Removing the Roadblocks to Healing
The Bible establishes the fact that Jesus Christ came to restore us to right relationship with God. Through His blood, we are free from sin. By His stripes, we are healed. This sacrifice was without limitation to every person, yet not all are free from sin and not all are healed and well. Why? Because it requires something of each individual person.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
John 1:12
In order to be free from sin, you must receive Him as your Lord and Savior and believe. To be healed and live in health, it is necessary to receive Him as your Great Physician and believe that He bore your sickness and pain. Receive and believe. It is accomplished and in God’s book, it is done! All debts are paid, healing and health is credited to your account. God is not the problem; we sometimes cause our own problems by hindering the manifestation of the health that God has given us.
Let’s examine some of these “roadblocks” to healing and health:
1. Claiming Sickness as Belonging to You
Has anyone ever asked you what kind of car you drive? Your answer usually goes like this, “I have a blue Chevy Malibu.” I have. I have signifies something you possess that belongs to you. You claimed the car as your own. Now if you were driving your sister’s car that you borrowed for the day, you would reply, “I am driving my sister’s white Ford Escort.” You are agreeing you are driving the car for the day, but deny that it belongs to you. Sickness is an energy that might try to attach itself to you, but DO NOT CLAIM IT or accept it as yours. When you say:
“I have arthritis,” you are acknowledging that it belongs to you.
“My high blood pressure,” it is yours.
“I am sick,” you are what you say you are.
So what do I say then? How do I talk to my spouse, my doctor etc?
“My knee has been hurting” or “It hurts here,” acknowledges what is, but does not establish ownership.
“I am currently experiencing these symptoms_______,” describes what is happening now but it is subject to change.
“I feel dizzy,” tells what your body is feeling, but it does not commit you to being dizzy for the rest of your life.
These are better ways to say what needs to be said, and you should only say them when necessary. Rather than continually repeat these words and focus on them, focus on the end result—health—whether health comes miraculously, through doctors, medicine, holistic treatments, or change of diet; it does not matter how God helps you enter into divine health.
Now I know that you understand the power of words, but some of you may say that this is only a matter of semantics. No, it is a matter of what you say affecting your body. It is a matter of making a passing pain into a condition, a temporary illness into a syndrome, and sometimes into a terminal condition. You do not deny what you are experiencing, but you call for the end result which is health. By your words and beliefs, you can make a temporary condition temporary, or solidify it into a concrete permanent illness.
For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
James 3:2-3 NKJV
If you can control your words, you can control your whole body. The Amplified translation says, “…able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature.” James also says that the words you speak can even defile your body:
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
James 3:6 NKJV
The Amplified version says, “…contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth—-the cycle of man’s nature…”
If you can defile and make your body sick by your words, how much more can you make yourself well by speaking words of health?
“THANK YOU LORD MY BODY RESPONDS TO THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH AND I AM WELL AND MY BODY IS WELL. THE SAME SPIRIT THAT RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD NOW QUICKENS AND MAKES ALIVE EVERY CELL IN MY BODY!"
2. Belief in Tribal DNA
I believe from my research that the scriptures above referring to the “course of nature” or the “wheel of birth” refers to what you have inherited, your DNA. You may have inherited a great DNA from your family genes. Your family goes back generations and so I refer to it as “tribal DNA.” Nature has given you a gift of a healthy set of genes. James says that you can destroy that wonderful gift by your tongue. The words you speak can bring sickness as well as health.
Maybe your family has had a lot of sickness and so you say, “Well, my Dad died at an early age of ___________(fill in the blank, heart attack, diabetes, stroke) and I’ll probably die early too.”
Your DNA is not the determining factor of your health. You are. Yes, you may have inherited some genes that have a tendency to produce certain illnesses, but what you say, what you believe, and how you take care of yourself will determine the outcome. If you choose to believe that you are a victim of your DNA, it will be a self fulfilling prophecy. The key is, YOU HAVE A CHOICE!
You just read the scriptures above and James says that by your words, you can change “the wheel of birth” for good or for bad. In your situation, I would declare loudly (in private):
“I WILL NOT INHERIT SICKNESS, DISEASE, OR MALFUNCTION OF ANY KIND BECAUSE I AM A CHILD OF GOD, BORN OF HIS SPIRIT, MY INHERITANCE IS FROM GOD MY FATHER! LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY!”
The physical world is created from the spiritual realm and your spiritual inheritance carries more authority than your physical inheritance. Just as the physical earth was not created in a day, your physical body may take time to respond to the spiritual input that you just unleashed by those words. Some biologists are now determining that DNA is not a sure thing in the development of disease. One thing is certain from a Biblical perspective and that is: your words affect your body and your beliefs affect your body. From a natural perspective, taking care of yourself by exercising, eating well, and seeking advice from health professionals also affects your health.
Since you have a choice of what to say and what to believe about health, wouldn’t it be better to believe health is available?
Because you have the ultimate choice over your body, isn’t it better to treat it like the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells?
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV
3. Using Infirmity As A Tool
A very big roadblock to health that no one really talks about is that sickness, illness, pain, and infirmity appear to have some big advantages from some people’s point of view. I want to make you aware of this because I have dealt with some who use their “illness” as a way to get attention. Sickness or physical problems become a “tool” that can be used to:
I had one person tell me they really wanted to be well, but what would they do if they could no longer get their disability check?
My intention in writing this is to help you find any hindrances in your life that prevent you from receiving your healing and living in health. This may not apply to you, but ask yourself the question:
“Am I receiving any perks from this illness?”
There is no judgement or condemnation, just be honest. If a person chooses to receive money over health, that is simply a decision that is made. The Bible tells us in 3 John 1:2 that God wants us to prosper and be in health. You can have both—money and live in health. By meditating on this scripture, you can overcome that fear:
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
3 John 1:2 NKJV
If there are any other perks you receive by not being well, acknowledge it and talk to God about it. Perhaps the Holy Spirit can help you through reading the scriptures to realize that you can have the love of God and feel His Presence and this will become more comforting and satisfying than human sympathy.
Rather than using illness as an excuse to escape events you don’t want to attend or participate, maybe you could be well, live in health and just say, “That is not something I want to do.” The devil really tries to trip us up on the details, but it is the “little foxes that spoil the vines.” Song of Solomon 2:15
When Jesus encountered the man at the pool of Bethesda, he had been infirm 38 years and appears to have developed a victim mentality. When Jesus asked him, “Will you be made whole?” his response was, “I have no one to help me.”
And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
John 5:5-9
After being ill and in pain for such a length of time, it is understandable that he felt alone, abandoned and hopeless. But he had not encountered Jesus! At Jesus’ command, he obeyed His Word and walked. Once you have really had an experience with the Great Physician and searched His Word, you will come to understand that He is able to provide ALL you have need of: emotionally, financially, and physically. Accept Him as your Great Physician and Healer.
(Part 2 coming in November)
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