Job’s Comforters

            Have you heard people say that so-and-so was not healed because of their lack of faith, or perhaps someone told you, or implied that you didn’t trust God enough for your healing or miracle, or that sin was a factor? When a healing or miracle doesn’t come immediately it doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of faith or sin. There could be many reasons for it. Healing is a huge topic and anyone who flippantly says it is a lack of faith, does not have proper understanding of the subject.

            In one incident in the Bible, there was a man who had a physical problem, and the disciples asked Jesus who had sinned, him or his parents, and Jesus said neither, that it was for the glory of God. And when Lazarus was sick and died, Jesus did not say it was because of a lack of faith or sin. In fact, Jesus waited four days before He came and raised Lazarus from the dead. Why? To show God’s power and glory.

            A person can become ill because of poor choices in life. For instance, if a person eats junk food all the time their body will eventually break down and have problems.

            When someone smugly says a person did not receive their healing because of a lack of faith, it shows that the person does not have a proper understanding of the Scriptures, or they have spiritual pride, or both. It also shows a great lack of compassion for the sick individual. The follower of Jesus should have love for the sick one, and their compassion should be aroused so that they would pray for the ailing one, and not be critical.

            And when a person is in ministry, the enemy will be on the warpath. He hates it when a person is dedicated to serving the Lord, and the more you do for the Lord the more the enemy will try to attack you. While we do not want to give place to the devil, we need to be aware of his tactics and to be on the offensive, instead of the defensive. We must remember that “God is greater”, and “He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world” (if we are a believer), and that “no weapon formed against me will prosper”.  However, we must not stick our head in the sand, and think we do not have to do anything. This is warfare, people—a spiritual warfare! It is not called the army of the Lord for nothing. We must fight the good fight with God’s help. He provided us with all that we need to fight in this battle. We need to have discernment and wisdom, and take authority over certain things in the name of Jesus. That is why we need to study the Scriptures.  And we need the Holy Spirit to give us the power we need to live the Christian life.

            Any soldier knows you must learn a certain amount about the enemy and his tactics in order to fight against him effectively. Yes, Jesus has won the battle, but does that mean you and I do not have to do anything? No! Why do we have the Bible? Why did God send the Holy Spirit? Why did He send angels into the world? Why did Jesus teach the disciples to pray? Why did the apostles and many others who served the Lord down through the ages have hardships and even died for their faith in God? Because they were in the army of the Lord—fighting a battle (spiritual—not physical).

            God is with us but that does not mean we won’t have to go through difficult things at times. Sometimes we go through trials to test our faith. If we stick with God at all times—trusting Him, we will have the victory. We must not give up; God is still there working in our circumstances even if we don’t feel His presence. The Bible says sometimes God hides himself from us, but He is still there—He can still see us. The enemy will not give up, but neither does God, and when we resist the devil, he will flee from us. Remember, God is faithful.

            As a good soldier of the cross, we must put on our armor. “Put on the whole armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the whole armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:11-13, NIV). The Bible tells us that “no weapon forged against us will prevail” (Isaiah 54:17) when we have our armor on. Why did Paul tell us this, if we are not to fight? One of the best ways to fight in this battle is on our knees, in prayer and intercession, and by the way, the Bible tells us to “pray without ceasing”.  Other ways are through praise and worship, and speaking Scriptures out loud etc. Praise is a weapon in this warfare. Consider this:  in the Old Testament the armies would put their singers and musicians in front of the army marching to battle in order to win. Why? Because God inhabits the praises of His people.

            Most people experience stress in their life at times, and a certain amount of stress is good for us, so I’ve heard. But sometimes we can accumulate too much. Things can pile up, and when we get too much going on at once, we can get over-stressed, and that can make us sick. While we can handle a few things, we may not be able to handle a great deal of things at a time. And we are all different—some can handle more stress than others in their lives. Did you know that Jesus got stressed? Luke 12:50 tell us that Jesus said:  “But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!” Even Jesus became stressed at times, and no wonder, knowing what He would have to endure.

 We need to take our troubles to the Lord in prayer, and ask Him how to handle our situations—what we should do. With His help we will be able to get through it. The Bible tells us “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose”(Romans 8:28). God has a purpose for us, and can use the things we go through for good, ultimately.

            If you have an ailment trust God for you’re healing. He is still in the healing business today. Sometimes He heals instantly and sometimes gradually, but He is the Great Physician. Do not be dismayed at those people who, like Job’s comforters, come along and tell your (or imply) that it is because of sin or a lack of faith.  Go to God in prayer and ask Him to show you what the problem is and what you should do. If it is sin, then ask God to forgive you, and He will, “He is faithful and just to forgive our sins”. 

            God is the healer—not us! We need to have faith in God—not faith in our faith. That can sometimes be a problem--when we think it’s a lack of faith. We may try to work up enough faith, and concentrate on the faith instead of God. All believers were given a certain amount of faith when they became “born again”, however, we can strengthen our faith by reading God’s Word, or hearing it, as the Bible says, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of God” (Romans 10:17 NIV). Remember, it is all about God being the healer and not us. He has provided the way for our healing just as He provided the way for salvation. Trust God—not your own faith.

            On the other hand, when we start thinking we have a great deal of faith--so much more than other people--we are getting into spiritual pride. Beware of that, because “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18 NIV). Spiritual pride is a sin and can be a root of disease itself. We also need to be careful not to be judgmental and critical of others, and not to look down our long noses and point our fingers. We are acting like Job’s comforters when we do that. His so-called friends thought they were superior spiritually, and that sin or lack of faith, had caused the calamity and ailment in Job’s life. But what happened after God healed Job (and it wasn’t an instant healing—it was about 9 months)? God told them to repent and offer a sacrifice, and ask Job to pray for them so that they could be forgiven. Think about that.

            The sick or hurting one needs the Lord for healing, and the proud one needs God for forgiveness. We all need the Lord’s mercy. Thank God for His mercy or none of us would be saved. We need to be humble—not proud.

            Remember that those who are ill or have some other problem need our compassion, and our prayers—not criticism and judgment in their time of need. Isn’t that what we would want? Wouldn’t Jesus help rather than condemn?