God’s Plan Over Mine

 By: Grace Metzger

And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well;
go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Today I’ve had several conversations on praying for healing. I’ve spoken about this a few times in the past, but the topic has never been an easy one for me to discuss. Growing up I’ve heard people tell me that if I had faith and prayed to be healed, that God would hear me and heal me. As a young teen I became ashamed of my illness as I saw this as a sign that my faith wasn’t right and I wasn’t doing something right. 

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves,
and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I truly do believe in the power of God and the power of prayer. I believe that we should pray for healing, that we should have faith that God will heal us. But I also believe that God has a will that can be unknown to us in certain times. I think back to Jesus’ prayer in the garden, where He prayed that if possible, God take this cup from His hands. I love this prayer because it shows how hard this was for Jesus. But in the end He prayed, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done.” Jesus didn’t go through His suffering because He didn’t have enough faith or He had sin in His life, Jesus went through His suffering because God had a better plan for His life. 

I’m not saying that God is causing your suffering. I don’t think God is trying to hurt His children. I can’t say for certain why things happen to people, but I can speak for my life. I can say that because of my illness I was able to do things I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. Because of my surgery when I was sixteen my grandmother visited me and I got to tell her I loved her. She died just a few weeks later, that was my last time I saw her and without my illness I wouldn’t have that memory of her. God answered my prayers of healing, at the time it was a “not yet” I do believe that one day God will heal me but until that day I’m reminding myself that even if I don’t understand His will I know God is taking care of me

Your faith isn’t lacking because you haven’t been healed. You aren’t doing something wrong because your prayers weren’t answered the way you wanted them to be. God’s will is an incredible thing that can be difficult to understand. God has an incredible plan for your life and we need to trust in Him. 

Discussion Question: What do you do when your prayers aren’t answered in the way you wanted them to be?