokenness, the suffering, the separation, death.
6:54
SPEAKER_01: It's all here in these verses.
6:56
SPEAKER_01: And that's where we have to begin.
6:58
SPEAKER_01: Because if we start with only one phrase, bias stripes, we are healed.
7:02
SPEAKER_01: Without reading everything around it, we may ask the passage to answer a question it was never intended to answer.
7:07
SPEAKER_01: So let's take our time.
7:08
SPEAKER_01: Let's look at how the rest of Scripture uses these verses.
7:11
SPEAKER_01: Because when we do, I think we'll discover something even more beautiful than many of us has realized.
7:16
SPEAKER_01: Let's begin with how the New Testament understands Isaiah's words.
7:20
SPEAKER_01: Before we jump into the New Testament's understanding, I want to say something that's really important.
7:24
SPEAKER_01: Faithful Christians who love Jesus and believe Scripture, they don't all land in the same place on this passage.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: And that's good for us to remember.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we can make it sound like there's only one possible way to understand a verse, and if someone disagrees, they must not believe the Bible.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: And that's just not true.
7:41
SPEAKER_01: The Bible is complex.
7:42
SPEAKER_01: God is bigger than we are.
7:44
SPEAKER_01: This isn't a debate between people who love Scripture and people who don't.
7:48
SPEAKER_01: It's a conversation among believers who are sincerely trying to understand what God has said.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: So let's walk through what the New Testament does with Isaiah 53, because the New Testament is really the best interpreter of the Old Testament.
8:01
SPEAKER_01: When Peter quotes Isaiah in 1 Peter 2, verses 24 and 25, listen to what he says.
8:07
SPEAKER_01: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
8:15
SPEAKER_01: By his stripes you were healed.
8:17
SPEAKER_01: For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
8:23
SPEAKER_01: Do you notice Peter's emphasis here?
8:25
SPEAKER_01: He's specifically talking about sin, righteousness, returning to God, being brought back to the shepherd.
8:31
SPEAKER_01: He is clearly talking about our spiritual restoration.
8:35
SPEAKER_01: Through the death of Jesus, we've been forgiven.
8:38
SPEAKER_01: We've been reconciled to God.
8:39
SPEAKER_01: We've been made new.
8:40
SPEAKER_01: So there's absolutely no question that Isaiah 53 includes spiritual healing.
8:45
SPEAKER_01: In fact, I would say that's the primary emphasis Peter draws from this passage.
8:49
SPEAKER_01: And yet that's not the end of the story because Matthew says something fascinating as well.
8:52
SPEAKER_01: Now he is quoting Isaiah in chapter 8, and he's quoting a different part of the verse.
8:57
SPEAKER_01: This is after Jesus heals crowds of sick people, Matthew writes that this fulfilled what Isaiah said.
9:04
SPEAKER_01: In verse 16, when evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word, and he healed all the sick.
9:11
SPEAKER_01: This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah.
9:15
SPEAKER_01: He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.
9:18
SPEAKER_01: Now Matthew directly connects Isaiah's prophecy with Jesus' physical healing ministry.
9:24
SPEAKER_01: So what do we do with that?
9:26
SPEAKER_01: Well, we don't ignore either passage, honestly.
9:29
SPEAKER_01: Peter is emphasizing spiritual healing.
9:31
SPEAKER_01: Matthew is connecting Isaiah to physical healing.
9:34
SPEAKER_01: That tells me Isaiah's prophecy is bigger than either one by itself.
9:38
SPEAKER_01: Jesus didn't just come to forgive our sins.
9:40
SPEAKER_01: He came to undo everything that sin brought into the world.
9:44
SPEAKER_01: That is why he is going to go on to create a new heaven and a new earth.
9:48
SPEAKER_01: He came to undo sin, brokenness, disease, death, the whole curse, which leads us to the real question.
9:56
SPEAKER_01: And I think this is where many conversations about healing get off track.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: The question isn't, can God heal?
