The Joy of Healing

2 Kings 20:1-6; Acts 3:1-10

“I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you … I will add fifteen years to your life.” (2 Kings 20:5)

“Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.” (Acts 3:9)

“Your sins are forgiven,’ … ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.” (Mark 2:9-12)

These texts highlight healing stories from the Bible. King Hezekiah was very sick and near death, but he prayed for healing and was granted fifteen more years of life by God. What a tremendous joy of healing! Additionally, the lame man at the temple gate was expecting to receive ordinary offerings, but instead, he was healed and praised the Lord. These examples from the Old and New Testaments demonstrate physical healing; however, true healing comes from Jesus Christ, who heals the body, soul, and spirit.

When you think about health and healing, what usually comes to mind? Most likely, it’s your body. However, total healing involves much more than just the physical aspect; it includes the body, soul, and spirit. This morning, we will focus on the story of the healing of the paralytic man, which highlights the holistic nature of healing.

The healing power of joy extends beyond mere physical well-being; it also impacts our emotional and spiritual health. Proverbs 17:22 states, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones." This proverb suggests a direct connection between joy and physical health, indicating that a positive disposition can lead to tangible benefits for the body.

In the Gospel, Jesus' healing miracles often yield joy and praise, reinforcing the relationship between physical healing and spiritual joy. For example, in Luke 17:15-16, one of the ten lepers healed by Jesus returns, "praising God in a loud voice," and falls at Jesus' feet, expressing deep gratitude and joy.

The well-being Christ offers to all of us is greater than our physical healing, as we see in the Gospel text. It has to do with the sickness of our souls. St. Augustine said, “We are all restless until we find our rest in Thee.” This is what God offers to us in Christ: rest for our souls, which ultimately affects all other parts of our body.  

The Bible describes our three-part nature and assures us that the Lord desires for us to be fully restored in all aspects of our being. These three parts—body, soul, and spirit—are not separated into isolated compartments; rather, God created us with seamless and elegant connections among them. This understanding has significant implications for both recovering from illness and maintaining good health. Is it well with your soul?

Soul is a word not widely used in the modern world, but it simply refers to a person's inner life, encompassing intellect, emotion, and will. Sin attacks a person in each of these three areas of the soul; therefore, we need restored health for our souls. We make a connection between problems of thought or emotion and a need for restored health and healing in a person's inner life. Eventually, we learn to draw an analogy from the body and think of mental and emotional problems as a form of illness. Even addiction is often referred to as a disease - a disease of the will, an inability to make healthy choices and to make them stick.

The human spirit, however, is the key player on the field, even if its presence is largely undetected. The 'sickness' of our spirit is the true source of all diseases of the body and soul, just as the health of our spirit is the true source of all recovery of health in the body or soul.

God sees sin in us as we see a life-threatening sickness in our bodies: it is a corruption of the goodness of our created being; it is pervasive, touching everything about us; it is deadly; it reaches to the core. Just as sickness can take the body down into death and negative thoughts and emotions can destroy the inner life of the soul, so sin crushes life out of the spirit. Thank God, Jesus is fully able to help us by healing body, soul, and spirit!

Just as the Lord uses the natural process of disease to teach us about the sickness of soul and spirit, so too he takes our understanding of sin from the natural through to the spiritual. Weren't the first sins that we learned about outward and physical: stealing, lying, adultery, murder, etc.? Over time, we began to recognize the reality of the inner life's sins: unforgiveness, bitter judgments, lust, pride, envy, and so on. Just as disease in the soul can produce disease in the body, so too these sins of the soul often lead to the outward sins involving the body. Yet, the real culprit, the deadliest sin of all, is the one embedded in our spirit.

The gravest sin-sickness occurs when we turn from God to self. This became inevitable after sin severed our link to God. Without sight of the Lord, we lost His true Image within us. Our hearts and minds have been veiled by worldly distractions, leading us to focus on ourselves.

Do you desire to have the joy of healing? This joy is found in moving from self-centeredness to a heartfelt obedience to God’s commandments and thriving within the loving boundaries He has established. Holding on to and trusting God’s promises and assurance of healing! God has done it before, and God is still in the business of healing! Be open and receive yours today!

May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, ensuring that your entire spirit, soul, and body remain blameless… (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) so that you can continue to experience the joy of total healing.