“Have you anointed yourself with oil?” Donna asked.
“No,” I said.
“Well then you are being disobedient. How can God heal you,” Donna shot back.
My gym buddy believes in healing through prayer and anointing.
My ailment was shin splints. The day after my new workout regimen I woke up to pain in my shins. Cranking up the incline on the treadmill to 15 turned out not to be a good idea
I was telling Donna about my injury. That’s when she rebuked me for not anointing myself with oil. We went back and forth in friendly discussion. I challenged her belief on God’s promises concerning healing. She challenged me on my “disobedience.”
After a few minutes of debate, it became clear we both weren’t changing our position. We left as friends.
In the car ride home, I reflected on the conversation on healing and God’s will. I recalled the disillusioned people I’ve spoken with through the years. I remember one young woman who was devastated after her father succumbed to cancer. Her family was convinced God promised He would heal Dad.
After Dad took his last breath the family was crushed. They felt betrayed by God. God now seemed like a Father who broke his promise.
I’m not going to cover the theology of healing in this short blog. But I’m touching on this topic because I have seen good people derailed after loss with faulty beliefs. I believe the Bible does not always promise healing in this life. Sometimes God does heal and sometimes He doesn’t.
The following are a couple of examples of faithful Christians in the Bible who were not healed.
Even the apostle Paul left his traveling companion and ministry partner sick “. . . and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus” (2Timothy 4:20).
“Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illness”(1Timothy 5:23). Paul doesn’t rebuke Timothy for not being healed, but gives him practical advice.
Wrong beliefs about God devastate Christians when the terminal illness isn’t cured. We feel betrayed by God. Instead, we’ve been a victim of faulty theology.
What we believe about God matters especially when the stakes are high.
My shin splints are no big deal so my friend’s faulty theology didn’t bother me. I would have been angered if she had shared her belief on healing if I had experienced a significant loss.
That leaves me to my theology on shin splints. I’m using the Rice Formula--Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. I’ve added prayer to the mix. And I’ve predicting that in 2-4 weeks I’ll be ready to get back on the treadmill. But this time I’ll gradually increase the incline.
Would love to hear your thoughts on healing.
***Sign-up on the Home Page to receive these weekly blogs.
#doChristiansgrievedifferently #Grief #Christians #HelpHopeandHealing #Author
Real hope in perilous times
3/22/2020 1:40:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren M.A., L.P.C.
The Craziness of Grief
9/14/2019 4:00:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
How I Almost Missed Out
8/23/2019 7:45:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Weathering the Storms of Life
8/15/2019 3:00:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Is There Purpose in Pain? (And Why it Matters)
4/27/2019 8:05:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Good Grief
4/11/2019 1:00:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
The Truth About Grief (And How God Uses It for Our Good)
4/4/2019 11:03:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Is It Ok for a Christian to be Depressed?
3/27/2019 3:10:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
The Truth about the Good Old Days
3/22/2019 10:13:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Do You Struggle with What God Allows?
3/13/2019 4:15:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Keep Walking
2/26/2019 8:15:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Embrace Your Season
2/23/2019 1:13:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
How to Have Peace in a Chaotic World
2/12/2019 9:06:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
There's Always Hope
2/5/2019 3:00:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Prayer the Solution to a Common Condition
1/29/2019 5:09:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
The Connection Between Health and Loss--My Personal Story
1/22/2019 12:00:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
How Not to Be Cranky
1/16/2019 11:30:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Does God Promise Healing?
1/8/2019 1:41:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
An Answer to a Desperate Prayer
1/1/2019 7:00:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Santa on Social Media?
12/26/2018 9:02:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren, M.A., LPC
5 Myths of Christmas
12/17/2018 3:05:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren, M.A., LPC and Patricia Durgin
7 Tips on Handling Family Drama (Proven Strategies)
12/12/2018 9:35:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
God's Promise to the Weary
12/4/2018 9:24:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Hope for the Frazzled Part Two
11/27/2018 3:30:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Hope for the Frazzled
11/20/2018 12:00:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
8 Pitfalls to Avoid being Stuck
11/14/2018 8:00:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Problems as Gifts
11/5/2018 10:55:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Breaking Free from Past Losses
10/30/2018 8:30:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren, M.A., LPC and Patricia Durgin
God's Bootcamp
10/23/2018 8:35:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Time Out
10/16/2018 8:50:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA, LPC
Freedom through Forgiveness
10/9/2018 8:06:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
What Not to Do When Dreams Turn to Nightmares
10/2/2018 8:35:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
God's Detours
9/25/2018 9:00:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
My Personal Grief Journey--Part 2
9/11/2018 8:20:00 AM by: Abbigail Kalaf MS LPC BCPCC
My Personal Grief Journey--Part 1
9/4/2018 8:05:00 AM by: Abbigail Kalaf MS LPC BCPCC
Where is God in the Storm?
8/28/2018 10:30:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Getting to the Other Side of Grief
8/21/2018 9:25:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Billy Graham's Insights on Grieving
8/14/2018 9:00:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
When Doing Right Turns Out Wrong
8/7/2018 11:20:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
The Connection between Clutter and Grief
7/31/2018 8:34:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
A Simple Quiz on Grief
7/24/2018 8:30:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
The #1 Gift to Give to a Grieving Friend
6/26/2018 9:04:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
10 Things Not to Say to a Grieving Person
6/19/2018 9:00:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Do Christians Grieve Differently?
6/5/2018 8:25:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Press on Toward the Goal
5/22/2018 11:30:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
From Brokenness to Wholeness Podcast
5/8/2018 10:10:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
The Blessing of Walking by Faith
5/1/2018 1:20:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Grief Ten Years Later
1/20/2018 1:35:00 PM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
Welcome, My First Blog
1/19/2018 11:08:00 AM by: Dee Lundgren MA LPC