10:03
SPEAKER_01: Of course he can.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: The question isn't even, did Jesus make healing possible through his work on the cross?
10:10
SPEAKER_01: I believe the answer to that is yes.
10:12
SPEAKER_01: The real question is this: when does God promise the fullness of that healing?
10:17
SPEAKER_01: Is it guaranteed in this life?
10:19
SPEAKER_01: Or is its ultimate fulfillment still to come?
10:22
SPEAKER_01: That's where Christians have reached different conclusions.
10:25
SPEAKER_01: Let's briefly walk through the three most common ways that believers understand this passage.
10:30
SPEAKER_01: The first view says Isaiah is talking primarily about spiritual healing.
10:35
SPEAKER_01: Jesus bore our sins, he reconciled us to God, he healed the deepest problem humanity has, which is our separation from him.
10:42
SPEAKER_01: And people who hold this view simply don't believe Isaiah is promising that every believer will recover from every disease before they die.
10:51
SPEAKER_01: The second view says physical healing was purchased by Christ in the same way that forgiveness was purchased.
10:58
SPEAKER_01: In this understanding, healing belongs to every believer.
11:03
SPEAKER_01: Now, if we receive forgiveness by faith, we should also receive physical healing by faith.
11:10
SPEAKER_01: Now, before I say anything else, I want to acknowledge something.
11:13
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate the heart behind this view.
11:15
SPEAKER_01: It takes God seriously, it encourages bold faith, and it reminds us that we serve a God who still works miracles.
11:23
SPEAKER_01: And I never want us to become so cautious because of disappointment that we stop asking God to do the impossible.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: We should pray boldly.
11:32
SPEAKER_01: We should ask expectantly.
11:35
SPEAKER_01: We should never act as though miracles ended with the book of Acts.
11:39
SPEAKER_01: But here's where I struggle.
11:41
SPEAKER_01: The New Testament self doesn't seem to fit that conclusion.
11:45
SPEAKER_01: Paul left Trophimus sick.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: Timothy had recurring stomach problems.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: Ephroditus became so sick he almost died.
11:52
SPEAKER_01: Paul himself prayed repeatedly for what he called his thorn in the flesh to be removed.
11:58
SPEAKER_01: And God didn't remove it.
11:59
SPEAKER_01: Instead, he said, My grace is sufficient for you.
12:03
SPEAKER_01: Now here's the best part.
12:10
SPEAKER_01: None of them were outside God's will.
12:12
SPEAKER_01: So I don't think we can honestly say that every sickness is the result of insufficient faith.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: Scripture simply doesn't support that.
12:21
SPEAKER_01: And can I lovingly say something?
12:23
SPEAKER_01: If you've ever had someone tell you that your loved one wasn't healed because you didn't have enough faith, I am so sorry.
12:32
SPEAKER_01: That burden isn't one that Jesus asked you to carry.
12:35
SPEAKER_01: The third view is often called the already and not yet view of God's kingdom.
12:40
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I mean.
12:41
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus died and rose again, he defeated sin.
12:44
SPEAKER_01: He defeated Satan.
12:45
SPEAKER_01: He defeated death.
12:46
SPEAKER_01: He defeated sickness.
12:48
SPEAKER_01: The victory has already been won.
12:50
SPEAKER_01: But we haven't yet experienced every part of that victory.
12:54
SPEAKER_01: Think about it.
12:55
SPEAKER_01: Have you been forgiven?
12:57
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: Do you have the Holy Spirit?
12:59
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
13:00
SPEAKER_01: Have you been adopted into God's family?
13:02
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
13:03
SPEAKER_01: Those are present realities.
13:05
SPEAKER_01: But do Christians still grow old?
13:08
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
13:08
SPEAKER_01: Do believers still get sick?
13:10
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
13:10
SPEAKER_01: Do followers of Jesus still die?
