We have plenty of opportunities to seek and pray for healing. Broken relationships, illnesses, and depression weigh heavily on the lives of dear ones in our church body and our own family. Yet, we have to remember that our hope is not in the healing but in the Healer himself. 

Gospel hope is a lifeline when we are suffering. Dave Furman says in his book, Being There, “We all need the gospel, but times of hurt can be the most important times when we need to be reminded that our hope exists outside of ourselves. Our hope is grounded in the past, secure in the future, and available for us today.” (p. 67)

When days are dark, pain is high, or relationships are tense, we are tempted to put our hope in the day getting brighter, the pain dissipating, or the relationships softening. When that doesn’t happen, our hope can be shattered. We question whether healing will ever come, and it is challenging to see beyond our circumstances.

This is when the gospel must be absorbed into every fiber of our being. Reflection on Jesus’ incarnation reminds us of His humility, while studying His life shows his compassion. Our hearts are encouraged by His obedience to the cross and His power over death. And, oh, how the glory of His ascension floods us with hope. We feel our Father’s love, and we rejoice in His coming judgment over the painful effects of sin in our world.

Our gospel hope then puts our circumstances in their proper place. We see them for what Scripture calls them, our “light and momentary troubles” that are “temporary” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18). We are assured that our “present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). 

Preaching gospel truths to ourselves renews our strength and shifts our hope from the healing to the Healer. And this is the only hope worth having! 

“We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.” Romans 8:23b (NLT)