The Lord That Heals

//Kenneth W. Hagin

The statue of divine healing was first established in the Old Testament when God revealed Himself to the children of Israel as Jehovah Rapha, “The Lord that healeth.”

The Israelites were making their exodus out of Egypt where they had been in bondage, subject to the cruel slavery of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.

They were on their way to the Promised Land when they ventured into the Wilderness of Shur. For three days they traveled in that wasteland without any water.

The Lord has never changed     His mind about           divine             healing.

When the Israelites came to Marah, they found water, but they couldn’t drink it because it was bitter. Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree and told him to cast it into the water. When Moses did this, the water became sweet, and the children of Israel were then able to drink it (Exod. 15:22–25).

The tree Moses threw into the waters was a semblance—or a type—of the cross that Jesus died on at Calvary. Throughout the Bible, water often represents people. Isn’t it interesting that in the same way the tree was dipped into the waters at Marah to heal them, Jesus Christ, Who died on a tree and rose again from the dead, was “dipped into the waters” of humanity, so to speak, to obtain our healing and redemption!

It was at Marah that God established a statute of healing for His people. He said, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exod. 15:26).

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that this statute of healing has been revoked, changed, or altered. Malachi 3:6 says, “I am the Lord, I change not.” The Lord has never changed His mind about divine healing. When God makes a covenant with His people, He abides by that promise until it is superseded by a better one. Since healing is also found in the New Testament, we know that it is still available for us today. Actually, the Bible says that we have a better covenant than the Israelites had because of the redemptive work of Christ (Heb. 8:6)!

Your Part in Receiving Healing

You hear people say, “Yes, but I know someone who was prayed for and didn’t get healed.” Just because someone fails to receive healing doesn’t mean the Word of God is false. Nor does it mean that God’s covenant of healing is not in force today. I don’t know why some people receive their healing and others do not. Sometimes, we simply don’t know everything there is to know. However, I do know that a person must mix faith with the Word to receive healing or any other promise from God.

Roadblocks to Healing Many people desire to be healed but don’t receive their healing. Here are some reasons why: 1. Not taking time to meditate on healing scriptures 2. Questioning God’s will to heal 3. Harboring hidden sin 4. Relying on certain ministers or other people to pray the prayer of faith 5. Believing that healing will happen “sometime” instead of right now 6. Not expressing a specific desire to the Lord and expecting Him to fulfill it 7. Being spiritually lukewarm

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The Scriptures say, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Heb. 4:2). In other words, if we need healing, our faith has something to do with our receiving it. God’s Word always works when we act on it in faith. Just because someone failed to receive healing doesn’t change the fact that healing belongs to us and that it is God’s will for us to walk in divine health.

Many times we don’t understand when good Christian people go home to be with the Lord instead of receiving their healing. By the same token, we may not understand why some people choose not to accept salvation.

However, the Bible still teaches that salvation is available to all. We may not understand why things happen as they do, but a lack of understanding on our part does not discredit the Word of God. The Word says, “Believe you receive and you shall have” (Mark 11:24).

God is still in the business of healing people today. And we need to be reminded that it is God’s will for us to be healthy and enjoy the benefits of our redemption in this life.

Once we understand that healing is God’s will for us, we simply need to receive by faith what already belongs to us. We can take God at His Word, believe it, and receive what He has promised. We can be fully persuaded and have an unshakable faith in God that what He has promised, He is able also to perform, because healing is forever settled!

(Editor’s Note: This article was adapted from Kenneth W. Hagin’s book Healing—Forever Settled.)