13:13
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
13:13
SPEAKER_01: Romans 8 tells us that we are still waiting, waiting for the redemption of our bodies.
13:20
SPEAKER_01: I love that verse because it explains so much.
13:23
SPEAKER_01: We live between two realities.
13:26
SPEAKER_01: The kingdom has already broken into this world, but it hasn't yet come into all of its fullness.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: So yes, God heals today, my friends.
13:36
SPEAKER_01: I've seen him do it.
13:37
SPEAKER_01: I've heard incredible testimonies.
13:40
SPEAKER_01: I absolutely believe that miracles still happen.
13:43
SPEAKER_01: But every healing we experience now is a preview, a foretaste, a glimpse of what's coming, because one day every believer will be healed.
13:53
SPEAKER_01: Every disease will be gone.
13:54
SPEAKER_01: Everybody will be made whole.
13:57
SPEAKER_01: Cancer will lose forever.
13:59
SPEAKER_01: Death will lose forever.
14:01
SPEAKER_01: Not because we've claimed the right promise, but because Jesus has already won the victory.
14:07
SPEAKER_01: And one day we'll experience all of it.
14:10
SPEAKER_01: Can I tell you why this matters so much to me?
14:12
SPEAKER_01: Because after my dad died, I desperately needed a theology that could hold both my Bible and the truth and my experience and my reality.
14:22
SPEAKER_01: I couldn't deny what I'd read in scripture that Jesus heals and that God still heals, and that prayer matters, but I also couldn't deny standing by the bed when my dad took his last breath.
14:33
SPEAKER_01: So what do you do when both are true?
14:35
SPEAKER_01: Romans 8.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: We live in the tension.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: We pray boldly, we ask confidently.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: I filled up an entire journal begging and pleading with God.
14:45
SPEAKER_01: We believe God is able, and at the same time, we recognize that the fullness of what Jesus purchased may not be experienced and won't be experienced fully until he returns.
14:57
SPEAKER_01: Friend, that isn't a lack of faith.
15:00
SPEAKER_01: It's biblical hope.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: Because our hope has never been limited to this life on this earth with this breath.
15:07
SPEAKER_01: Our hope is ultimately in the resurrection of Jesus.
15:11
SPEAKER_01: And that's what makes the gospel good news.
15:13
SPEAKER_01: Because the best healing is still ahead.
15:16
SPEAKER_01: And yet that still leaves one really important question.
15:19
SPEAKER_01: If healing isn't guaranteed in every situation, why do we keep praying for it?
15:24
SPEAKER_01: I'll be honest, that question is a question that so many people ask.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's the question you've been asking while you're even listening to this.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: If healing isn't guaranteed, then why should I even pray?
15:36
SPEAKER_01: If God already knows what he's gonna do, if people still die, if we've all known faithful believers who weren't healed, then why ask?
15:44
SPEAKER_01: Can I tell you something?
15:45
SPEAKER_01: That's a fair question.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: In fact, one of the reasons I wanted to do this episode is because I think sometimes in the church we've given answers that are far too quick for questions that deserve time.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: It's easy to say, just have faith.
15:59
SPEAKER_01: It's much harder to sit beside someone who's just buried the person that they've begged God to heal.
16:06
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes there are not easy answers.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: There are biblical ones, but there are not always easy ones.
16:12
SPEAKER_01: So why do we pray?
16:14
SPEAKER_01: The first reason's pretty simple.
16:16
SPEAKER_01: Because Jesus invites us to.
16:18
SPEAKER_01: Throughout the gospels, Jesus invites people to ask, to seek.
16:21
SPEAKER_01: He tells the elders of the church to pray over the sick, not because healing is guaranteed every time.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: A few weeks ago we talked about fasting.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: We don't just fast because God's gonna guarantee an outcome.
16:33
SPEAKER_01: Healing is not guaranteed every time, but we pray because God has chosen to work through the prayers of his people.
