Progressive Healing

 ...as they went, they were cleansed.

In Luke 17:12-19 we read about 10 lepers healed by Jesus. The difference of this healing compared to many others we read about is that it was not an instantaneous healing. 

In verse 14 it states that once Jesus saw the lepers, he said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." and that's it. He didn't touch them, He didn't say anything more than just that. And that verse wraps up by stating "And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed."

This speaks volumes to me as someone who has become disheartened when I didn't get an immediate response to my prayer like I thought I should.  This is so dangerous for us as believers because it puts us in a position of demanding of God what we think He should do or how He should act.  And when He doesn't respond to us accordingly, we lose faith.

When healing does not take place instantly our faith waivers and we sabotage our progressive healing. We need to stand firm on the ask and authority given us and expect that healing. 

The Bible tells us in 1 John 5:14-15 "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us; 15 and if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire of him."

This scripture basically means that if we pray according to his will, he WILL do it. So what about healing? Is healing apart of His will? Well, he did not design sickness or infirmity; that is of the devil. When Jesus, being fully man and fully God, walked the earth, he healed EVERYONE that came to him for healing. And we know that when we are in the midst of our illness or infirmity, our focus and attention is first and foremost on that, but the Bible tells us that God wants to be our first. So all of that tells me that yes, it is His will to heal.

There's two other key notes in the story of the 10 lepers. The first of note is Jesus told them to do something before they were even healed - "Go, show yourselves to the priests". So there was a call for obedience that demanded an answer. The 10 lepers answered that call, obeyed, and they were healed during their act of obedience.

The second thing of note was that out of the 10 lepers who were healed, only 1 came back to thank Jesus and praise God.

Even though all 10 lepers were healed, the Bible makes special mention of the one who came back to recognize what Jesus had done for him and he gave God glory.  This leper recognized the grace and love that Jesus showed him and was full of gratefulness for it.

God deserves our thankfulness in everything and when we recognize Him in our healing and in all the good things around us, it opens us up to receive more of what He WANTS to give us.

So let's stand firm on the promises of God, His will to heal us, and stay thankful for what He does and what we know He will do and this journey of progressive healing will deepen our faith and relationship with God.