How many came back, how many after the Lord healed them found out that it was Him they actually needed, and not a body that functioned well.
There is of course elation when our bodies return to health after an illness or injury, our minds begin to focus on more than the pain, we begin to feel like ourselves again, and because of the way we are made, fearfully and wonderfully, (Psalm 139:14) it is all but impossible to manufacture those exact moments of pain and physical suffering. And so, as many did in the days of Christ, we stop thinking of who created us in the first place and start getting back to the business of living life. “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17)
Gratefulness and thanksgiving, you may call it praise, but this is what those nine forgot, and so, as far as we know, they were never healed completely, their flesh was as strong as it ever was, if not better, their minds were clean, at least they thought so, but they walked right out of one infirmity into another, from the bondage of leprosy to the bondage of the soul. To them, and I fear to many today that find themselves in pain, Jesus is no more than the great Physician, not Lord and Master, not the One from whom all good gifts flow. (James 1:17) Perhaps you know someone as Paul was, beaten, mocked, imprisoned, someone that truly understands the word pain, and in a way that most cannot understand, finds their relief from it in the knowledge that they are right where Jesus wants them to be.
Here then is the point of this short letter to you, do you truly live by Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Do you really understand Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Only those who understand these verses as truth can move forward in their walk with Christ in those times, only those who have been crucified with Christ can understand that everything, every single thing that comes into their life somehow is meant for the glory of God, and on top of all that, they rejoice in these times.
This is what is missing from nearly every church today, when someone is sick, we round up a prayer group to get them healed, and if they die the common words are “It was God’s will.” Wouldn’t it be God’s will that they were sick in the first place? Why is it we believe today that sickness means something else entirely, why is it we have denied 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” How many praise God for their sickness, how many even remember to praise His name when they are healed, and how many give that same praise when the diagnosis is terminal?
There is a great weakness spreading across the world of Christianity, it is a sickness that cannot be cured by any earthly physician or medicine, it is the lack of faith in the Lord God to use us as He sees fit, and for us to whole heartedly agree with whatever He declares for us. It is a lack of trust, “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23) It is why this supposed flu and all of its supposed variants works so well against the masses, it is why churches locked their doors, why the assembly wears masks, why certain churches no longer allow people inside who have not been vaccinated. It is why “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life,” (Job 2:4) has replaced to live is Christ, to die is gain. It is becoming a world of those who profess Him only with their lips (Matt. 15:8) and then only when it is safe to do so. It is a sad state of affairs indeed.