16:40
SPEAKER_01: Now, do I fully understand how God's sovereignty and our prayers fit together?
16:45
SPEAKER_01: No.
16:46
SPEAKER_01: It's where we started this prayer podcast.
16:48
SPEAKER_01: We do not begin to understand the purpose, the providence, and the sovereignty of God.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: But if someone tells you they've got it all figured out, please be careful.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: There are mysteries in Scripture that we're called to trust even if we can't fully understand them.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: But what I do know is this the God who already knows the end from the beginning still tells me to pray.
17:11
SPEAKER_01: So I do.
17:12
SPEAKER_01: Not because I understand everything for sure, but because I trust the one who told me to ask and to pray and to seek.
17:20
SPEAKER_01: And this is where we get ourselves into trouble sometimes.
17:23
SPEAKER_01: Without realizing it, we can begin treating prayer like a formula.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: If I say the right words, if I believe hard enough, if I don't have a single doubt, then God has to do what I'm asking.
17:36
SPEAKER_01: He has to show up.
17:37
SPEAKER_01: But that's not relationship, friends, that's control.
17:40
SPEAKER_01: And if we've said anything through this series, it's that prayer was never meant to be a way of controlling God.
17:47
SPEAKER_01: Prayer is how we commune with him.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: It's how we bring our hearts to him.
17:53
SPEAKER_01: It's how we have a relationship with him.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: It's how we place what we love most into his hands.
17:59
SPEAKER_01: Can I ask you this?
18:00
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever noticed that even Jesus prayed this way?
18:03
SPEAKER_01: In the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing what was ahead, Jesus prayed, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.
18:11
SPEAKER_01: He wasn't pretending he didn't want another way.
18:14
SPEAKER_01: He told his father exactly what was on his heart.
18:17
SPEAKER_01: And then he prayed these words, yet not my will, but yours be done.
18:22
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes people hear that and they think, well, that was such a lack of faith.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: I actually think it was perfect faith.
18:28
SPEAKER_01: It was asking boldly while trusting completely.
18:33
SPEAKER_01: And friends, that's the kind of faith I want.
18:36
SPEAKER_01: Then we look at Paul.
18:37
SPEAKER_01: If anyone could have expected a miracle, surely it was Paul.
18:41
SPEAKER_01: He planted churches, he performed miracles, he saw people healed.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: Yet Paul tells us that he pleaded with the Lord three times to remove what he called the thorn in the flesh.
18:52
SPEAKER_01: We don't know exactly what that thorn was.
18:54
SPEAKER_01: Scholars have debated it for centuries, but whatever it was, it was clear Paul wanted it gone.
18:59
SPEAKER_01: And what was God's answer?
19:01
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't yes.
19:02
SPEAKER_01: It wasn't even later.
19:03
SPEAKER_01: He simply said, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
19:10
SPEAKER_01: Think about that.
19:11
SPEAKER_01: Paul's prayer wasn't wrong, but it wasn't answered the way he hoped.
19:15
SPEAKER_01: Unanswered prayer is not the same thing as failed prayer.
19:19
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you need to hear that today.
19:21
SPEAKER_01: Unanswered prayer is not failed prayer.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it's no, sometimes it's wait, but every prayer offered in faith is heard by a father who loves his children.
19:35
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk for just a minute about something that I think we may have misunderstood.
19:39
SPEAKER_01: I think many people have started believing that faith means we never doubt, we never question, we never feel afraid.
19:46
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's not what we see in scripture.
19:48
SPEAKER_01: There's a story in Mark 9 where a desperate father brings his son to Jesus and he says, Lord, I believe.
19:54
SPEAKER_01: Help my unbelief.
19:56
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: Why?
19:59
SPEAKER_01: Because it's honest.
20:00
SPEAKER_01: It's so honest.
20:02
SPEAKER_01: He says, I believe.
20:04
SPEAKER_01: And he struggled at the same time.
