The world today is in need of healing, but too few are looking to Jesus for the solution. Are we, God’s people, not spreading the news that Jesus heals…Jesus saves?? One lady in a story from the book of Luke, had heard the good news and reached out to him; knowing that if she could just touch his clothes, she would be cured. Where is the faith needed to bring relief to so many suffering from sin and disease today?
There are many stories in the Bible of Jesus healing people, causing the blind to see and the lame to walk … in many cases for the very first time. In fact, so many were coming to Jesus for his healing power that He couldn’t handle them all by Himself, so He passed His power to heal on to His disciples. In one situation though, a young man suffered from fits that caused him to throw himself down and thrash about with no control. His father was afraid one day the boy might cast himself into a fire, so he brought his son to the disciples to be healed…but they had no success.
In desperation, the father brought his son to Jesus. “If you but believe, it will be done,” Jesus told the man.
“Lord, help my unbelief,” the man replied. Then Jesus cast out the demon and the boy was cured.
Seeing this, the disciples asked Jesus why they had not been able to heal the boy themselves. “Because of your unbelief.” Jesus told them.
Perhaps today our unbelief is what keeps so many from responding to the news that Jesus heals. Not so much the unbelief of those hearing the good news, but of us who are telling it. Are we telling it like we believe it ourselves, or do we do it in a condescending way making others feel that we believe ourselves to be better than them in some way? Maybe we have touched the hem of Jesus garments and felt His healing power but, like the woman in the story, we need to be exposed…we need to come face to face with Jesus and ask Him to help our unbelief!
We mutter prayers and sit in pews, ask forgiveness and sit in judgement. It’s time to stop just preaching and start loving. People are dying and going to hell because somebody didn’t tell them the truth about Jesus and his power to save. Let’s ask God to help our unbelief and to release the power we keep bottled up by silencing His Holy Spirit that came into our hearts the minute we first believed. He doesn’t want us just living on the edge of Christianity. He wants to know us personally. We won’t see change until we change ourselves… by making our needs known and coming face to face with Jesus Christ!