Digging Deeper James 5:15 with Points to ponder

James 5:13-15
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Points to ponder:

As I said on Monday, this can be a controversial passage. I am certainly not qualified to dissect the verse hermeneutically and give a definitive answer as to the true interpretation. Many scholars, much more educated than I, certainly have attempted to do so. I often say, "none of us has a corner on the truth."
But here are some thoughts.

I don't believe the passage implies that if you have enough faith you will be healed. How many people do you know that have been hurt in the midst of their suffering because someone has said, "just have faith and God will heal you" or "you are not being healed because you don't have enough faith".

I have to go back to the truth that God is sovereign and because we live in a fallen world, there will be suffering, pain and illness until He returns. Sometimes He heals, sometimes He doesn't. And because He is not just sovereign, He is also good, whichever He chooses is good, for His greatest glory and our best good.

Should we pray? Yes. Should we ask others to pray? Yes. If we are physically sick, should we pray? Yes. If we are spiritually sick, should we pray? Yes. Should we ask our church leaders (elders, pastors, ministers, etc.) to pray? Yes. If they decide to pray and anoint with oil, should we receive that? Yes, with hope and faith. If your faith is weak, trust their faith.

Don't put God in a box. You can't anyway. God is God. God is sovereign. God is good.

Be blessed today. Have a good weekend. Don't go crazy Christ-mas shopping. Take time to rest and meditate on the Christ, His coming and His purpose.

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is the Director of Addiction Recovery and Development at America's KESWICK. In addition to her Keswick responsibilities which keep her busy, she loves to read, write and teach, travel and laugh with her grandchildren. Diane has been married to her husband John over 26 years. She has 2 children, 3 grandchildren, 3 step-children, and 7 step-grandchildren.