Galatians 4 September 18 2015
Tom Johnson was a mentor of mine for 4 years. He is the leader of the Praxis ministry and he has had a tremendous impact on my life and ministry. Tom is of the Charismatic persuasion of the faith and he has some amazing stories of how God has used him in the healing of 100's of people. One time during a private meeting with him, he voiced one of the greatest mysteries of the kingdom. He wondered out loud why God had used him in the healing of 100's of people, yet every day of his life he battles with cystic fibrosis. Every day it is a struggle for him to simply breathe.
I wonder if the Apostle Paul also asked this same question. Healing signs and wonders were abundant in the city of Iconium. A crippled man was healed in Lystra. God even used Paul to raise Eutychus from the dead. These are all first degree miracles and God used Paul in all of these situations. But here is the mystery,
"As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you." Gal 4:13
Paul suffered from an eye problem. This vision illness was not removed from his life even though he was able to accomplish amazing healings in the lives of others. This lack of healing couldn't be because Paul lacked faith; if you can trust God for a resurrection you would certainly trust him for a simple eye issue.
What is going on here is called the "sovereignty of God." In God's economy, He gets to choose what issues we face in our lives. He is God and we are not. Paul had to learn dependence on God in the spiritual as well as in the physical realm. This eye problem was called a thorn in the flesh and it was used by God to teach Paul to lean hard on the grace of God. That is why many years later Paul would write, "I delight in weakness, for when I am weak, then I am strong."
The key is listening to God in the midst of the adversity and asking what He wants to accomplish through the trial. I have included a link to a modern day miracle. The key in this incident was a woman who listened to God and discerned His will. Once she knew God's will she prayed in line with God's will.
Check out this video at https://vimeo.com/53877165
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