From the Pulpit

Putting Humpty Together

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, and all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldn’t put Humpty together again. But God can.
One of the things that God has told us about Himself in His Word is that “I am the Lord who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26) He is Jehovah Rapha, the God who wants to heal. I believe this, but with this belief also comes a mystery. God can put Humpty together again, but there are many times God doesn’t.
Faith does not always bring healing in terms of physical and emotional cure for our maladies. It's evident as we look around us that some are healed by faith, and others are not.
It happens all the time. I pray with and for people for healing, and sometimes healing takes place the way I desire and picture it. Then there are the times I pray for and with people for healing and it doesn’t take place in the manner or time I have envisioned or would like.
Many people are not open to miraclulous possibilities in their lives because they simply will not admit to any problem, any need, or any inadequacy of any kind. For some that attitude evidences itself in the fact that they will not come to God at all.
And even those of us who have asked Jesus into our lives often live and act as though we have to live the Christian life on our own strength and power.
If we want our miracle, if we want spiritual healing, there must be a point at which we are willing to admit our problem or condition; then turn to God with open heart and belief that God will meet our needs as we do our part to seek healing. We need to have a desire to get well, not excuses for why we can’t. When we allow ourselves to embrace excuses, we resign ourselves to the fact that there is nothing we can do. Our excuses keep us from going the extra mile to seek healing.
Even then, there are times when healing doesn’t take place for reasons we don’t understand. We aren’t alone. The Apostle Paul had “a thorn in his side” which he prayed numerous times for God to remove. God didn’t, but enabled Paul to minister out of his disability.
Here's the point: Sometimes our strongest abilities arise out of dealing with our disabilities. Just because some people aren’t physically and emotionally healed from the particular malady that has them in its grip, doesn’t mean they can’t experience wholeness. God may not remove our condition, but He will give us what we need to be whole and overcome it, and possibly even do something for His glory in the midst of it.
God’s word to Paul and to us is, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Like Paul, we can proclaim, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NIV)
When Humpty Dumpty experiences happen, God is with us in our brokenness. That means when life gives us lemons, we can make lemonade. When eggs break, we make omelets. In Christ, we can know wholeness even when we're limited. Jesus’ call to health and wholeness enables the disabled every day, and will enable us as well.