. .	A POSITION TO RECEIVE HEALING

    We should note that there are two sides of each of the factors in healing.  One side is in receiving and the other side is in giving. Sometimes the giving must come before the receiving.   "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again"  (Luke 6:38).  Here are some factors in putting ourselves in a position to receive healing.
 

[H]= HOPE

Hope is visualizing a good outcome from you current situation based upon the Word and revelation of the Holy Spirit. Without hope, one will slip toward death.   "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he"  (Proverbs 29:18).  "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life"  (Proverbs 13:12).  If the heart is sick, the mind, and body will soon follow with sickness.
Hope is not just wishful thinking.  One may wish to be a multimillionaire, but have no hope of ever being one.  "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God"  (Psalms 42:11).  Again, hope is seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and it not a train.  Hope is closely related to faith, but usually precedes faith. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"  (Hebrews 11:1).  Hope is "seeing" based upon the Word and revelation of the Spirit while faith is a "knowing" that you already have what God has promised. The woman with the issue of blood, saw herself healed before she touched the hem of the garment of Jesus.  "For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole"  (Matthew 9:21).  Then when she touched the garment, she had faith to be healed.  A few moments later Jesus told her that her faith had made her whole.  "And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace"  (Luke 8:48).

Hope must have a source. "Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope"  (Psalms 119:49).  "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD"  (Psalms 31:24).  "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God"  (Psalms 146:5).   "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints"  (Ephesians 1:18). "I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope"  (Psalms 130:5).  Hope in anything other that the Word and God is a false hope which often brings disappointments.

Encouragement is having courage on the inside that comes from the Lord.  "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest"  (Joshua 1:9). Joshua, the leader of the people needed the encouragement of God so than he could, in turn, encourage the people.

On an occasion, David return home from a battle to find that the Amalekites had invaded the area where David and his men lived.  The Amalekites had burned the city and take the women captive.  His own men were so discouraged that they talked among themselves of killing David. "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God"  (I Samuel 30:6). We are to receive encouragement in the Lord that we can then encourage others.  "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God"  (II Corinthians 1:3-4).

Affirmation is finding our acceptance from the Lord.  "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.  Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness"  (Isaiah 41:8-10). Try substituting your name in the place of Jacob.

Jesus received affirmation from the Father.  "And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"  (Mark 1:11). We are also to receive affirmation when we are in Christ.  "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved"  (Ephesians 1:6). "Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God"  (Romans 15:7).

One type of acceptance is in being accepted as a child of  God; however another type is found in obedience as a child of God. Therefore, obedience is also important in receiving affirmation.   "His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord"  (Matthew 25:23).

We are to receive the unconditional love of God in Jesus and, in turn, share it with others.  "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick"  (Matthew 14:14).  We see here that love and healing is connected.  "The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing"  (Zephaniah 3:17). Healing only occurs in an atmosphere of rest. We can rest in the love of God.  "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love"  (I John 4:18).  The fear of not being loved is a destructive, negative emotion that opens us to the attack from the enemy.  However, when we receive the love of God, that fear is cast out.

Jesus shows his love toward us in taking our afflictions upon himself.  "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old"  (Isaiah 63:9). We are not to be like the Dead Sea, but the Sea of Galiliee.  "And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before"  (Job 42:10).  "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much"  (James 5:16).

Identity in Christ brings security and peace.  "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me"  (Galatians 2:20).  "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new"  (II Corinthians 5:17).  If we find our identity in anything else, it become a liability because it can be taken away from us.  Being a liability, it brings doubt, fear, and worry concerning the fact we may possibly lose it. Doubt, fear, and worry are negative emotions which produce a negative chemical imbalance in our bodies which keep us from receiving healing.  In contrast, there is security in Christ.  "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hands"  (John 10:28).  The Greek language uses a double negative here for emphasis. There is no other foundation than Christ upon which we can stand.  "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ"  (I Corinthians 3:11).

A need to be needed implies a purpose and a plan for one's live. Elijah had had some miraculous experiences of calling fire down from heaven to devour a sacrifice and killing the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.  However, when Jezebel, the wicked queen, said that she was going to have him killed, he felt like he was all alone and was no longer needed.  "But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers"  (I Kings 19:4).   However, it is interesting to see how God responded to his despair.  "And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:  And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay"  (I Kings 19:15-17).   God gave him purpose and a plan.

God has a good plan for your life.  "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end"  (Jeremiah 29:11).  Furthermore, every member of the body is important, even the little toe. "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ"  (I Corinthians 12:12).

We are saved by the grace through faith.  "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God"  (Ephesians 2:8).  The word translated "saved" (sozo) can also mean healed or made whole. We don't earn healing!  Healing is a GIFT. However, we do need to get into a position to receive it.

Grace is receiving the divine favor to both to be and to do of God's good pleasure.  "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me"  (I Corinthians 15:10). "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"  (Matthew 11:30). Did you see it!  The Christian life is supposed to be easy, not hard. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure"  (Philippians 2:13).  We should also see that any time we try to operate outside the bounds of grace, we are subject to frustration, failure, and depression.  These then lower or immune system and we become subject to disease.  We need to stay in the position to receive healing.