A friend of mine just lost her mother to a brain tumor. We prayed and knew God could heal, but she died and even suffered at the end of her life. Another friend just wrote a book about her life and family. Her husband was diagnose with cancer and died in his late 30s; her daughter, also diagnosed with cancer, was healed. One died, one lived and we prayed for healing for both. Both were strong in the Lord. Another couple we know decided not to come to a healing prayer service recently. When asked why, they responded: “We have been praying for healing for 12 years and still nothing. We don’t want to be disappointed again.” I understand the frustration. I hear the pain and grieve with them. Why some people receive a miraculous touch from God and others do not remains a mystery.

I’m often asked if I believe God heals. Yes, I do. I’ve seen God heal in my own life and the lives of many people. But God heals in many ways. Sometimes it is a supernatural touch, other times he uses doctors and therapists to facilitate healing in someone’s life. Sometimes, healing doesn’t appear to be happening at all, despite our prayers. Healing may be completed in heaven. The danger is putting God in a box and insisting He do what we bid Him to do. Only He is God and He is sovereign. Now, that doesn’t mean we don’t pray and ask for healing.

While we use all the training and knowledge extracted from research and clinical practice, we recognize the supernatural realm as greater than our comprehension. We don’t always know what God is up to and the lives impacted through struggle. And we live after the Fall, a time of brokenness, disease and struggle. Not until Jesus returns will all disease be eradicated. In the meantime, we pray and trust God.

Regardless of the diagnosis, there is hope for even the most desperate person because of Christ. Because of His abiding presence, He will walk us through the most difficult times in our lives. He promises an eternal future and freedom from bondage and enslavement. In Christ, past is not prologue to future. We can be transformed and set free even when our physical bodies fail. And those who know Christ attest to the way they are sustained through pain and loss.

2 Cor. 5:17. 21 is a powerful verse about how Christ changes us when we become one of His. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have past away; behold all things have become new.” His transforming power lives in us and works on our behalf. The problem is, as Job discovered, we don’t always have the big picture and understand God’s ways. Scripture tells us His ways are higher than ours.

When healing doesn’t look the way we think it should, we need to continue to trust. Trust that God has not forgotten us, that His plan for us is good, and that He has us in the palm of His hand and sees the bigger picture. Trust that He is working in the situation in ways we might not see or never understand. Our part is to stay faithful through it all and allow God to do what only He can do.

Trust in God no matter what. Easier said than done, but essential to remaining hopeful and dealing with loss. Pray for healing. Believe God can do it. Then stay faithful no matter the course. Stay hopeful in the process, expectant of God’s work on your behalf.