Never will I leave you

https://odb.org/2024/07/25/really-live

I learned the illuminating truth about God’s healing in the first few years of my Christian life when I read through page by page an autobiography by Joni Eareckson. That was about 40 years ago. The truth is that God doesn’t heal everyone all the time. The fact that He heals is by itself supernatural and miraculous, but when He doesn’t heal, He is still God, and we are only human. The day will come when our decaying bodies will be replaced by our glorified bodies, and we will not have sickness or illness anymore.

The key takeaway from Joni’s life, if you have read her book, is that the struggle with God’s healing was only for a few early years after her accident. She quickly accepted that God’s will for her was to glorify Him despite her disabilities, despite her unhealed condition. When we are unhealed, we bring glory to God instead of shame because our attitude is that we still want to serve Him. Joni is still alive today. She’s 74 this year, and throughout all those years, she had never stopped being an evangelical Christian author, radio host, artist, and founder of an organisation accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community. You may read more about her here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joni_Eareckson_Tada.

In the case of Pastor Ed Dobson of today’s ODB life story, his struggle with ALS that gets worse over time was characterised by his pining his hope on God despite his worsening condition. Hebrews 13:5 – Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. He passed away fifteen years after he got the disease. But he never lost hope that God will never leave nor forsake Him.

I agree with Pastor Benaiah Naresh, who spoke last Sunday at our local church. Every one of us should read and understand the book of Job. What happened to Job was not his doing, and yet despite what he went through, he never once accused God and sinned against Him.

Job 19:25-27 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes–I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

Even way back then, during ancient times, Job already had the revelation of the Holy Spirit about the resurrection of Christ and of himself one day!

Whatever we are going through today, whether it has something to do with God healing or not healing us, know like Pastor Ed Dobson that He will not leave nor forsake us! Persevere through and fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives like Joni did till today, until our dying breadth. Be like Job, never accuse or blame God. He has His reasons. Trust Him. Put our hopes and ambitions on His purposes. He will see us through.