How Healing Comes – Avenue #14

In Jesus’ day, invalids would wait at the Pool of Bethesda, near the Sheep Gate, for the ‘stirring of the waters’. John describes this in John 5:1-4,

2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed and they waited for the moving of the waters. 4 From time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had

Some manuscripts do not have the underlined portion, but it is not needed if you read on—the meaning is clear. From time to time, God would stir the waters and heal the first person who entered. How does this relate to the way God heals? Well, this may sound strange, but He often heals just because He wants to. Not because anyone prayed or because anyone fasted – He is a healer and on occasion, He will heal—a God-initiated healing. I listened to a pastor once who quoted Psalm 115:3,

3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

I love this scripture. In other words, God does what He wants, he neither needs our permission nor our activity to show mercy. This makes sense, for “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us..” No one interceded for God to send His son to save us, yet He did so all the same. Many of us were trained in the Word of Faith school where we unconsciously believe that there must be a whirlwind of prayer before God acts. This is not always the case.

‘Well,” someone from the Faith school might say, “thanks for the non-actionable piece of information”. I know it sounds that way…if there’s nothing I can do, and it’s all up to God, it’s just another interesting fact. That’s not totally true however. Although this was God healing spontaneously, notice that there was something that the sick people did—they hung out at the pool.

What am I saying? I’m saying, if you are sick, do the same thing as they did. Attend healing meetings where the power of God is active. Also attend meetings where there is intense praise and worship, and where healing is preached. There are many accounts of people are healed at meetings where no one laid a hand on them. The secret is that where God’s Name is glorified, He is often active in mercy.

This then, is another method by which our Lord heals—God-initiated healing, in other words. May we see and hear of more God-initiated healings in our day as we lift up the Name of Jesus. Amen.