Sometimes we forget to say “thanks” so today I want to thank a fellow who may have saved my life in a high school football game nearly 50 years ag
We were playing one of the top teams in the state and they were killing us. Actually “killing” is too mild to describe the massacre. For some reason I was playing linebacker. The Rattlers (the other team) had ripped a hole in our defensive line and suddenly I found myself with nothing but air and five yards of grass between my skinny 15-year old body and their all-state running back.
He was big, fast and ugly (maybe not ugly but that sounds good with the other two). I felt like a daisy in front of a charging bull as he powered towards me, bent nearly parallel to the ground. My life flashed before my eyes. My best hope was that some people would at least cry at my funeral.
Suddenly from nowhere, one of our defensive backs, senior Mac Hubbard, slashed in from the side and smacked him down. I may have pranced around afterwards like I had done something or maybe I even piled on a bit. I don’t remember. But, I knew the truth: I was a goner if Mac hadn’t saved me.
So, I’m 49 years late with this but, “Thanks Mac. I really appreciate it man.”
Photos courtesy of and copyright Free Range Stock, www.freerangestock.com Ernie Aranyosi
Those thinkers among you are probably scratching your head and wondering, “How is he going to get something about healing out of that? Good question. Hang on.
Three Healing Helpers
If you need to be healed physically I suggest you enlist some help. Often physical sickness and spiritual weakness seem to be linked. It seems that I have a harder time praying for myself than for others. So, like old Mac zoomed in to help me on the football field, it’s not a bad idea to find others to help you pray and believe when you’re sick.
You can start by asking for prayer from the leaders of your local church. “If anyone is ill he should send for the Church elders. They should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord’s name. Believing prayer will save the sick man; the Lord will restore him and any sins that he has committed will be forgiven. You should get into the habit of admitting your sins to each other, and praying for each other, so that if sickness comes to you, you may be healed. Tremendous power is made available through a good man’s earnest prayer.” James 5: 14-16, J.B. Phillips)
It also helps to have one or two good friends who pray with you regularly because sometimes the battle is long.
The second healing helper is God’s Word (which is really the first). Begin to think about what He promised. Weigh it in your heart. Pass and repass it in your heart. Say it with your voice so that you can hear it. “God said, ‘If you listen, listen obediently to how God tells you to live in his presence, obeying his commandments and keeping all his laws, then I won’t strike you with all the diseases that I inflicted on the Egyptians; I am God your healer.’” (Exodus 15:26, The Message).
“He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” (Ps. 107:20, NIV) Matthew says, “He relieved the inwardly tormented. He cured the bodily ill. He fulfilled Isaiah’s well-known sermon: He took our illnesses, He carried our diseases.” (Matt. 8:17, The Message)
When you have to work at it, you press in. That’s part of faith. You begin to think about how God is. You get to know Him. You can grow.
I’ve got a good friend who has gone through a major physical crisis. Slowly but surely he’s pulling out, but I’m amazed at how he’s grown spiritually (and he was already a fellow who loved the Lord tremendously). But, he’s developed a depth in this battle that he didn’t have before.
That’s the third key. Don’t just lay there. Fight ! I want to tread lightly here. It’s easy to tell the sick person, ‘’Stand up and fight’’ when it’s not us suffering. When we are sick, it’s often tough to hold up our head. As I said, the physical and the spiritual are closely related. Often spiritual problems can cause physical problems and physical problems can weaken us spiritually.
But, we need to find some way to fight, to give ourselves hope. Maybe it’s like my friend who shows up to “make the tackle” when we can’t. One paralyzed fellow had four friends like this and against all odds they got him to Jesus. The rest is history.
Make this a spiritual battle. I’m amazed at how many times I forget to even pray for healing. I’m certainly not against doctors and medicine. I go to the doctor and I take my medicine. I thank God with all my heart for these men and women who relieve so much suffering in the world. We’re blessed to live in a time where there is so much help.
What if my first reflex, though, was to seek the Lord in prayer? Maybe I’d see a lot more divine healing. And doctors are the first to recognize their limits. We need the Lord’s help in healing.
I wish I could give you all the answers about healing. I don’t think anyone can. But, I do know that God heals.
Could those who have received a documented divine healing give us some “advice?” (For those of you who have lots to say: not too long, huh?)