20:07
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever been there?
20:08
SPEAKER_01: Because I have.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: After my dad died, I still believed God and I had questions.
20:13
SPEAKER_01: I still believed he was able, but I didn't understand.
20:17
SPEAKER_01: And for a while, I thought those questions meant that my faith was weak.
20:21
SPEAKER_01: And to be honest, there were people that told me my faith was weak.
20:24
SPEAKER_01: But God slowly showed me something.
20:27
SPEAKER_01: Faith isn't pretending you don't have questions.
20:30
SPEAKER_01: Faith is actually bringing your questions to the one who already knows those questions.
20:35
SPEAKER_01: Faith isn't denying the tears, it's not denying the grief.
20:39
SPEAKER_01: Faith is crying in the presence of God instead of running from him.
20:44
SPEAKER_01: Faith isn't certainty about the outcome.
20:47
SPEAKER_01: Faith is confidence in the character of God.
20:49
SPEAKER_01: And there's a big difference.
20:51
SPEAKER_01: I recall a time where I was more certain of the outcome of God healing my dad than I was about the character.
20:59
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's why I questioned the character of God.
21:02
SPEAKER_01: Friends, if you've ever been told that your loved one wasn't healed because you didn't have enough faith, would you let me help you lay that burden down?
21:10
SPEAKER_01: That isn't what we see in Scripture.
21:13
SPEAKER_01: Jesus never, ever looked at grieving families and said, if only you had believed a little bit more.
21:18
SPEAKER_01: Paul never taught that every faithful believer would be healed in this life.
21:22
SPEAKER_01: Please hear my heart.
21:23
SPEAKER_01: I absolutely believe that faith matters.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: Jesus commended faith.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: He responded to faith.
21:29
SPEAKER_01: He honored faith.
21:31
SPEAKER_01: But faith is trust.
21:32
SPEAKER_01: It isn't a spiritual force that makes God do what we want.
21:36
SPEAKER_01: We do not get to control God.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes faith looks like celebrating a miracle, and sometimes faith looks like sitting beside a hospital bed.
21:46
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes faith looks like standing at a graveside with tears streaming down your face and whispering, Lord, I still trust you.
21:55
SPEAKER_01: God, I'm not sure if I can trust you.
21:57
SPEAKER_01: Lord, I still want to trust you.
21:59
SPEAKER_01: Help me to Trust you.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Friends, don't let anyone convince you that your grief is evidence of weak faith.
22:05
SPEAKER_01: Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus.
22:08
SPEAKER_01: He knew resurrection was coming and he still wept.
22:12
SPEAKER_01: Grief and faith can exist together.
22:15
SPEAKER_01: In fact, they often do.
22:17
SPEAKER_01: So why do I still pray for healing?
22:20
SPEAKER_01: I pray because God can heal.
22:22
SPEAKER_01: I pray because Jesus told me to ask for healing.
22:25
SPEAKER_01: I pray because love always hopes.
22:28
SPEAKER_01: I pray because miracles still happen.
22:30
SPEAKER_01: I pray because I don't know what God is gonna do.
22:33
SPEAKER_01: I don't know when he might intervene.
22:35
SPEAKER_01: I don't know when a scan might come back different than expected.
22:38
SPEAKER_01: I don't know when a doctor might say, Well, we sure can't explain this.
22:42
SPEAKER_01: So I ask boldly, expectantly, hopefully, and honestly, in a lot of fear, because I don't like being disappointed.
22:50
SPEAKER_01: But I don't pray for healing because I think I can control God.
22:54
SPEAKER_01: I pray for healing because I know he loves to hear the voice of his children.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: And even when the answer isn't the one I hoped for, and even when I'm scared to death of what that answer might be, that prayer was not wasted.
23:06
SPEAKER_01: Because every prayer draws my heart closer to the heart of my father.
