Spiritual Healing

Process

Taking our cue from the physical healing process, we can understand that spiritual healing also follows a process. We have outlined the basic steps of this process in the following section, “The Eight Steps To Spiritual Healing.” Complete, inner healing involves many events which occur sys­tematically, and work interdepen­dently with each other. Physically, should the body achieve some but not all of the four lines of defense, or should it repel the infection but fail to supply scar tissue or to coagulate the blood, or should it lose the proper balance of the contributing systems, the person will not attain full health. In spiritual healing, one may realize some initial steps toward full salvation, but if he/she falters, or stops along the way, or goes off in another direction, the goal of spiritual health will remain unreached.

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”   Psalm 84:5-7

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” II Corinthians 3:8

In a process, each step builds upon the preceding one. Omitting a step flaws the process, and negates the end result. Faith without repen­tance, repentance without water baptism, accepting Christ without obeying His word, and so on, will leave a candidate for salvation short of the intended goal. There is no hypotheti­cal, absolute bottom line that “faith” does it all, or that infant baptism qualifies as the sole re­quirement for salvation, or that some other act alone saves anyone. There are no exclusive steps in the quest to be saved. Our observation of the physical healing process clearly shows that no single step is exclusive and indepen­dent. Each step works with other steps to form a process. Therefore, it is the process that leads us to the end result of spiritual healing.

Balance

No particular step, by itself, incorporates everything necessary for complete healing. The key lies in balance. We must not become so obsessed with any individual step, whether it is faith, repentance, water baptism, or even the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that we feel satisfied with an incomplete healing. This leads to an imbalanced view of full salvation. At each point along the way, a person will feel better. As we will see in a following section, faith does make a person feel better. Repentance makes one feel better. The same goes for water baptism, prayer, Bible reading, joining a church, listening to a sermon, worshipping God, or any number of spiritual activities. Some mistake these feelings for the ultimate, intended goal, however, and go no farther. Sooner or later, they lapse back into sickness.

Medical researchers have shown that an imbalanced diet causes major problems in the human body. Lay persons often think that if a certain food, vitamin or mineral is good for them, then more of it will even be better. Thus, they often overdose on a good thing. On the other hand, they may think that if something seems to have little importance, it can be left out altogether. Nothing could be further from the truth. Certain chemicals that exist in traces in the body are necessary and good. Whenever those same chemicals get too large in quantity, however, they become lethal. Instead of helping the body, they can actually kill it. If those same chemicals get totally eliminated from the body, however, sickness or even death can occur.

Spiritual­ly, we must not overdose on—-nor eliminate—-any element of salvation. In the church body, for example, there are times when pastors need to con­centrate on one thing, whether it be faith, repentance, baptism, worship, holiness, etc. These areas are handled just long enough until the body gets brought back into line. After we have achieved balance, we must attend to other needs.

Water baptism is often targeted as unnecessary by some who attempt to “streamline” salvation. To them, it seems to be merely an outward show with no real, eternal significance. No one can read very far in the Acts of the Apostles, however, without noting the emphasis that the early church placed upon baptism. Evidently, it was important enough for Jesus to command it and the first disciples to practice it. Yet, we cannot make so much of water baptism that it becomes the exclusive step to salvation. The point is simply that we must neither eliminate nor overemphasize any step. Everything must be kept in balance.

Equilibrium

Health is not simply a matter of “feeling good.” Almost anything—-drugs, alcohol, or even emotional euphoria—-can temporarily fool the body or the mind into this state. True health requires that the body achieve a state of equilibrium. This impor­tant principle in health maintenance holds that the body’s resistance must remain at a level high enough to ward off all attackers. While we cannot live in a vacuum where every menacing cell has been removed, we can overcome the harmful effects of hostile cells through healthful living.

Similarly, spiritual health thrives within a right relationship with God. When one finds peace and accep­tance with God, he receives an enduring peace that resists all attempts of the world or the devil to interrupt. In other words, the spiritually healthy person maintains an equilibrium with the hostile world around him/her. While the believer may not vanquish sin and Satan from the earth, these enemies of the soul may be kept at bay. Jesus said it best. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Spiritual healing is a miraculous process, but it is still a process. Sometimes it happens with incredible speed. Rejoicing breaks out in the church when someone is quickly saved, or when someone takes overt, public steps toward salvation. Covert, internal steps are just as vital, although they may not draw as much attention or stir as many hearts. Each step elevates a person’s spiritual health and makes the next step accessible.