LIGHT OF FAITH FOR HEALING (5)

“But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha arise.” – Acts 9:40a

The LIGHT of FAITH for HEALING kicks Doubt and Unbelief out: “But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up”. (Acts 9:40). Dorcas (Tabitha) became sick and died; but something in the DNA of the disciples and Peter could not embrace her death as a final reality. Some contemporary Christians with their elegant theologies, immediately receive sickness or sudden death as God’s Sovereign Will. It happened, so it must be His Will! Just because something happens does not mean we must conclude it as God’s Will. Could it be His Will for us to do something about it?

.There are lessons to glean from this powerful account of the raising of Dorcas, on confronting doubt and unbelief when standing in faith for healing. If Peter, one of the Lord’s dynamic disciples, had to take certain precautions to set himself up not to be influenced by doubt, we should follow his example. Peter sent out the weeping widows from the room (v.39). He refused to be exposed to a death perspective, being there to witness and release life! Doubt is birthed in the place of inaccurate understanding of God’s Will. If we are not perfectly sure that God’s heartbeat is to heal, restore, and raise up, doubt can thwart us from moving forward in receiving or releasing supernatural healing.

Peter was modeling the Lord Jesus Who Himself set the example when He supernaturally raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead in Mark 5. When He entered Jairus’ home, He was ridiculed for declaring a word contrary to the circumstance at hand. The mourners were clearly stuck in a natural perspective, as they were weeping and wailing over the girl’s death. Jesus’ attempt to deliver words of comfort were not received warmly. He responded by sending the weepers and mourners out of the house! He recognized the adverse influence of doubt and dealt with it; not for His sake, but most likely for His disciples and the girl’s parents (being the only ones remaining with Him in the house).

The Lord also knew that this situation would be an example for believers throughout the ages, instructing us on how to respond to doubt. However, this is not a call to insensitivity. We must follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in every situation. The key is isolating and rejecting doubt from creeping in. The devil is the enemy of our healing, being the adversary to God’s redemptive work on earth. He wants to sabotage our blessing by getting us to yield to doubt and “throw in the towel” on our faith. Satan also knows the potential of our healing testimony: Tangible Revelation of Christ’s Reality. Doubt is an unwelcome guest when we are believing for Healing!