During Session 2--Hearing Jesus Speak to...the Promise that Appears to Be Broken, Nancy Guthrie began with the resounding reminder: "When we read something in the Bible that doesn't appear to be true, it is not the Bible that is the problem. It is our thinking. It is our faulty understanding." This opened the door for her to share of her struggles with trusting God's promises through the loss of two children, both during infancy. She related how she began a search to see how God's promises are true even when they don't seem that way. In Mark 1, Jesus heals a leper. The leper realizes that Jesus could choose not to heal him by saying "if you are willing." Jesus replies, "I am willing." Guthrie reminded us that Jesus' healing ministry existed primarily to show us His ability to heal our sin disease. The leper was a living representation of sin. Lepers were considered unclean in Jewish culture, and they were the ultimate outcasts. So were we before we met Christ. Guthrie reminded us not to just focus on the here and now, no matter what we are facing. She admits that this discourages and disappoints us often. God doesn't act the way we want Him to, yet we are wrong in failing to realize God's promises are eternal, not temporal. The leper eventually died from something else as we will, too. She implored us to hear Jesus promise, "I will protect your soul for eternity."
What I learned: When God doesn't heal my physical, emotional, or spiritual ailments (or someone else's for that matter) after I pray earnestly for healing, it doesn't mean His promises are broken. Jesus talks about suffering for His sake again and again. I should not be surprised when I suffer; I should rejoice that He has promised to heal me completely from my sin disease in the life to come.
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