Hello creative friend!
This is week twenty of twenty in my Freedom Friday posts on Identity in Christ. The last one! These blog posts are based on my I Am Journal and I hope you are joining me on this journey whether you own the journal or not.
Our truth topic today is: I am healed!

When I decided to do this series on identity, I didn’t realize so many of the topics would be controversial! So here I am again, talking about something that many people just don’t believe in….healing.
I often hear people praying “if it’s your will God, please heal”. I must admit that I cringe a little every time I hear this. Is it God’s will to heal sometimes and not heal at other times? The Lord’s prayer that came from Jesus Himself says “thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. There is no pain or sickness in Heaven so how can it be His will that we be sick and in pain on earth? I can’t find a single instant in the bible where Jesus said He wasn’t willing to heal. It seems that everyone who came to Him were healed. Perhaps sometimes we are like the leper in Luke 5:12 who said “if you are willing, you can make me clean” Jesus answered “yes, I am willing, be clean!”.

Doubting God’s willingness to heal us puts us in a place of unbelief and prohibits us from seeing how truly good God is. We cannot ask for healing in faith if we don’t actually believe that God wants to heal us. Tweet That!

It’s like saying “I know God has the power to heal me but He probably doesn’t want to so He’ll probably say no so I won’t ask”.

It’s not my intent to start a theological debate here but for me, when things don’t add up, I dig deeper. And then I dig deeper still.
I don’t want to let my experience dictate what I believe. I have been healed of many diseases in many different ways yet I still suffer at times with sickness and pain. Does that mean that God is lying when He says He heals ALL my diseases?
In my opinion, when something doesn’t add up, it’s my belief that’s the problem, not God! In my own life, I have seen many reasons play out as to why I wasn’t healed. It’s so much easier to say “well I guess it’s not God’s will to heal me” but the reality has been that many times, the ball was in my court.
Before I go on, I want to make clear that I’m not saying that it’s your fault that you’re sick, nor do I want to put religious rules on you and make you feel bad. My only intent is to share some of the barriers that I have encountered on my journey to healing. I still have a way to go!

Barrier #1: Jesus asks “do you want to be well?” This question use to be offensive to me but the truth is, I had allowed my sickness to define me and I needed to be set free of that. There are many reasons why people want to hold onto their sicknesses. Perhaps it’s been the only way for you to get love and attention, or maybe you enjoy some of the benefits you get from it like a disability pension. The list of reasons go on and on.

Barrier #2: I was so caught up in being sick that it became who I was. It was also a great excuse not to do the things that I was called to. I can remember the Lord telling me to go on a mission trip to Haiti and me arguing with Him about being too sick to go. I did go to Haiti and experienced healing while I was there. This reminds me of the ten lepers who were healed “while they were on their way”!! (When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. Luke 17:14) Sometimes you just have to start doing what you don’t think you can do before the Lord will heal you.

Barrier #3: Wanting to hold onto unforgiveness and bitterness. I did not do this consciously. I am a good Christian girl who knows I have to forgive right? Well, not so much. You see, I would convince myself that I had forgiven but then I would play the old movie of offense over and over in my mind. That is not forgiveness. The stress of replaying trauma in my mind kept me in pain and sick.

Barrier #4: I held onto fear, anxiety and stress very tightly. Do you know that living like that causes your body to produce stress hormones that over time causes a long long list of health problems. Not only did this cause severe allergies and digestive issues in my body but it also caused physical pain. I have lived in chronic physical pain for a few years. It was constant for about a year and a half. I had nerve pain and muscle pain that was completely unexplained. It took a really great physiotherapist to show me that it was my brain that needed healing, not my body. So began a journey of allowing the Lord to change and transform my mind. The problem with my muscles was that I was in constant flight or flight. (ready for a fight) Being so tense and scared all the time caused a lot of pain. Fight or flight is a way for our body to cope in an emergency. We were never meant to live like that all the time. The nerve pain came when I was stressed out. Since dealing with the anxiety in my life I haven’t had so much as a cold and I use to be sick all the time. My immune system is happy for the first time in a long time but that is a whole other story!

Barrier #5 I didn’t think I deserved to be healed, and I didn’t but that’s where grace comes in. We don’t deserve grace but He gives it to us anyways!

I’ve been healed of more than a dozen diseases and each one was cured by changing what was going on in my mind. My mind is being transformed by God’s truth and it’s that truth that has and is continuing to set me free!

“It is inconsistent to have Jesus pay a price for healing and for us to believe it is not God’s intention to heal.”

Bill Johnson

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Here are biblical declarations that you can read out loud every day. Declare truth over yourself daily and you will soon believe it! I have included a free printable for you to use, enjoy it!

1- It’s God who forgives every one of my iniquities and who heals ALL of my diseases. (Psalm 103:3)

2- He heals my broken heart and binds up my wounds curing my pains and my sorrows. (Psalm 147:3)

3- I serve the Lord my God; He blesses my bread and water, and takes sickness from my midst. (Exodus 23:25)

4- Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise. (Jeremiah 17:14)

5- I prosper in every way and my body keeps well, even as my soul keeps well and prospers. I am as healthy in body as I am strong in spirit. (3 John 1:2)

6- Because I believe in Jesus, I lay hands on the sick, and they get well. (Mark 16:17-18)

7- He restores to health all who are sick. He Himself took and carried away my weaknesses and infirmities and bore away my diseases. (Matthew 8:16-17)

8- O Lord my God, I cried to You and You have healed me. (Psalm 30:2)

9- He was wounded for my transgressions, He was bruised for my guilt and iniquities; the chastisement for me was upon Him, and by His stripes I am healed and made whole. (Isaiah 53:5)

10- He sends forth His word and heals me and rescues me from the pit and destruction. (Psalm 107:20)