May 20, 2017
Paul tells us that
2Timothy 1:7 . . . God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
We therefore know that if our minds are not “sound,” it is not God’s will. There is also the implication that fear could be at the root of any lack of power, love or soundness of mind that we might experience.
The apostle John tells us that
1John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
As I have recorded in several of these contemplations, I myself have struggled with fear, anxiety and tendencies toward depression. Several members of my family have suffered from psychological problems and been admitted to psychiatric wards. My mother and two siblings were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.
We have several Scriptural instances of lack of soundness of mind. We see King Saul being “troubled” by an “evil spirit from the Lord” as the “Spirit of the Lord” “departed” from him; and we see David being summoned to play the harp to drive away the “evil spirit” (1Samuel 16:14ff). Of course, as already stated, I believe “evil spirits” to be manifestation of our personal fears, not separate beings coming into us from the outside (see “Casting out Demons” and “Powers and Principalities and Rulers of the Darkness” ). James tells us that God does not tempt us with evil (1:13), but the Old Testament law god (Yahweh) was believed to be the source of whatever happened, whether good or evil (see “Elohim or Yahweh“). We know that Saul brought his problems upon himself (as do we all) by his own refusal to heed the voice of the Lord (1Samuel 15:11). But that is subject for another study.
Other instances in Scripture of lack of soundness of mind are Nebuchadnezzar whose pride brought him low (Daniel 4:30ff) (see “Godly Fear“) and the Gadarene maniac (Mark 5:1ff) whom Jesus restored to “his right mind” (v 15).
In each of these instances restoration of mind was available.
But now we have an epidemic of Alzheimer’s Disease for which we are told by the medical profession that there is no cure. I’m quite sure the scientific community could have offered no hope for the instances cited above either. But they were not treated as mere physical problems (as is Alzheimer’s); they were spiritual problems being physically manifested, as I believe all physical maladies to be—but of course cannot “prove.”
Are we who know and believe that Jesus bore our diseases in His own body on the cross (Isaiah 53:5—see “Dare We Trust God for Our Physical Well-Being?“), that we were healed by the stripes of Jesus (1Peter 2:24), that God wants us to “prosper and be in health” (3John 2), that Jesus never refused to heal anyone who asked for healing and believed He could heal them—are we to just accept the “prophecy of doom” pronounced by the medical profession on everyone they diagnose with Alzheimer’s (or any other disease for that matter)? We know that there was no cure for leprosy either, and yet Naaman was healed (2Kings 5:14), as were all the lepers who came to Jesus for healing (Mark 1:40-42; Lk 17:12-19). King Asa died with a disease of his feet because “he sought not the Lord” but rather the physicians (2Chronicles 16:12-13) while the woman with the “issue of blood” received healing when she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment after spending all her money on the physicians with no results (Luke 8:43-44). It might be worth noting that Luke (who recorded this) was himself a physician (Colossians 4:14) who obviously knew the limitations of his profession, but knew also that nothing was impossible to God. It might also be worth noting that we are supposed to be living under a “better covenant” with “better promises” than any of those people mentioned above (Hebrews 8:6).
In Jeremiah we read:
Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
And Jesus said that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
as well as
Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Are the words of the doctors to carry more weight than the words of Jesus? Are we to accept (as orthodoxy has) that we are now in a “dispensation” where healing MAY come from the Lord, but we can’t count on it. We pray for healing and ask others to pray with us, but we just accept it as not being God’s will when the person isn’t healed. Are we to exalt science over the promises of God? (See “Dare We Trust God for our Physical Well-Being?” and “God Omnipotent“) Are we to accept that man lost his dominion in the Garden of Eden and that even the cross of Jesus couldn’t restore it? (See “Under HIS Feet”). Are we to just hang on the best we can during our sojourn on this earth until some disease comes to claim us so that we can be released into heaven? Dare we believe that God’s grace is sufficient for whatever comes our way, not just sufficient for us to endure, but to overcome? Mightn’t we be like King Joash who could have received more of the Lord had he only expected more (2Kings 13:14-19)?
Or are we willing to get alone with God and hear what the Spirit is saying about what might be hindering our receiving that which we are asking for? Of course we know, bottom line, that we are not believing that we receive when we pray (see “BELIEVE—Then Receive“):
Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive them, and ye SHALL have them.
But we need the Spirit to reveal to us WHY we are not believing that we receive. Maybe we, like Thomas, just refuse to believe until we see (John 20:25). But Jesus said to Thomas (and to us):
v 29 . . . blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Maybe we just don’t yet believe that what science says is IMpossible IS possible with God. Once, when seeking healing for what the medical profession said was “incurable,” I heard this Scripture spoken to me by the Spirit:
James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
As soon as I heard and responded, I did indeed receive healing (see “Asking Amiss“).
Maybe, like the rich young ruler, I do hear what the Spirit tells me is hindering me but am unwilling to act on what I hear, unwilling to do that which is required for me to obtain what I desire (Matthew 19:16ff).
Perhaps I am enjoying the attention, the feelings of being loved and the freedom from responsibility that I’m getting when I’m ill and therefore don’t really wish to be free of the illness (even though I say that I do). Am I willing to hear this spoken to me? I had a sister who was able to hear this and get up from what appeared to be her death bed to live several more years.
Am I willing to hear and respond to whatever the Spirit tells me might be hindering my believing that I receive when I pray, guaranteeing that I will have what I’m praying for?
It is one thing to pray and listen and obey for myself; praying for someone else is a different matter, and one on which I feel I still lack revelation—revelation that we all need when praying for our loved ones who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s—because many of them are at a place where they are already incapable of doing this for themselves.
But, again, we have much encouragement from the Scriptures. When the man “sick of the palsy” was let down from the roof for Jesus to heal, Jesus said that it was the faith (the belief that Jesus could and would heal him) of the four men who brought him there (“when Jesus saw THEIR faith”) that enabled the man to receive healing (Mark 2:1-5). The centurion came to Jesus on behalf of his servant (who was also “sick of the palsy”) and was commended by Jesus for his “great faith” (Matthew 8:5-10). Actually, people were always being brought to Jesus to receive healing (Luke 4:40). Or Jesus was brought to them, as in the case of Peter’s mother-in-law (Luke 4:38-39) and all the people that He raised from the dead. People were also placed where Peter’s shadow could “overshadow” them (Acts 5:15) and had placed upon them articles of clothing from Paul’s body (Acts 19:12). In both instances, all the people were healed.
Jesus promised us that we would do the works that He did (John 14:12) and also told us that we who “believe” would have “signs” following us (Mark 16:17), one of which is that we will lay hands on the sick and see them recover (v18). Isn’t He asking us the same question He asked Martha at the tomb of Lazarus? “Believest thou this?” (John 11:26).
Do we believe what Jesus said or what the doctors tell us?
I’m writing this not to condemn myself or anyone else, but rather, like Peter, to “stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance” (2Peter 3:1). God has given us all “pure” and “sound” minds, not taken them away from us by Alzheimer’s or any other affliction. Dare we believe this and begin pressing in to God, not being “double-minded” about it, but asking God for the wisdom that we now need to proceed and know with a certainty that we will receive that wisdom “liberally” (James 1:5-8). Let us begin to cooperate with the Spirit of God in us:
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
I know that I am not the only one who is “groaning” as I watch those I love “losing” the sound mind given to them by God. Let us agree together (see “Power of Agreement“) that we will devote ourselves to listening to the Spirit inside, hearing and obeying whatever the Spirit is saying to us, the church, as we “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13), watching God do that which is impossible to man but not at all difficult for God—restoring the minds of those we bring to Him just as He did when He walked this earth.