[Faith-talk] being healed from blindness

Thu Dec 19 02:38:40 UTC 2013

I find this a very interesting topic.  I grew up in a Pentecostal flavor of Christianity that places a major emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit active in the Church today, including the gift of healing.  I am still an active member of the same group and hold a minister’s license with them.  I very much can relate to stories of having people come up and want to pray for my healing, often repeatedly and with an attitude that made me feel somehow guilty if I wasn’t healed immediately.  

At various times in my life, I have placed great emphasis on praying to be healed of my blindness.  I invested a great deal of emotional effort in these pursuits and always found myself disappointed and frustrated when nothing happened.  Disappointment led me to stop praying for healing but often feelings of guilt would start me praying for healing again.  I felt like not asking demonstrated a lack of faith on my part, which did not honor God and would prevent me from ever receiving my eyesight again.  I had been strongly influenced by the opinions of people around me who loved me but honestly had no concept of blindness.  They cared for me and saw the struggles I encountered in making the transition to blindness and sincerely wanted to see God work in my life through healing.  They strongly believe that God can heal people today and so why wouldn’t they pray?

I can’t blame them for  boldly acting on their faith by praying  for me like they did.  I too believe that God can and does heal people today.  I only wish I had had a trusted mentor who could provide me with some balanced perspective.  The subtle foundation laid in my heart during those first several years after I went blind was that I could continue life as a blind person, but that I was ultimately waiting for the day when I could see again.  On the surface, this might sound ok, but the message that I was somehow incomplete without my healing is unbiblical and hurtful.  

As I have gotten older, matured in my faith, and deepened my study of scripture, I have found several ideas to be both comforting and identity forming for me as a Christian who is blind.  First, if my value comes from the fact that I have been created by God and that I contain his image, whether or not I can see really isn’t relevant in regards to how I relate to God.  Seeking healing is not an imperative and not seeking it is not a lack of faith.  Second, if God really does control the physical abilities of people like he Told Moses in Exodus 4, and I trust that God does love and value me (which I do), then I can find peace in knowing that wherever I fall on the spectrum of ability, I am where God wants me to be.  Third, Paul’s reflections on human weakness and God’s provision have been powerful in finding where I fit in the body of Christ.  Particularly throughout I and II Corinthians, Paul discusses how human weakness is a tool that God uses to spread his kingdom.  He talks about God moving through his  weakness and frames the crucifixion of Christ as an act that seemed to be weak, but in reality allowed God’s power to be made known.  Reflecting on these ideas have yielded a   deeper understanding that my blindness, something that to most outsiders seems to be a weakness, gives me valuable insights and opportunities that I might not have otherwise.  These ideas may seem like old hat to most of you, but they were a long time coming for me.  They have allowed me to find value in my blindness as a part of me with a purpose, and in turn to value myself more.  

So I let these truths anchor me to my identity in Christ so that when someone wants to pray for my healing, my identity is not threatened.  I understand that when people do ask to pray for me, they often do so from sincere faith and compassion, and not because they actively think of me as something less than them due to my disability.  If it is not inconvenient, I often let them pray for me and make it an opportunity to educate and connect with another person who has demonstrated concern for me and a desire to see God work in my life.  I make it a point to have a conversation with the person before and after we pray and make sure I ask questions about who they are and why they felt led to pray for me.  If I do encounter negative attitudes or wrong teaching, I don’t hesitate to correct them, either gently or with more enthusiasm, depending on the situation.  I know that we get tired of being responsible for educating the public about blindness, but when it comes to the people in our local congregation, it is well worth the investment of time.  

I’m interested to hear about how other people respond to these situations.  It’s tricky and awkward and its nice to gain insight from others with similar experiences.

Blessings,

Greg

On Dec 18, 2013, at 7:52 PM, Poppa Bear <heavens4real at gmail.com> wrote:

> I feel the same way. I hope you have a Merry Xmas even if your simply at home with family.
> Blessings
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Snow White Dove" <jlperdue3 at gmail.com>
> To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion" <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 2:46 PM
> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness
> 
> 
> Sometimes,I don’t understand why it is so important for them to heal us.
> 
> We aren’t broken, we’re not necessarily desperate or interested in being healed.
> 
> I’ve had to come to the realization that in the LORD’s prayer, thy will be done also pertained to my being healed or not.
> 
> I would never had the experiences I’ve had in my life if I could see.
> 
> sometimes, I believe it’s a blessing.
> 
> there are things I don’t wanna see.
> 
> I also know that I’ll be able to see in Heaven when that time comes.
> 
> That brings me enough peace to deal with some of the challenges of being blind.
> 
> Jenny
> On Dec 18, 2013, at 3:05 AM, Doris and Chris <chipmunks at gmx.net> wrote:
> 
>> I lost my sight 15 years ago and I do miss it at times. I do not, however, want my sight back just at any price. If God so pleases, I would happily take it but I just as happily live without it today.
>> 
>> Chris and I have had so many blessings thru my blindness directly or thru contacts we made. If I had to give up any of those, I think I  happily take my blindness over the experiences we had and blessings we experienced.
>> 
>> In his grip of grace!
>> 
>> Doris
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> At 06:28 PM 2013/12/17 -0800, you wrote:
>>> hi god made me just the way i am,
>>> and i don't want my vision. back,
>>> i am doing just fine with out it,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Dec 17, 2013, at 5:13 PM, Poppa Bear wrote:
>>> 
>>> > I have been told that story more than a few times, a preacher sees me > somewhere, asks to pray for me, then puts his hands on my head and > pleads the blood to heall me. I try and use it as an opertunity to > explain that God has revieled himself to me in ways I couldn't imagine > if I had still had my sight, but they don't seem to here a word.
>>> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "RJ Sandefur" > <joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com>
>>> > To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion" > <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>> > Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 3:53 PM
>>> > Subject: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >> Dear list, First, as someone wi!th a doctorate in theology, I must say >> I've not seen anywhere in scripture Christ refur to blindness as >> something to be looked upon as evil, and yet, the church tens to pity >> us. I've not seen this in my own church thank the Lord, but I know >> some of you have. God allowed to be blind, and I don't need some >> faulse teacher to tell me to claim my healing, just so they can bum >> money off me
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