The Gospels are replete with accounts of the miracles, signs and wonders that attended Jesus’ public ministry. Many of the miracles were instantaneous healings of various diseases. To me, to believe in Jesus is to believe in the supernatural power of God. The question which arises in my mind and the minds of many is this: “If I indeed believe in divine healing, then why would I need to seek out the help of human physicians?”
Many reading this blog probably come from a Western background as I do. We need to realise that our Western world view has been strongly influenced by Greek thought. Greek philosophers tended to bring a sharp divide between the material and the spiritual. Matter was regarded as evil whilst spirit was deemed good. As a result, the physical body was regarded as evil and was seen to be the prison of the soul. In Greek thought there was/is therefore a deep disconnect between the secular and the spiritual, the natural and the supernatural. (This is not the case in Hebrew, African and Eastern thought. In these different cultures everything is deemed to be deeply spiritual.)
If we are under the influence of Western thought, we tend to subconsciously compartmentalise our lives into the secular and the spiritual. For example, when we are praying, we believe we are doing something spiritual, whereas when we are eating, that’s not spiritual at all. If we are in church, we see ourselves as being engaged in spiritual things, whilst when we are at work, we are busy with our secular jobs. We introduce an artificial separation, a false dichotomy between the secular and the spiritual. This is not supposed to be the case. From a Biblical perspective everything is deemed to be of spiritual significance:
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:17)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Col 3:23-24)
We tend to bring this idea into our approach towards health and healing. To pray and ask God to heal us “supernaturally” is spiritual, whereas consulting a doctor is very “unspiritual” – it is seen to be seeking worldly advice and help. I must, however, ask the question, “Is it not possible that God may answer our prayer for healing by directing us to a physician whom He has gifted with a knowledge and understanding of medicine?” If we are only open to a so-called “supernatural healing,” are we not dictating to God the method we expect Him to use? Let us not limit God to our human expectations!
I certainly believe that we should first go to God with our need for healing since He is the ultimate healer. The other day I read this interesting Scripture which underlines this: In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. (2Chr 16:12). The real problem was not that Asa sought help from the physicians, but that he did so exclusively without first seeking help from the LORD Yahweh.
When we think of Jesus and the “supernatural”, let us consider a few things:
On one occasion Jesus surprised, even frightened his disciples by walking on water. (See Joh 6:19). However, he normally crossed the Sea of Galilee by sailing in a fishing boat. In fact, on one occasion he even borrowed Simon and Andrew’s boat as a preaching platform. (See Luk 5:3). Why didn’t He simply stand on the water? Surely that would have impressed the crowd?! On two occasions Jesus miraculously multiplied bread and fish to feed the five thousand (See Mat 14:15-21) and the four thousand. (Mat 15:38). However, his disciples normally obtained food by purchasing it from the nearest town. (Joh 4:8). My point is that Jesus usually followed the normal, expected order of things. However, on occasion he displayed his divine power by overriding the natural order and doing something we label “supernatural”. I don’t want to make a rule of this, but Jesus seemed to do this when there was no “natural” way to solve the problem. He was alone praying on a mountain and there was no boat to ferry him to his disciples so he walked on the water. In both instances of supernatural provision of food, the crowds had followed him to remote places where no food was available so Jesus provided food miraculously.
I was greatly helped when, as a young Christian, I heard a medical Doctor, who believed in divine healing, share the following insights:
When Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus, He didn’t wave his arms to remove the stone miraculously. Human help was available so he asked some men to remove the stone. Then, he did what was humanly impossible; he cried out “Lazarus come forth!” and Lazarus arose miraculously from the tomb. Following that, he instructed some standers-by to unbind Lazarus’ grave clothes. Again, human help was available so Jesus did not unbind Lazarus miraculously, but followed a natural approach. (See John 11:38-45). In this way the natural and the supernatural interacted in the raising of Lazarus.
In the same way God can employ natural human means and combine them with his divine intervention to do something we would label miraculous or supernatural. He can use your physician and the medicine prescribed, but then add his “super” to the “natural” help they provide to do something “supernatural”. Therefore, I would advocate a balanced approach to healing and health. I would seek the best help that modern medicine can provide, but at the same time anticipate that the immortal God can break into the realm of our mortality in response to our faith and in answer to our prayers. Let us have faith in a merciful, healing God as we employ even natural means to obtain healing and health.
This is an excerpt from my book “Going Against Goliath” (How to fight cancer and win).
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