23:10
SPEAKER_01: Every prayer reminds me I'm not carrying the burden alone.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: Every prayer says, God, I trust you, help me trust you with someone I love.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: And that is never wasted.
23:21
SPEAKER_01: So looking back, would I still pray for my dad knowing the outcome?
23:25
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
23:25
SPEAKER_01: I would, without hesitation, not because I know it would change the outcome, but because I know I loved him.
23:31
SPEAKER_01: And how could I not ask for healing if I loved him so much?
23:34
SPEAKER_01: How could I not bring the person I loved most before the God I loved most?
23:38
SPEAKER_01: I would pray every one of those prayers again because prayer was not about convincing God to care.
23:43
SPEAKER_01: He already cared more than I ever could.
23:47
SPEAKER_01: Prayer was my way of placing my dad into the hands of the one who loved him even more than I did.
23:54
SPEAKER_01: And maybe that's where you are today.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're praying for someone right now.
23:58
SPEAKER_01: Can I encourage you?
24:00
SPEAKER_01: Keep praying.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: Pray boldly, pray specifically, pray expectantly, and at the same time hold tightly to God while holding loosely to the outcome.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: It's not weak faith, it's surrendered faith.
24:15
SPEAKER_01: And it's hard.
24:16
SPEAKER_01: So after years of wrestling, after searching the scripture, do you know where God eventually brought me?
24:21
SPEAKER_01: Not to a place where I had every answer, that's for sure.
24:24
SPEAKER_01: I wish I could be before you today and tell you that one day God explained everything to me.
24:29
SPEAKER_01: He didn't.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: I still don't know why.
24:32
SPEAKER_01: I don't know why he healed other people and not my dad.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: I don't know why one family gets the miracle they've been praying for and our family had to plan a funeral.
24:41
SPEAKER_01: I still don't know why two people can have the same diagnosis with different outcomes, that the same praying church, that the same faith, that the same people can have two very different outcomes.
24:51
SPEAKER_01: I really don't know.
24:52
SPEAKER_01: But what brought me peace is the Bible doesn't pretend to answer every one of those questions.
24:57
SPEAKER_01: There are things this side of heaven that we simply will not understand, and for a long time all I wanted was to understand.
25:05
SPEAKER_01: And I kept thinking that if I could just find the understanding, the right verse, the right words, one more book, one more theological argument, if I could finally make sense of what happened, then I would be okay.
25:17
SPEAKER_01: But that's not where God met me.
25:19
SPEAKER_01: He actually met me somewhere much deeper.
25:21
SPEAKER_01: He met me in his character.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: And I realized I had a choice to make.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: I could spend the rest of my life demanding answers that God never promises to give, or I could lay down the wrestling and trust the God I had known before cancer had ever entered my life in this way.
25:34
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean I ignored my questions.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: Many of them are still there.
25:37
SPEAKER_01: Doesn't mean I stopped grieving.
25:39
SPEAKER_01: Even after twenty two years, there is still grief.
25:41
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean I suddenly understood everything.
25:44
SPEAKER_01: It just means I stopped making the answers the foundation of my faith.
25:49
SPEAKER_01: Answers make a terrible foundation.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: They're not stable.
25:53
SPEAKER_01: There's always another question, there's always another mystery, there's always another situation that we can't explain.
25:59
SPEAKER_01: But God's character doesn't change.
26:01
SPEAKER_01: Malachi says, I the Lord do not change.
26:04
SPEAKER_01: Hebrews tells us Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
26:08
SPEAKER_01: And if that's true, then his goodness doesn't fluctuate with my circumstances.
26:12
SPEAKER_01: I sure felt that way, but it wasn't true.
26:14
SPEAKER_01: His love doesn't disappear when my prayers seem unanswered.
26:17
SPEAKER_01: His faithfulness isn't determined by whether I understand his ways.
26:22
SPEAKER_01: He is who he says he is, whether I can see it or not.
