These stories are sometimes pulled out to be examples of how a strong faith can result in either ourselves or someone we love being healed. These stories end up getting used as motivation to just believe more, pray more, go to church more, and stop asking so many questions. But here’s the thing: healing and being restored into community doesn’t depend on how strong or fragile someone’s faith is at any given point. Think about how cruel that system would be. I only prayed for my friend 7 times that day, but the healing required for me to pray 8 times so now all hope is lost for their healing. Or, my mind wandered while I was in prayer so therefore that prayer doesn’t count. Or, I read this really weird story from the Bible and I have a lot of questions about what it means for us today, so that means my time reading scripture didn’t count because questions bubbled up alongside my faith. That isn’t how it works. And, the fact that some people receive healing and others don’t doesn’t make sense, so we want to try to make a system or a formula that will guarantee success every time. And, that’s not how that works either.

I wish I had the kind of good news that could tell you exactly how to ensure that you or someone you love will be healed from an illness, or, at the very least, to be able to know if it isn’t going to happen. But that knowledge remains God’s and God’s alone.

What we do know is that in the midst of illness, God is present with us and gives us the gift of support through caregivers, family, friends, medical professionals, support staff, social networks, and social services that help ease the pain and burden. Through living and serving one another, restoration happens and connections are made and remade even if healing isn’t possible. Loving, caring for, and serving our neighbor is how God’s shalom and restoration become tangible in our world.

CW: ableism

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