And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. (Luke 6:19)
As I read through this, I’ll be honest, I found myself feeling a bit jealous of those people. I have battled with chronic illness for years and have prayed over and over to be completely healed and it hasn’t happened yet. I found myself wishing I had Jesus physically here to touch the way these crowds of people did and were healed as the power came out from Him and healed them all. Then this little thought popped up, that maybe I’m just out of luck because I can’t touch Him.
And as I sat quietly before the Lord, with tears filling up in my eyes, I heard God say, “You might not be able to physically touch Me, but I can still touch you."
It’s tempting to put more credit into something like touch, when it’s solely Jesus who deserves the glory, honor, and praise for the healing. In other accounts, He healed without touch and only word, and still yet in others an action was commanded.
The Truth About Healing
When it comes down to the truth of the matter of healing, Jesus is able to heal just as much today as He did back then, regardless of not being physically present on earth. I recognize that the enemy tried to impose a subtle lie in his attack and attempt to pervert my thinking and understanding of God’s healing, and while I could have wallowed in it and let it sink in (and admittedly I have before), this time there was victory in sitting before Jesus and hearing His voice and what He had to say about it.
We all face trials and tribulations in life, and whatever you are currently facing, although you may feel broken and lost in the crowd sometimes, God does indeed see you. I can’t guarantee He will choose to heal you, and that doesn’t mean your faith is somehow lacking, it doesn’t mean He doesn’t have the power to heal you, it doesn’t mean He won’t ever heal you; it just means you’re a frail human in need of the grace your strong God can provide.
When in Doubt, Think About…
If you’re ever feeling doubt, fear, despair, cynical, etc. - don’t entertain thoughts that take you further down that train of thought, because they’re attacks from the enemy.
We’re told in Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, pray about everything with thanksgiving, and that His peace will guard our hearts and minds in Jesus. It goes on to exhort us to only think on certain things:
Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)
Our brains are highly complicated, and research shows that if you think about toxic things and ruminate on them, it has a poor effect on your body in ways that can affect your heart, memory, cells, immune system, and even the telomere length of your chromosomes. In short, meditating on toxic thoughts is effectively killing you quicker. On the other hand, if you think upon good things, based in truth and take your thoughts captive instead of them taking you captive, your brain can actually rearrange thought patterns and heal things in your mind.
If you find yourself being attacked by the enemy or being overwhelmed with emotions or toxically negative thoughts, make it a habit to stop, drop, and sit before the Lord, letting Him speak to you and comfort you in your time of need.