Commentary on "Faith and Healing"

RICHARD PEIFER

 

Day 5: Wednesday, May 5, 2010

 

Overview

“ ‘Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’ (Rom. 15:13, NKJV).

How can you learn to better claim these promises? What attitudes or actions are holding you back?

Just being religious, in and of itself, is not the answer. What is most important is having a personal relationship with Jesus, knowing for yourself His love and care. This can be done through daily reading of the Word, through prayer, through talking to the Lord as if with a friend, and through contemplating His character as revealed in nature and Scripture. How much time do you spend getting to know the Lord for yourself? Might you need, perhaps, to spend a little more time with your Lord and Maker?” (SDA Teacher’s Quarterly, P. 72)

 

Observations

Again, I completely agree that stress is one of the greatest threats to health. Yet, the questions asked with regard to stress betray a fixation on behaviorism that will only make the stress greater. I know. I’ve been there.

Romans 15:13 states both the source and means of abounding in hope. The God of hope, our Source, fills us with all joy and peace; the Holy Spirit is the power by which we abound.

Why ask “how can you learn to better claim these promises? What attitudes or actions are holding you back?” The answer is obvious. Unbelief is holding you back. Attitudes and actions are the results of belief, not the cause of it. The kind of belief I’m talking about is not some mental exercise for accepting that 2+2=4. It is the response of faith. “Jesus did all of that for me? How can I do other than fall into His loving arms, literally betting the farm that what He says is true!”

You can read the Bible, pray and contemplate God’s character for ten thousand years and never get to know the Lord for yourself. The Bible clearly states that no one can understand what God has done for and within us unless it is revealed by the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 2). Does this negate Bible reading and prayer? Of course not! You must realize that screwing up your courage to study Leviticus one more time is not going to matter a hill of beans. But if the Holy Spirit takes you into Leviticus in order to explain some aspect of the New Covenant in the context of the Old, then real learning, real revelation, will occur.

This is the practical application of faith. I do not initiate to God: “Lord, I’m in Leviticus for the forty-third time. Please help me get through it without falling asleep again.”

I respond to God: “What is it, Lord, that you want me to know about Jesus my great High Priest? Did you just tell me to look in Leviticus? Really? Well, you know I’ve tried to read Leviticus forty-three times in the past, and I fell asleep every time. Seriously? You’ve got something special for me today? OK. But I’m not going there alone. Thank you for coming with me.” And then, WOW!

This is not pie-in-the-sky stuff. The Holy Spirit wants to have this honest a conversation with each of us. He absolutely will reveal the Bible’s meaning to you, but only on His terms.

If you try to live the Christian life on your own, the stress will be far worse than you can imagine. Satan will play every dirty trick in his book, press every button he knows about you and otherwise make your life miserable.

Stop asking questions like: “How much time do you spend getting to know the Lord for yourself? Might you need, perhaps, to spend a little more time with your Lord and Maker?” The answer is obvious. I don’t spend enough time with Jesus; never have and never will. Stop piling performance-based guilt on yourself. It does no good, and can cause severe damage to your mental and physical self.

Instead, offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice. Allow the Holy Spirit to renew your mind, rather than being conformed to the world’s pattern. Then you will know God’s will, His good, pleasing and perfect will (see Romans 12:-2).

 

Summary

1. Stress is a leading cause of sickness in our world today.
2. The way to deal with stress is by faith (see Tuesday’s commentary), not by so-called spiritual disciplines.

 

GO TO DAY 6

 

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