prolonged life. I struggle with this issue of full healing, not mainly on my own account, but because
healing prayed for but not given looms as a central puzzle for
Christians.
A friend expressed to me one type of approach. She promised me: if I would have one hundred percent faith that God was
going to heal me, that would most certainly come about. In this
sort of view, complete healing has not been given me because of
a lack of faith.
But if Dale or anyone had complete certainty that God will heal us
or perform any other miracle we ask of him, then we would be
totally filled with our own hopes and not open to God’s will for us.
It is another paradox: on the one hand we must have complete faith
in what God can do for us, but on the other we must remain open
for his will in our lives. And who are we to say that a suffering
person lacks sufficient faith?
The Book of Job tells the story of a man who struggles to accept
suffering. God and Satan are in conflict concerning human faith.
Satan ridicules the faith of the righteous Job, saying he would only
remain true in good times. God decides to prove Satan wrong by
allowing him to put Job to the test. As readers, we understand the
cosmic significance of what is happening, but Job does not. His
riches are taken away, his children die, and he is afflicted with
“loathsome sores and boils from the sole of his foot to the crown
of his head.” Job must respond without understanding, in simple
trust.
Job is not a silent martyr. He cries out with all his mind and
strength for meaning, and rebels against the senselessness of his
situation. But in his heart, he hangs on to his faith and refuses to
curse God.
The story has a larger significance. Each human being in all of
history must decide for or against belief – belief in God despite all
the absurdity of human suffering. And the overarching conflict between good and evil is decided by the choices we make. The story
ends with God giving Job back doubly what was taken away. It is a
picture of the kingdom of God, when all suffering will be rewarded,
all contradictions resolved, and we will finally understand. The
book leaves many questions unanswered, but it reaffirms the sense
that our struggles and suffering are not unnoticed by God – and
certainly not meaningless.
Even if we have found some measure of faith, there will still
be spiritually dry times. Then we have to persist in prayer, knowing
that every believer goes through times of darkness and times of
light in his or her prayer life.
One evening, when Jesus wanted to spend some time alone in
prayer, he sent his disciples out on the lake. Later he appeared,
walking across the water toward them. The disciples were fearful
at first, thinking it a ghost, but Jesus reassured them, and invited
Peter to walk to him on the water. Peter began, but soon became
afraid and began to sink. Jesus immediately reached out his hand,
caught him, and chided him for his lack of faith.
Even the strongest person goes through moments when he or she
loses faith. Then one has to “walk on the water.” And Jesus said
that faith even as small as a mustard seed is sufficient. He understands our weakness. He was once one of us.
So much depends on how we approach God. Are we trusting, expectant, childlike? The so-called “mentally retarded” are wonderfully graced with freedom from many, if not all, of the obstacles I
have mentioned in this chapter. They are free from the bondage of
the intellect, and in their childlikeness and purity of heart they do
not know hypocrisy, envy, or pride. Their faith stands firm and unshakable in the face of seeming impossibilities.
Lois Ann, a neighbor whose daughter Louisa had Down Syndrome, remembers how, when her congregation was working
through a crisis, Louisa obtained a complete list of all members.
Sitting by the window with it, she slowly read each person’s
healing prayed for but not given looms as a central puzzle for
Christians.
A friend expressed to me one type of approach. She promised me: if I would have one hundred percent faith that God was
going to heal me, that would most certainly come about. In this
sort of view, complete healing has not been given me because of
a lack of faith.
But if Dale or anyone had complete certainty that God will heal us
or perform any other miracle we ask of him, then we would be
totally filled with our own hopes and not open to God’s will for us.
It is another paradox: on the one hand we must have complete faith
in what God can do for us, but on the other we must remain open
for his will in our lives. And who are we to say that a suffering
person lacks sufficient faith?
The Book of Job tells the story of a man who struggles to accept
suffering. God and Satan are in conflict concerning human faith.
Satan ridicules the faith of the righteous Job, saying he would only
remain true in good times. God decides to prove Satan wrong by
allowing him to put Job to the test. As readers, we understand the
cosmic significance of what is happening, but Job does not. His
riches are taken away, his children die, and he is afflicted with
“loathsome sores and boils from the sole of his foot to the crown
of his head.” Job must respond without understanding, in simple
trust.
Job is not a silent martyr. He cries out with all his mind and
strength for meaning, and rebels against the senselessness of his
situation. But in his heart, he hangs on to his faith and refuses to
curse God.
The story has a larger significance. Each human being in all of
history must decide for or against belief – belief in God despite all
the absurdity of human suffering. And the overarching conflict between good and evil is decided by the choices we make. The story
ends with God giving Job back doubly what was taken away. It is a
picture of the kingdom of God, when all suffering will be rewarded,
all contradictions resolved, and we will finally understand. The
book leaves many questions unanswered, but it reaffirms the sense
that our struggles and suffering are not unnoticed by God – and
certainly not meaningless.
Even if we have found some measure of faith, there will still
be spiritually dry times. Then we have to persist in prayer, knowing
that every believer goes through times of darkness and times of
light in his or her prayer life.
One evening, when Jesus wanted to spend some time alone in
prayer, he sent his disciples out on the lake. Later he appeared,
walking across the water toward them. The disciples were fearful
at first, thinking it a ghost, but Jesus reassured them, and invited
Peter to walk to him on the water. Peter began, but soon became
afraid and began to sink. Jesus immediately reached out his hand,
caught him, and chided him for his lack of faith.
Even the strongest person goes through moments when he or she
loses faith. Then one has to “walk on the water.” And Jesus said
that faith even as small as a mustard seed is sufficient. He understands our weakness. He was once one of us.
So much depends on how we approach God. Are we trusting, expectant, childlike? The so-called “mentally retarded” are wonderfully graced with freedom from many, if not all, of the obstacles I
have mentioned in this chapter. They are free from the bondage of
the intellect, and in their childlikeness and purity of heart they do
not know hypocrisy, envy, or pride. Their faith stands firm and unshakable in the face of seeming impossibilities.
Lois Ann, a neighbor whose daughter Louisa had Down Syndrome, remembers how, when her congregation was working
through a crisis, Louisa obtained a complete list of all members.
Sitting by the window with it, she slowly read each person’s
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