March 13, 2024

One of the reasons we love this story of the leper so much is because it has a happy ending. Like most of the people Jesus healed, the leper’s healing came “instantly.” That’s how we want it to be, isn’t it? And sometimes, that’s how it happens. In the recovery circles I’ve been in, there are stories from individuals who talk about the fact that their sobriety happened that way. They had some kind of crisis moment or experience, and they cried out to God for help. Then INSTANTLY their desire or dependency on alcohol or drugs was removed. I’ve heard the same thing with different people who were healed. There was a tumor, heart problem, or fever and then INSTANTLY it was gone.
I had one such moment some years back when I was dealing with my phobia of flying. After a bad plane experience, I would start having panic attacks a few days before I was to fly. Once I got on the plane, I would go through a ritual of praying for every possible scenario in which the plane might go down—the pilot, co-pilot, navigator, weather, mechanical, other plane traffic… You get the idea. Then one day I sat down on a plane and was gripping the armrests in anxiety. As I started my ritual of praying, I suddenly heard the words of Jesus in my head. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Suddenly the absurdity of my fear hit me, and I laughed. The anxiety INSTANTLY went away, and I have flown since that moment relaxed and restful every time.
But “instantly” is not how God often works. Instantly was Jesus’ method because He was showing the world who He was. The healings and the miracles were about solidifying His identity as the Son of God. Having proven that conclusively with His resurrection, we’ve discovered that He doesn’t always work that way today. Sometimes His healing is gradual. Sometimes our sobriety comes over time. Sometimes we overcome our phobias and fears little by little. We love it when Jesus does it quickly, but if He doesn’t, it’s not because He doesn’t love us or because He can’t. He’s just working differently for different reasons. Some of which we may never fully understand.
But one thing we know is that one day all the pain and fear and addictions of this life will be behind us. One day we’ll close our eyes on this life, and we’ll feel the touch of Jesus just like the leper did. One day we’ll shed this body, these troubles, and step into a new body, a new place, and a new home. THEN we’ll be completely whole, completely healed, and completely made new. Instantly. That’s God’s Word for you today.