December 3
Bible Reading: Acts 28:7-10
Acts 28:9, “And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.”
God is sovereign over the affairs of our lives. Nothing occurs by accident, and by God’s design “it happened” that the father of the chief man of the island of Malta became seriously ill. Being an apostle, the Apostle Paul, was gifted with the “signs of a true apostle” (2 Corinthians 12:12). Thereby gifted, Paul healed the man. The term “healed” translates a Greek term that usually speaks of an instantaneous healing. Paul was not the source of the miracle, only the vehicle through which God supernaturally worked.
Through Paul, God did a miracle in the immediate healing of Publius’ father. As a result, others flocked to the scene to receive medical help. I’ve seen a similar thing on my trips to Uganda. The medical folks who accompanied us would set up a clinic and folks would line up day-after-day to get help.
The text speaks of how these other folks were “cured,” a different Greek term than the one found in verse 8. The term here speaks of recovering to health. Instead of a miraculous healing, these folks received medical assistance, likely at the hands of Luke, the physician who was accompanying Paul. The latter term is broad enough to include the more vital restoration of the soul that is made possible only through the gospel.
Different kinds of healings are spoken of in our text. Though God can miraculously heal anyone at any time, it’s not always His will to do so. A lack of such healing is not indicative of some hidden sin or lack of faith or any such thing. Alleged healers have confused and harmed the faith of lots of folks. Joni Eareckson Tada, paralyzed as a teenager, longed for physical healing. Despite attending a healing conference in Washington DC, no physical healings occurred, leaving her discouraged and bitter. But later, when she cried out to Jesus for help, she found a deeper healing from sin (Psalm 139:23-24). For decades since she has testified to Jesus’ ability to grant such healing to those who look to Him!
Sometimes healing is instantaneous, as with Publius’ father. More often, it takes time to heal under the watchful care of a competent physician. In all cases, be it physical or spiritual, healing is ultimately from the hands of the Great Physician!
The One who made us has the power to mend us!
THERE IS A BALM IN GILEAD
Refrain:
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole,
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
Sometimes I feel discouraged
and think my work’s in vain,
but then the Holy Spirit
revives my soul again. Refrain
If you cannot preach like Peter,
if you cannot pray like Paul,
you can tell the love of Jesus
and say, “He died for all.” Refrain
LookingtoJesus 