And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
—Luke 18:43
And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
—Acts 3:8
It is a prevalent idea that silent suffering inclines the soul to seek the Lord more than the distractions of active life. For this reason, sick people sometimes hesitate to ask for healing from the Lord. They believe the sickness may be more of a spiritual blessing than health. To think in this way is to ignore that healing is divine. Divine healing binds us more closely to Him. Thus, the believer who has been healed by Him can glorify Him far better than the one who remains sick. Sickness can glorify God only insofar as it manifests His power. (See John 9:3; 11:4.)
Healing by means of remedies shows us the power of God in nature, but it does not bring us into direct contact with Him. Divine healing, however, is an act proceeding directly from God, relying on nothing but the Holy Spirit.
In divine healing, contact with God is essential, and it is for this reason that an examination of the conscience and the confession of sins should be the preparation for it. (See 1 Corinthians 11:30–32; James 5:15–16.) One who is healed by divine intervention alone is called to consecrate himself entirely to the Lord. (See 1 Corinthians 6:13, 19.) All this depends on the act of faith that takes the Lord’s promise, yields to Him, and never doubts that the Lord takes immediate possession of what is consecrated to Him.
Health obtained under such conditions ensures spiritual blessings much greater than the mere restoration to health by ordinary means. When the Lord heals the body, it is so that He may take possession of it and dwell within it. The joy that then fills the soul is indescribable. In the exuberance of his joy, the healed one exalts the Lord and consecrates all his life to God.
When every sick person expects a manifestation of the Lord’s presence, then healings will be multiplied. Each will produce a witness of the power of God, all ready to cry with the psalmist, “Bless the Lord, O my soul…who healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:2–3).