26:27
SPEAKER_01: Because the cross changed everything.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: God's goodness is not measured by whether he answers every prayer the way I want.
26:36
SPEAKER_01: His goodness was settled at the cross.
26:38
SPEAKER_01: Think about that for a moment.
26:39
SPEAKER_01: If I want to know whether God is good, where do I look?
26:42
SPEAKER_01: Do I look at my circumstances?
26:44
SPEAKER_01: Do I look at the hospital room?
26:46
SPEAKER_01: Do I look at the graveside?
26:48
SPEAKER_01: Do I look at the diagnosis?
26:49
SPEAKER_01: As real as those places are, they were never meant to define God's character.
26:55
SPEAKER_01: If I want to know whether God is good, I have to look at Calvary, at the cross, because that's where God demonstrated his love once and for all.
27:06
SPEAKER_01: Romans 5.8 says, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this.
27:11
SPEAKER_01: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
27:16
SPEAKER_01: Not after we cleaned ourselves up, not after we deserved it, while we were still sinners.
27:21
SPEAKER_01: The cross forever settled the question of whether God loves us.
27:26
SPEAKER_01: The cross forever settled the question of whether God is good.
27:30
SPEAKER_01: And the empty tomb?
27:31
SPEAKER_01: It settled another question, friends.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: Death doesn't get the final word.
27:36
SPEAKER_01: Jesus does.
27:38
SPEAKER_01: And that's why Paul could say death has been swallowed up in victory.
27:42
SPEAKER_01: Death is certainly still painful.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: It's still an enemy, but it is a defeated enemy because of Jesus.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: So what does this beautiful promise even mean?
27:52
SPEAKER_01: By his stripes we are healed.
27:54
SPEAKER_01: It means that Jesus entered into our suffering.
27:58
SPEAKER_01: It means he bore our sins.
28:00
SPEAKER_01: It means he carried our grief.
28:02
SPEAKER_01: He conquered everything that sin brought into this world.
28:06
SPEAKER_01: And it means forgiveness is ours.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: Reconciliation is ours.
28:10
SPEAKER_01: Hope is ours.
28:11
SPEAKER_01: It means that healing is part of his kingdom.
28:14
SPEAKER_01: It means we should pray for healing.
28:16
SPEAKER_01: It means that miracles do still happen.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: And it means something even bigger.
28:20
SPEAKER_01: One day every promise will be fully realized.
28:23
SPEAKER_01: One day there will be no more cancer, no more Parkinson's, no more Alzheimer's, no more anxiety, no more depression, no more chronic pain, no more chemotherapy, no more wheelchairs, no more hospice, no more funerals, no more saying goodbye.
28:39
SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine that day?
28:42
SPEAKER_01: Revelation tells us that God Himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: Not someone else, not an angel.
28:51
SPEAKER_01: God himself.
28:52
SPEAKER_01: There will be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain, because the former things will have passed away.
29:00
SPEAKER_01: That's our future.
29:02
SPEAKER_01: That's what Christ purchased.
29:04
SPEAKER_01: That's where this story is headed.
29:05
SPEAKER_01: So yes, by his stripes we are healed.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes that healing breaks into the present in miraculous ways.
29:13
SPEAKER_01: I've seen it, I believe it, I pray for it.
29:15
SPEAKER_01: But the complete fulfillment of that promise awaits the day we see Jesus face to face, and what a day that will be.
29:22
SPEAKER_01: And yet maybe you are still hurting today.
29:25
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're listening to this while driving to yet another doctor's appointment, or maybe while you're headed to sit with someone in the hospital room, or maybe you've just received your own diagnosis, or you're grieving someone you've already lost.
29:39
SPEAKER_01: Friend, I don't know your story, but I know this.
29:42
SPEAKER_01: God is not afraid of your questions.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: He isn't disappointed by your tears.
29:46
SPEAKER_01: He isn't asking you to pretend you're okay.
