Healing

by Bob Bergman

World War II, somewhere in France, on the front lines. A veteran Army major looks over his map with his foot up on the fender of his jeep. His troops are standing nearby, awaiting his orders. Suddenly a shot rings out … “Sniper!!” someone yells. The major’s helmet flies off, struck by the bullet. The major, unhurt, gleams with courageous eyes in the direction of the shot, pulls out his pistol and begins moving quickly toward the sniper’s position.

As he attempts to engage the shooter, he hears a voice behind him: “Major, where do you think you’re going?” The major responds: “Colonel, I’m attacking the enemy!” The Colonel answers indignantly “With a pistol? By yourself? Strap your helmet on and get back to work. We have a war to win!”
The major returns and as he examines his helmet he realizes there is very little damage from the direct hit. He straps it on tight and rejoins his troops.

I wrote this little vignette one afternoon while I was contemplating Divine Healing. Certainly I am not even a fledgling fiction writer, but you may ask: What on earth does this have to do with healing? I’m glad you asked.

The major — you and I — is the believer engaged in spiritual warfare with his angelic troops.
Acting in anger, frustration, or arrogance usually means we carry only our own fleshly power into the fight, as the major did when he pulled his pistol and started after the sniper. Fortunately, his authority figure stopped him before he was exhausted, wounded, or worse, and reminded him of his mission and true calling.

The enemy knows who the mature believers are and sends fiery darts, knowing that they may not injure the targeted believer. Rather, the intent of the attack is to draw the warrior away from his God-ordained calling. 1 Corinthians 10:23 says: “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”

Many of us have experienced being exhausted in ministry. Yet aren’t we supposed to be energized by the Holy Spirit when we are engaged in the works of the Lord? I submit that when we begin getting weary in well-doing, we need to go back to the Father and some trusted mentors to check-in with the vision He has for us. Some calibration in our execution of His will for us may be in order. There are a lot of “good things” to get involved within the church, yet the 20% that does the 80% are often out of alignment with the plan God has for His body and the way it is supposed to operate.

The mature believer is way past being tempted by obvious sin, but the enemy is cunning and has been studying people for a long time. He often succeeds in distracting us away from our true anointing and, therefore, makes us operate in less power than intended. Keep in mind Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

The major is a veteran and a leader. He is aggressive and energetic. Fortunately, he is also obedient to those in authority over him. Often times, the Holy Spirit will provide the “check” that keeps us from harm, and also those fortunate enough to sit under sound leadership may get a warning from that leader. Having the humility to stop and consider the warning is often the wisest move.

I remember hiking with my oldest son when he was a boy. I can never remember him being behind me, but always going ahead of me. I would tell him that if he couldn’t hear my voice, he was too far ahead and needed to stop and wait for me. How often are we racing ahead of our heavenly Father, not able to hear him because we have gone too far, or maybe taken a wrong turn? Fortunately for our warrior Major, the Colonel corrected him and he listened.

Back to our story. What are the soldiers doing? How did they respond to the fiery dart from the enemy? They just stood there waiting for orders that never came. Did you notice the major has authority he doesn’t use? I heard once that the angels assigned to us in the American church are really bored, waiting for us to command them through our words of agreement with the Lord.
Acting in authority, as given by Jesus, allows us to access the power in and of the Spirit Realm. By heeding the Colonel’s order, our major regained his rightful place as Envoy of the Kingdom of Heaven, directing the angelic host and bringing the power of the Holy Spirit to bear to defeat the enemy and expand God’s Kingdom.

Healing is warfare. Sickness has corrupted the Church. The Church looks defeated.
For the last couple of years, during a significant down-turn in the US economy, I have noticed some new construction around my area, have you? Brand new Pharmacies have been cropping up all over. They seem to be immune to recession while churches struggle to pay bills and keep staff.

If your church did a survey of how many folks were currently taking more than one or two prescription medications, I bet the number would be 75% or higher. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against prescription medications for those who truly need them, but why are we so dependent on them? Why are we so sick?
“Bob, we live in a fallen world. Things are supposed to get worse before Jesus comes and raptures us into our Ultimate Healing in Heaven.” “Bob, God is glorified when we suffer.”

Wait a minute; I thought Jesus was coming back for His beautiful bride! I thought Jesus commanded us to heal the sick! I thought what we bind on earth is bound in Heaven! I thought what we loose on earth is loosed in Heaven! Aren’t we supposed to have authority over the one who has come to kill, steal, and destroy? Didn’t Jesus come that we would have abundant life? Didn’t Jesus say that we would do even greater things on earth than He did?

My Bible is full of healing. My God is Jehovah Raffa (Healer). He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We have been given a purpose by God: to expand His Kingdom on earth. To fulfill it requires us to be healthy until our individual part of that is accomplished, and then we go Home. The Church should be the healthiest people on earth!

Blessings and Divine Health to you,
Brother Bob