Healing may take time*

He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” And the man looked up and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hand on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. – Mark 8:23-25

In today’s scripture, Jesus healed the blind man gradually. When his sight was not immediately restored, the man staged with Jesus and followed his direction until the healing was complete. This requires patience.

As we have previously noted, healing does not always come on our timeline. Furthermore, it does not always come in a form that we want or expect. In the scriptures healing means wholeness. Wholeness is not the same as the perfection of all the parts. You can be whole and still have some physical problems that will not go away. If you are deaf or lame, for example, you can be whole even though you may never be able to hear or walk. Although you have physical challenges, you are not prohibited from experiencing the fullness of lie as God intended it to be.

In the same way, you can be a whole person and still have some life challenges that will not go away. You can still celebrate wholeness even part of your life is less than perfect.
Find a person who experiences a chronic physical problem. Ask this person to share his or her story with you. You might ask several of the following questions:

1. What it has been like to struggle with your pain, weakness, or limitation?
2. In what ways have you experienced the power of God working in your situation?
3. How have you been blessed because of the difficulty you experience?
4. What transformation has happened in your attitudes, your faith, or your relationships as a result of the problem?

As you converse with this person, listen for his or her own sense of wholeness. And celebrate that you, too, can feel whole even when some parts of your body or your life are less than perfect.
Healing may take time.

*Excerpt from Having the Mind of Christ by Paul E. Miller & Phyllis Cole-Dai