Stories of Healing

In thinking through what direction to explore next in this blog, I returned to Pastor Bill Meyer’s comment on my very first posting:

The one great thing that can be accomplished and one answer to the question "why" is that stories of what God is doing in our lives in the area of healing can increase faith in us. I work as a hospice chaplain so I am around pain, suffering, death and sorrow. However, I never stop believing that God can and will heal, even in the midst of all the evidence to the contrary. – Pastor Bill Meyer

This says a lot about Pastor Bill, and I greatly appreciate chaplains like him who work in the difficult places – hospice, prison (like Pastor Denny), rehab (like Gregg Swegger) – places most of us would feel very uncomfortable, but where the love of Jesus is so desperately needed.

Stories of what God is doing in our lives in the area of healing. . . .

You know, before I gave birth to my two children, I had a lot of fear about childbirth – stark terror, really - simply because I had heard so many terrible stories about the pain and suffering and horrible things that can happen. It did nothing to edify me or increase my confidence that I could go through the experience.

Thankfully, before I got pregnant, I received a little book called Supernatural Childbirth. (It’s the one labeled “Childbirth” in my sidebar list.) In this book, I learned that some women have experienced wonderful childbirths characterized by peace and joy, as opposed to cursing their husbands and scraping wallpaper off with their fingernails. Suddenly I had hope, a vision of a possible reality, different than the one terror painted in the corners of my mind. Meditating on the principles – and stories of other women – in this book was the single biggest factor in making both my children’s entries into the light sweeter than I could possibly have imagined.

In the same way, if you or someone you love has been beaten up by sickness, discouraged and having no hope, may I suggest that you take time to read stories of others who have experienced God’s healing power?

If God did it for this one, and that one, and him, and her, and her and him and them and those other people over there too . . . Is it just remotely possible he may want to do the same for you?

Here are four books which include stories of healing – I’m sure many more good ones are out there as well.

Christ the Healer by F. F. Bosworth, an Alliance minister who held healing evangelism meetings across North America in the early 1900s. This book used to be required reading for Alliance ordination. Most of it is teaching, but the final chapter gives testimonies, including names and street addresses of those healed. One detail of interest to me is that without the same medical care we have today, cancers grew visibly on people, sometimes black, ugly lumps. When healing came, people could easily see the results.

Healing Voices Christian Publications, Inc. 2000, and subtitled: “A Narrative of the Acts of God in the Christian and Missionary Alliance.” Healing Voices may be unique among healing testimony books because it includes stories of those who did not receive healing, and how they made peace with that outcome. Reflecting a wide span of history and beliefs on healing, you are certain to find that some of the stories in this book will feel comfortable and congruent with your own beliefs, while others may challenge you.

Real People. Real Needs. Real Victories Kenneth Copeland Publications. (If that name makes you queasy, please consider this: You may know that Copeland considers Kenneth E. Hagin Sr. to be one of his mentors. But did you know that Hagin’s teachings on healing were largely influenced by an Alliance minister named F. F. Bosworth? Hagin wore out several copies of Bosworth’s book and never left home without it. So when you think about it, we’re pretty much one big happy family. Well, “family” anyhow. The “happy” part is your choice.)

My favorite thing about this book is the process each person went through internally, battling fear, worry, anxiety, doubt, usually over a period of time. Besides physical healing, some stories are about marital or financial crises, finding freedom from depression, and other common problems. Often the stories include defeats suffered along the way – a mother who suffers miscarriage before receiving a healthy child, a businessman who fails before fulfilling his dream. These stories do not feature instant or easy results but emphasize taking daily time in the Word and pressing through the problems.

Finally and above all else, read the miracles of healing in the Bible. They too, were real people who received real answers to their heartaches. This can bring a lot of encouragement to your heart, and maybe even paint a picture in your mind of a possible reality, different than the one you face today.

And He healed them all.