Complete Healing

 January 9, 2022

Writing to the corrupt spiritual leaders of his nation, Jeremiah levels an accusation that should haunt every would-be preacher of the Gospel: “They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).

We say we believe in the ministry of healing; we pray for people to be healed of all sorts of illnesses, but I wonder how often we only skip along the surface of the matter instead of digging down to its heart. With the advent of all the different Covid variants, I don’t know what the current state of affairs is, but it used to be said that between 85 and 90% of our physical ailments are psychological in origin. I do know that sin lies at the root of many of our ailments, and that forgiveness of ourselves and others is very often the path to freedom and health.

Having been a pastor for more than forty years, I can say with the confidence of experience that it is all-too-easy to deal with surface issues and ignore the deeper spiritual roots of our problems. We talk about repentance and confession, but do so in such generalized terms that we don’t really have to confront the reality of our own sins. The liturgy for the Lord’s Table includes the prayer of confession and absolution which rolls off the tongues of many without even thinking about it. “We have done things we ought not to have done, and left undone things we should have done…” So it goes, all the while we continue to hold onto grudges, resentments, lust, and greed.

And we pastors, as spiritual leaders, heal the hurt of our people only slightly, offering words of absolution, exhorting our people to “go in peace.” Our nation is reeling with the consequences of sin, while we tell people merely to mask up and keep safe, all the while sealing the real infection inside where it can fester and poison both body and soul. Why do we act this way? I think it is primarily because we have a deep seated need for approval, and dealing decisively with the deeper issues is hard, exhausting, and dangerous work. 

Once the enemy of our souls has lost us to the grace of Christ, he knows he cannot get us back. God’s salvation is without repentance, and those who in repentance and faith put their trust in the atoning and substitutionary work of Christ on the cross he cannot reclaim. But he can make us ineffective in the witness that could help set another free, and he does that by keeping us from fully dealing with the wounds and hurts caused by our own, and others’ sin. We get saved, but not sanctified. We get healed, but only slightly. 

God’s Word is key, and so is the ministry of the Holy Spirit: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (I Corinthians 2:9-10).

May God grant us grace to have the courage to delve deeply into our souls, that we may be healed, not just slightly, but completely.