My son broke his leg a few summers ago. Yes, he broke it in summer… on Day 2 of our five-week vacation. We’d been waiting for this trip for so long and it was finally here.
We’d planned beach days, a trip to Disneyland, some cave tours, museum tours and all kinds of fun, active adventures. But much of that changed. We hoped it wouldn’t have to. We prayed for healing. We were so sure that God wanted this trip for us before we left, but honestly, with a wheelchair, a big hip-to-toe cast, and a highly medicated son … I wasn’t so sure.
It only made sense that if God wanted this trip for us, he’d want our son to enjoy it. So we prayed for healing. It never came.
Well, that’s not true. Four months after his cast came off he was finally discharged from physiotherapy and given a “Go!” regarding his activities. But that wasn’t the kind of healing we’d been praying for.
Sometimes God says no to our prayers for health or healing. He said no when my 12 year old friend’s mom had cancer. He said no to my cousin’s newborn baby. He said no to a pregnant mom of two preschoolers in my church this summer. He says no often.
I’ve had to learn that although God is Healer, that’s not all He is. His character and His person encompass more than just healing. Every situation requires Him to be all that He is: Healer, Judge, Deliverer, Forgiver, Creator, Restorer, and more.
Sometimes when God chooses not to heal, it’s because He’s choosing to reveal another side of His character. Perhaps He is showing Himself as Provider, or Protector.
We may never understand all the reasons that God chooses not to heal. But we can count on this: that although He is not revealing that side of His character He isn’t hiding His character from us. We must search in those hard times to find the part of God’s character that He wants us to learn from. And we must lean into Him in those hard, dark times.
He is always God the Healer. But He is not always healing. And that’s okay.
Carla Anne Coroy
About Carla Anne Coroy
Carla Anne can be described in one word: passionate. After just a few minutes with her it is evident that her biggest passion is people. Carla Anne is an accomplished Christian author, speaker and business woman. Her favourite way to spend her free time is hanging out with her 8 kids (an even mix of sons, daughters, and in-laws) and many family “add-ons”. In winter you can find her cheering for her local hockey team and in summer she’ll be on the beach!
