God is the greatest physician of all times. I can personally attest to this because I have experienced God’s healing grace countless times in the past. He can work miraculously or he can choose to heal through medical and natural means; he can cure instantly or gradually. He may heal a person in this world or in eternity. Whatever the method, speed, or time, it doesn’t change the fact that God was, is, and will forever be the greatest physician. He is the source of all healings. No human doctor can ever heal on his own; all of his knowledge, skills, and abilities come from God who is the source of all wisdom and power. In Exodus 15:26, God introduced himself saying, “I am Yahweh, the One who heals you.”
As the greatest physician, God is both able and willing to heal. He is able because with God, nothing is impossible (Lk 1:37). By his mighty word, we read in the first chapter of Genesis that everything came into existence. Referring to Jesus, Hebrews 1:3 declares, “He is the radiance of God’s glory and bears the stamp of God’s hidden being, so that his powerful word upholds the universe.” In the gospels, we read accounts of Jesus healing people of various diseases and infirmities. He made the blind to see, deaf to hear, and lame to walk. He cleansed lepers, cured fever, stopped blood flow, restored a withered hand, removed dropsy/edema, and restored a cut ear. He even raised the dead back to life. The fact is that he healed every kind of disease and illness (Mt 4:23). He has the power to do so because in offering his life, he not only offered forgiveness for our sins but also healing for our diseases. “By his wounds we were healed” (Is 53:5b).
There is thus no doubt that God can heal. The other question is, “Is he willing to heal you and me?” There are differing views on this; personally, I take the view that in general, it is God’s will to heal his children. In Luke 8:1-4 we are told that a man with leprosy came and knelt before Jesus saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Notice Jesus’ answer, “I am willing, be clean!” If Jesus was willing to heal that man, I believe that he is also willing to heal us. God, as a good parent, will not find delight seeing his children suffer. Jesus said, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Mt 7:9-11).
But how if the healing is slow in coming, or worse, if somebody we prayed for did not get well and died? Does that mean that God was unable or unwilling to cure in this case? Of course not. Let us remember that God is sovereign and he does things for the greatest good. We may not understand fully why a Christian who fervently asked God to heal him was not healed. But we can trust God for his decision. It might be the sick man’s time to pass through this life and experience full healing in the next life. In Hebrews, we are reminded that it is appointed for men to die once and after that, face judgment (Heb 9:27). But until that time comes, our duty as believers is to keep on praying and asking God to intervene in our health problems, and to do what we can to seek his healing through medical and natural methods. Prayer moves the heart of God. In Hezekiah 20, God told Hezekiah to put his house in order for he shall die. Hezekiah wept bitterly and begged God to save his life. God, in his mercy, heard Hezekiah’s prayer and changed his mind. He healed him and extended his life for a number of years. No case is ever hopeless in front of our loving and merciful God. Let us not get tired of begging for his healing and doing his will. “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective” (Js 5:16b). It pierces through the heavens and reaches the ears of God, the greatest physician.