Isaiah 38 relates the story of King Hezekiah, when the prophet came and told him he would die. But God changed his mind when Hezekiah prayed and wept and reminded God of a few things…and God ended up adding 15 years to Hezekiah’s life. At this time, Hezekiah was sick…he had boils or sores and other infirmities. The interesting thing is, even though God performed miracles – He added years to Hezekiah’s life, and he turned back the sun (10 notches on the dial) as a sign – Hezekiah didn’t leap out of his bed fully restored. He still had to go through the process of the treatment – the fig poultice – in order to fully recover. What does that say about God’s healing? Well, God added years to his life: I believe Hezekiah was healed at a deeper level – he was healed of the terminal illness – but he still had to recover from the effects of the illness.
Like a cancer patient whose cancer goes into remission…the weight has to be gained back, the strength restored, the hair grown back, etc.
In New Heart Healing and Recovery, we can apply this principle: God will heal us of our addictions, false belief systems, grief, shame, abuse, but there are “sores” that remain after the healing that we have to treat in order to fully recover. “Sores” like unforgiveness, bad habits, ungodly lifestyle, unhealthy attitudes, pride, pain, fear, and unrealistic expectations. Maybe treating the “sores” after the healing is an act of faith. Faith of an unseen healing.
After all, how could Hezekiah know he was healed if he still had visible evidence of illness – the sores? But he trusted God’s word and applied the fig poultices. And we need to trust God’s Word and do what we need to do to treat the “sores” in our lives. We are wounded people and, if applied, will find a poultice—a healing salve—in the Word of God.
That’s what Healing and Recovery is for. Every person who comes to New Heart Monday Nite can be healed! How do I know? Because Jesus is there and everyone in Jesus’ vicinity was healed in the Bible (Matt. 12:15), so everyone that comes to Healing and Recovery can be healed! (I’m not saying you have to come to New Heart in order to get healed, but it’s one option—God can heal you anywhere). Once healed, now for the recovery…now for the treatment of the residual wounds and their effects—the “sores!”
By faith, and together, we will treat the unforgiveness, bad habits, ungodly lifestyles, unhealthy attitudes, pride, pain, fear, and unrealistic expectations, by applying a fig poultice of TRUTH to them!