Category: healing

But here’s the good news…

Posted on by Susan Panzica
My dear friend, Diane, is going through multiple trials; more than one person ever needs to go through. Her mom, husband, brother and son all have relentless medical issues, and she is overcoming recent severe neck and shoulder pain.  

She might not think so, but even though clearly distressed, she is radiant. Yesterday, while sharing with me her current dilemma, she added, “But here’s the good news… I’m growing in faith, …”

Though going through unimaginable heartache, she was able to see the “good news.”  Then when writing this post, I came across these words of wisdom shared by another friend, Penny Musco –

  • The apostle Paul was someone who knew all about danger. He had several adventures, scrapes and near escapes – blindness, persecution, stoning, arrest and beatings, death threats, shipwreck — even a snake bite! Sometimes, though, I have a hard time with Paul’s conclusion in 2 Cor. 4:8-9: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…” But I have felt crushed, despairing, forsaken or destroyed, I argue. And that’s my problem in a nutshell: I may be afflicted, perplexed, persecuted and struck down, but my feelings aren’t in charge—God is. And if He says He won’t let things get to the point of no return, then I’ve got to trust Him to work it out. And that’s just what Paul concludes too: his sufferings were “in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God” (2 Cor. 1:9). So simple… yet so hard to do!



When we are in the crucible of pain, He is suffering, too. We know “He was a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Is 53:3). And we know that “He bore our sins” (1 Pet. 2:24). But so often we forget, at least I do, that He not only bore our sins, but He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows as well:

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried…
Isaiah 53:4





To know that we are not alone in the struggle is good news indeed. Like Paul, I eagerly “want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection”. Yet, do I also want the “fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.”? (Phil 3:20)
To be honest, not so much. Yet, it’s two sides of the same coin, and there are hidden benefits to the suffering. Our faith grows strong in the rich soil moistened by our tears. Our countenance begins to reflect Him more as He inhabits us more. And therefore, we can conclude:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 8:28, 37-39









Are you struggling today, my friend? Can I pray for you? Please leave your prayer request in the comments or email me.
And would you pray for another friend of mine, Pam, who is in now critical condition having contracted malaria while on a mission trip to Uganda? My daughter is scheduled to lead a youth mission trip to Uganda in July. Please pray for her and the other workers for Touch the World Uganda. Thank you.






Healing Faith

Posted on by Susan Panzica
Our adult Sunday School class has been studying the Book of Acts, a book I never tire of studying. It is an AMAZING book, rich with drama, history, action as well as theology, preaching and doctrine. Sometimes it’s hard to move along because there is so much to be gleaned. Today’s discussion got hooked on one short verse. 

In Acts 14:8-10, Luke shares the story of Paul’s entrance to Lystra:
In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

Our discussion centered on part of verse 9 – Paul looked at the lame man and “saw that he had faith to be healed.” What exactly does that mean? What kind of faith is the faith to be healed? Is it different from other faith? Was it Paul’s “spiritual eyes” that saw the man’s faith? Did the man himself know he had the faith? If he had faith, why wasn’t he healed already? Why are some of God’s faithful healed physically and some are not? 

What about our friends and loved ones? Some were healed, some were not. Some were sitting in our class. Some went home to the Lord years ago. Should we pray for healing? Should we pray for God’s will? Should we pray at all?

Interestingly, none of the study notes or commentaries addressed this particular part of the verse.  Our hour-long discussion is too much to be posted here, of course, but let me just say this: God is God. We are not. He is trustworthy, and we need to keep our eyes squarely on Him and view life – the good, the bad and the ugly – through His lens. We pray simply because He instructs us to do so. As a mom, I want my children to come to me with every concern, and how much more does our heavenly Father. Also, prayer is not about getting things or even getting answers. Prayer aligns our desires with His. As we pray and have two-way conversations with God, our spirit has fellowship with the Spirit, and we are changed by it.

Paul was used by God to bring about healing of this lame man. Yet Paul also asked the Lord three times for his own “thorn in the flesh” to be removed, and God’s answer was “My grace is sufficient for you.” The Susanpanzica translation: “Stop looking at your thorn and start looking at Me. I’m all you need.” See my post on that here.

After church, I came across this video in my inbox. It puts many of today’s questions in proper perspective.

My dad is battling stage 4 prostate cancer with a new chemo regimen started this week.
Kelly, a sweet friend of our family, will have surgery on Tuesday to remove a tumor on her pituitary invading her brain. She’s in 10th grade.
You all have a story to tell as well. Would you pray for these requests, and let me know your requests so that I can pray for you?
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray.
Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.
Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 
Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
James 5:13-16