I saw this on Twitter yesterday: Confession “Father, I receive my right 2 be healed, whole, & prosperous n my body, spirit & soul.” Retweet if u believe & receive it.I remember when I was about 9, I got a chain letter from my cousin who lived in Germany. It asked for a recipe to be sent to a stranger and promised at least 50 recipes coming to me by the end of the week. I carefully copied the letter 10 times and mailed it off to friends. That was grueling for a 4th grader - like Handwriting practice! - but it was before the days of personal copiers. I WAS the personal copier. Then I waited running to the mailbox daily. I sent off my recipe to the stranger at the bottom of the list, but for some reason all of my chains broke and no one ever sent a recipe to me. Bummer.
So I don't much like chain mail - especially not spiritual chain mail like the "You better forward this to 10 people or you'll be cursed" type of emails. Hate those. I don't even look at them, I don't care how cute the lures are with sweet little bunnies and puppy dogs.
But a chain like this, and yes I liken it to chain mail, is just dangerous - spiritually. That first phrase: Confession “I receive my right 2 be healed" is what gets me. Whoever said we had a right to be healed? As sinners we have a right to absolutely nothing. As redeemed believers we have a right to be called children of God and secure the eternal blessings from that right. But nowhere in scripture does it say we are entitled to be healed while we live on this earth.
In fact, we have a vivid example of the exact opposite in the apostle Paul. He had something painful, "a thorn in the flesh" that bothered him all the time and he prayed for the removal of it. But God saw fit to leave it there and help Paul work through the pain.
I still pray for healing, for myself and others. And I believe in the power of God through faith and prayer. I believe that He always can heal, but sometimes chooses not to for His purposes and I'm okay with that. Because ultimately, I don't deserve to be given anything. Every good thing comes from Him because He adores me, not because of any rights I think I have.
Your turn: Since we no guarantees to be healed of physical ailments here on earth, what promises does the Lord make to us! I'm all about encouragement! Remind yourself of the promises He's made because He adores you, too!
Thanks for visiting Damiana!
ReplyDeleteMarji. I think you're exactly right. We have no "right" to healing or to "prosperity" from God any more than we have a right to medical care or a living from the government.
ReplyDeleteGod promises in Matthew 6 that if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness He will take care of all our needs, but He defines what those needs are. That's not up to us. Our job is to trust Him and stay out of His way while He works to conform us to the image of His risen Son.
Praise God!
So well-put, David! And a great example. It's a matter of trust. He knows what we need, like the Daddy he is. We have to trust Him enough to place things in His big hands and be okay with the decisions He makes.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't mean it's easy to do, but achieving that, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, is where we will find joy.