Healing Spit

I was just reminded of a simple truth that sometimes I forget about. It seems to me that for some reason we expect things to be magically perfected when we take things to God for “healing”. I was reading in Mark 8:22-26 when Jesus healed the blind man from Bethsaida when a few things jumped out at me. Please allow me to share:

Jesus took the man by the hand and led him away from the village. I for one get so wrapped up in the stress of something not being right that I expect God to do something here and now when I ask for help or deliverance. But here we see that Christ chose to give treatment to this man in a quiet, secluded place. I don’t think I let Christ lead me by the hand to the quiet place to work on me nearly enough.

Now, what do you see? I cannot lie, the first time I read this I remember thinking, “Whoa, Jesus didn’t get it right!” With a little more reflection, the humbling revelation came. God did not fail this man on any account. Even if the miracle stopped at that point, the man could identify persons – tree people, but people no less. I can hear the man telling Jesus what he saw…he was not disappointed that it was a little fuzzy – he could see!

Here is the part that struck me, Jesus kept working with the man because He had something greater in mind. He was thinking about complete restoration, total healing. So, Jesus touched him again. Then, when the man looked intently (Amplified Bible) he saw things distinctly. The two men working together, were able to get what God had planned. But it doesn’t end there…

Go home, not back into the village. I for one would want the credit for something that amazing. But not Jesus. He had done many miracles in that town before and didn’t want to become merely known as a miracle worker, so he sent the man home, most likely in the country where his family could be the first to hear of this remarkable news.

You see, every case of healing is different, as is every case of conversion. There are persons who gain perfectly clear spiritual sight as soon as they are converted. Others see things fuzzy at first, then later accept complete assurance of the salvation Christ offered. This miracle, the only one in the gospels where stages were necessary, reminds us of how some of God’s plans for us are revealed piece at a time, when we focus intently…and not before. No matter how excited we may be about what we think we see. Let’s be patient so we can see people beyond the trees.