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This is a question that comes up in our mind when we ourselves are sick or someone else is sick. We know God can heal supernaturally because God is almighty, and also from the examples in the Bible. So, the question, whether God will heal, is different from the other one, can He heal? Once we are convinced in our mind about God's ability to heal, that cannot automatically lead to thinking that therefore He will. The factor that becomes crucial here is what God's will is in this particular case.

Many assume that God's will is always healing because of various reasons. The most common reason given out in this context is "By His stripes we are healed" (Is.53:5). But the full verse says, "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed." The next verse says, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him." The whole context of the chapter is spiritual healing which the Messiah would bring, and it is somewhat strange to take out a part of one individual sentence there to refer to physical healing. Another verse is, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases" (Ps.103:2,3). Is not the meaning here to say that it is the Lord who heals our diseases, rather than to say He always heals all our diseases? Still another way healing is automatically expected is based on Jesus telling a leper that His will was to heal him (Mt.8:2,3). Can we afford to take this one case and generally apply it to all cases?

In other words, there is no clear promise from God that He will heal every single disease that we, His children, come across. On the other hand, there are many examples in the New Testament where God's people did not get healed. In the present time, there are cases of miraculous healing in answer to prayer, but there are also cases of sickness leading to death. So, how can we answer this question, "Will God heal?"

We pray for healing because we know our Father can heal, and also that He loves us. But can we be sure we will be healed? Let us look at one case. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, one thing He said was that the end of that sickness was not death (Jn.11:4). If we hear such a promise from God in a particular situation, then we can have the assurance that the sickness would be healed. That assurance is the mark of this special faith God has given us (He.11:1). But if we don't hear it from God, we can't have that faith (Ro.10:17). Then, however much we try to convince ourselves that we will be healed, we can't have that assurance. It is then good to honestly admit we don't know!

If we don't make this distinction, we may follow or give a false hope, and some people may even avoid the medical treatment that could have helped them.

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