Having Faith When All Else Has Failed

When people have been sick for a long time and have prayed and been prayed over repeatedly, they tend to stop believing they will be healed. Therefore, just more of the same — more healing services and prayers — is not the answer. Something may be blocking the healing. Maybe the sick person is not receiving healing because he is not obeying Dr. Jesus' orders. Possibly he needs a deeper faith to obey Jesus in a difficult matter. When there's a blockage, we can't dislodge it by ignoring it. What is needed is "tough love." We should love people enough to confront them, ask difficult questions, call them to repentance, or challenge their life-style. For example, Jesus confronted the man who had been sick for thirty-eight years by questioning whether he truly wanted to be healed (Jn 5:6). Nice guys don't heal the longtime sick. Only tough guys with tough love will call the longtime sick to obedient faith and break the pattern of sickness.