“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.” (Isaiah 35:5-7a, NRSV)
Is our faith a healing faith, or do we limit its power? Often, it is easy – even effortless – to have faith in God or a Higher Power when all seems to be going right in our worlds. What do we do, though, when life start to go awry? When death and destruction command our news cycles? When darkness overshadows the light? When life presents challenges, we have two options: we can either boldly call on God for help, or we can dismiss the healing power of the Lord. The Gospels present us story after story about Jesus’s healing miracles. There is no denying that God cares for, heals, and empowers the sick, weak, and indigent. While each of theses stories tell us something about God’s unending mercy, they also tell us something about how to have faith in a Higher Power, even when the future appears bleak. In Mark 7, we read two back-to-back healing stories. The first is the story of the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter who was plagued by an “unclean spirit.” In this story, the woman boldly declares that her daughter, though a Gentile, deserves healing. Though he initially denied her request, after her daring statement, Jesus agrees and casts the demon from the woman’s daughter (Mark 7:25-30). Immediately after, we read of a deaf man who literally begged Jesus to heal him. After hearing his please, Jesus opened the man’s ears and fixed his speech impediment (Mark 7:32-35). In both instances of pain and uncertainty, these people demonstrated a profound faith in God’s healing power. They echo the advice once given to me by a mentor to “Pray boldly because there is no request too small for God.” God opens eyes and ears, gives voice to the voiceless, nourishes the barren, and provides light in the darkness. God’s power has no limits; only we limit our faith. |