Hope for Healing
By Mark Anderson
When you think of the word “healing,” what comes to mind? Bandages wrapped around wounded flesh? Someone lying in a hospital bed, slowly feeling better after an accident or injury? A child’s scraped knee scabbed over, showing signs that the skin is getting back to normal? Or maybe recovering from feeling really sick?
I remember feeling so badly one time when I was working three jobs, didn’t get enough sleep, was exhausted, and came down with a severe case of bronchitis. I was in my twenties, head-strong, and decided to not go to a doctor. I got really ill, coughing again and again, sweating profusely, but I kept going. Eventually, my lungs began to clear up, and I was feeling better, but it took quite a while. I needed healing and getting an antibiotic could have helped, but my pride and foolishness got in the way. I thought I could heal myself.
Getting sick is no fun, but, in life, everyone has some illness or injury. Every day, news reports include accounts of transportation accidents, storms, criminal behavior—such as assault and battery—and many others. People get hurt, and people need healing. But some illnesses—like my bronchitis—don’t have to be so severe, if proper precautions are taken, and you avail yourself of the help of modern medicine.
Taking precautions to avoid injury and illness is important, but what if you get hurt or sick anyway and don’t seem to heal normally? You need healing—maybe desperately need healing. Physical wounds need healing, but what about psychological or spiritual ones? Most people would agree that healing is also needed for those wounds.
Checking online for information about healing, in an article titled “Five Ways to Heal Your Life,” I found the following self-help tips: (https://www.wikihow.com/Heal-Your-Life)
Maintaining a Healthy Diet and Daily Exercise
Getting Involved in Social Activities
Finding Meaning Through Study
Energizing Your Life Through Travel
Seeking Professional Help
Self-help methods may work, but is there a better way to find healing?
When Jesus began his ministry, he brought healing to people needing it. In a large crowd, a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years touched his cloak. She thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed,” and immediately her bleeding stopped. Jesus, realizing that power had gone out from him, looked around to see who had touched him. The woman, trembling with fear, fell at the feet of Jesus. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” (Mark 5:25-34 NIV)
Healing from God is available, if you have faith. In the letter from James, he writes, “ … pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16 NIV) The power that healed the woman with the bleeding illness is there for you today, just as it was back in the days that she lived.
Mark Anderson lives in Bluffton with his wife and one of his four children and attends LowCountry Community Church. The family recently moved from the Baltimore area, after Mark retired from a career with the federal government. He enjoys writing, walking on the beach, and spending time with new friends.