29:49
SPEAKER_01: He invites you to come to him just as you are.
29:52
SPEAKER_01: And if all you can pray today is, Lord, I don't understand, that's okay.
29:57
SPEAKER_01: If all you can say is, Lord, help my unbelief, that's okay.
30:00
SPEAKER_01: If all you could do is cry, he understands those tears better than anyone.
30:05
SPEAKER_01: I had those moments.
30:07
SPEAKER_01: I had the moments where I couldn't say a word.
30:10
SPEAKER_01: But he knows, because he's close to the brokenhearted.
30:13
SPEAKER_01: He saves those who are crushed in spirit.
30:15
SPEAKER_01: And even though the feelings may not line up with this truth, he has not abandoned you.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: I would still pray today for God to heal my dad.
30:23
SPEAKER_01: I would still ask God to heal him.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: I would still believe that God could do a miracle because he's able.
30:27
SPEAKER_01: But if I spend my entire life measuring God's goodness by whether he gives me the outcome I want, I'm always going to be on shaky ground.
30:34
SPEAKER_01: Life is too unpredictable.
30:36
SPEAKER_01: Our understanding is too limited.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: So I've learned to anchor my faith somewhere else.
30:41
SPEAKER_01: I've learned to anchor it in the unchanging character of God.
30:44
SPEAKER_01: At some point I had to lay down the wrestling and I had to trust the God I had known before everything changed.
30:50
SPEAKER_01: God's goodness isn't measured by whether he answers every prayer the way I want.
30:54
SPEAKER_01: His goodness was settled at the cross.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: If you want to know whether God is good, don't start at the hospital.
31:00
SPEAKER_01: Start at Calvary.
31:01
SPEAKER_01: The cross tells me God loves me.
31:04
SPEAKER_01: The empty tomb tells me death doesn't win.
31:07
SPEAKER_01: They remind me that while I may not understand everything God does, I know exactly who he is.
31:12
SPEAKER_01: Because I know who he is, I can keep praying, I can keep hoping, I can keep trusting, even when I don't have all the answers.
31:18
SPEAKER_01: Because by his stripes we are healed.
31:20
SPEAKER_01: It's not up to us to define healing.
31:24
SPEAKER_01: I want to pray for us.
31:25
SPEAKER_01: Father, today we come before you with hearts that are full of questions, hearts that are full of grief, hope, and longing.
31:31
SPEAKER_01: Some of us are praying for someone we love, others are carrying the ache of prayers that seem to still go unanswered.
31:37
SPEAKER_01: Lord, you know every heart that's listening.
31:40
SPEAKER_01: You know every diagnosis, every hospital room, every gravesite, every tear.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: And you are not intimidated by our questions.
31:46
SPEAKER_01: You welcome our honesty.
31:48
SPEAKER_01: God, teach us to pray boldly because we know you love us boldly and we know you are able.
31:55
SPEAKER_01: Teach us to trust deeply because we know you're good.
31:58
SPEAKER_01: Help us to never confuse unanswered prayers with your absence.
32:03
SPEAKER_01: You are present with us.
32:04
SPEAKER_01: Remind us that your love was forever demonstrated at the cross and your victory was forever declared at the empty tomb.
32:11
SPEAKER_01: And for those who are sick today, we ask for healing.
32:14
SPEAKER_01: For those who are grieving, we ask for comfort.
32:16
SPEAKER_01: For those who are weary, we ask for strength.
32:18
SPEAKER_01: For those who are questioning, we ask that you would gently remind them of who you are.
32:23
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, until the day when faith becomes sight and every tear is wiped away, help us to keep our eyes fixed on you, the one who was wounded for us, the one who conquered death for us, the one who has promised to make all things new.
32:39
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, by your stripes we are healed.
32:42
SPEAKER_01: In the name of Jesus we pray.
32:44
unknown: Amen.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: This podcast is made possible through donations by people like you.
32:49
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32:54
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