the God Who heals

In today's reading from A Daily Reader for Contemplative Living by Thomas Keating, we experience God has healer.

Now this might be confusing or frustrating to some of you. Because while God IS the ultimate healer, some of you might have suffered, and might BE suffering, with illness that He has not healed as of right now. And this causes some people to struggle in their faith. Why doesn't God heal me??

Well, there are many answers to that, and all of them can fall short of comforting someone who is hurting. But the answers do help us to understand why we suffer.

The first thing to remember is that God does heal us. He has designed our bodies so that when we get sick, or we get injured, we heal. He is the Maker, and He made us this way. We don't usually just die when we get sick. We get better. And the same with injuries. He made us to heal from the things that cause us pain and suffering in our lives. So when we get sick or get hurt, and we heal, we can thank Him for making us this way.

And He does miraculously heal people, too. Throughout the Bible, we read stories of people being healed supernaturally. And He promised that we, His followers, would be able to do this, too. And it does happen sometimes, even today. There are miracles every year, especially connected to saints and to certain locations, such as Lourdes.

But it's important to remember that these bodies, and this life, are not the final goal. We will get sick and die eventually. Even Lazarus, who God raised from the dead, eventually died again. That's the fate that we all face. And learning to face that fate with courage and faith is an enormous part of what life is all about.

So don't be afraid. If you've struggled with suffering and pain for awhile, lift them up to Him. He will redeem them, and use them for your good. He promises that when we suffer in our bodies, we're through with sin. And we know that suffering makes us kind and patient people, when we let it do its work in us.

Keep your eyes on Him, and trust Him to heal you. It might be soon, a natural or supernatural healing. Or, He might use your suffering to make you ready for what's next. And heal you with the ultimate healing when He brings you home. Either way, you have wonderful health and life to look forward to.

God, thank You for being our Healer.