I recently answered a question posted to GotQuestions.org asking if the reason why people don’t get healed is because they don’t have enough faith. The Bible does not teach that if someone does not get physically healed from a sickness, it is because they did not have enough faith. While faith does play a role in healing, it is not a determining factor. Jesus many times commends people for their faith, however it does not imply that those who are not healed lack faith. It should be noted that Jesus even healed a blind man without him knowing what was happening to him let alone having faith for Him to heal him (John 9:1-7). What it really looked like is that Jesus attacked him. Imagine some guy grabbing your face and sticking spit-filled mud in your eyes. Jesus never told him what He was doing. How can he have faith if he didn’t know what was going on?
While God does heal miraculously, physical healing is not guaranteed for everyone in this life, but God uses it for His glory. Here are some examples:
- The apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh that God did not remove despite his prayers for healing (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
- Joni Ericson Tada who is a famous Christian quadriplegic prayed and continues to pray for healing, but God has used her in mighty ways through her crimplenes. She is a world-famous speaker, Christian Author, and has met many United States Presidents and leadership of many foreign countries. Would she be who she is today without her condition? Her belief is that those who are disabled need to embrace life and know about Jesus Christ.
- My friend, Joel, who went through a serious car accident with a drunk driver when he was three years old, became a quadriplegic and is wheelchair bound. Yet, God uses him in mighty ways to talk about Jesus to grade-schoolers, high-schoolers, and shares his faith on the streets alongside me at the Answers in Genesis booth at the Iowa State Fair. He is also an accomplished Author, writing — The Quad Life: Unexpected Times Abound, Reliance On God a Must. Because of his disability, he has opportunities that I don’t have.
- Robert, a quadriplegic who could only move his neck, listened to me as I shared the gospel to him in a rehab facility. He had questions about the Bible and needed someone to read it to him. He spent over 25 years as a quad’. Over a few months through reading the Gospel of John to him and answering his questions, he was overcome with the Holy Spirit, repented of sin, and understood everything we discussed. We were planning on getting him baptized after I came back from a trip to NJ to visit family. That was the last time I saw him. He passed away the day before I came back. God waited over 25 years for him. Those are miracles we should be celebrating.
I am not down-playing their conditions. They are and can be exceptionally painful, daunting, and wearisome to say the least. But would they be able to do what they do if they were healthy? When you talk to my friend, Joel, who said he is actually thankful for the quad life. He’s an Author, artist, vlogger, evangelist, and has a job setting up websites; and has a fantastic sense of humor on top of it all.
When we share the gospel together at Pella Tulip Time or the Iowa State Fair, I watch him alongside his nurse handing out tracts talking to people about Jesus Christ. With all that God has done through him, I sometimes I wonder — am I the disabled one?
You can find Joel Vander Molen’s new book, “The Quad Life: Unexpected Times Abound, Reliance on God a Must” by clicking the link on Amazon.com.
Pens & Wrenches 
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