Page 54 - Evidence of Things Unseen

A Failure of Faith

t the same time that Yahweh was leading our family to steps of faith, and proving
AHimself to be a faithful Father, He was bringing many others in this body at Living Faith
to face similar challenges. Health problems abounded in this church, and each crisis of
health was an opportunity to press into the Lord. The saints must hear from Him in order
to know what He requires, that the victory might be attained and the good land possessed.
The head pastor at this fellowship of believers was named Richard, and he began
setting aside a time during each service to call all those who were sick, or injured, to come
forward for prayer. On some days half the congregation would come forward, and Richard
himself was seeking the Lord for healing from a chronic back problem that robbed him of
strength and severely limited his activities. There was a real sense among the leadership of
the church that God wanted to reveal Himself as healer to the body. Perhaps the most
common work ascribed to Yahshua in the gospels is healing. He also bestowed authority
upon His disciples that they might heal.
Richard shared that he was having his wife lay hands on his back every day and pray
for healing, and they were both patiently looking to the Lord in this matter. Every Sunday
he was also calling all who were sick to come to the front of the church to receive prayer.
This continued for about two months. Then Richard announced to some members of the
church that he had heard of a new therapy offered by some doctors in Illinois for people
who had physical problems similar to his. The way he had heard about this new treatment
seemed unusual to him, and he took this as a sign that God wanted him to check into this
procedure.
I did not say anything immediately to Richard about this, but I felt a great concern in
my spirit. I had recently done a study on the medical profession, focusing on the symbol of
the medical staff, or caduceus, which is pictured as a rod with entwined serpents upon it.
I traced this symbol back to ancient Egypt, and I found many things that were impure
relating to the medical profession and its practices. What was most troubling, however, was
that so many men and women placed such trust in man’s resources for healing, while not
even considering that God could, or would heal them. A very large percentage of those who
professed faith in Christ would not even consult with God to find out what His will was for
them when they experienced injury or sickness. The Spirit led me to the following passage
of Scripture.

II Chronicles 16:12
In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was
severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek Yahweh, but the physicians.

There is a judgment in these words. King Asa acted foolishly by not seeking Yahweh.
If you read the entire story of Asa’s life you will find that he began in faith. Early on he
trusted God and saw God deliver him from his enemies with a great and spectacular victory.
At some point, however, Asa began to trust in that which his eyes could see. Years later
when he was faced with another enemy, he hired the sword of foreigners to provide him
protection and deliverance. God sent a prophet to rebuke him for not trusting Him as he
had done previously, yet Asa rejected the prophet’s words and mistreated him. The
Scriptures record the following concerning this event: