As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:1-3, NAS)
While shopping at an office supply store recently, I witnessed an odd sight. A man was pushing a pink baby carriage down the center aisle of the store. It was smaller than a normal carriage – similar to one a child would push a doll in. I looked into the carriage and there was a beautiful little dog. He weighed around 15 pounds and had a mane that looked like a lion’s. I’ve never seen one like it.
The dog captivated me, so I leaned into the carriage and said, “You sure are cute. You really are pretty.” The man called the dog’s name and said, “That’s the man who needs to pray for you!”
It caught me quite off guard. He said, “I know you.”
I asked, “Why do you want me to pray for your dog?”
“My dog is blind,” he said. “He is five years old and has a retinal disease that is afflicting many dogs throughout the country. They are losing their sight in a very short time. We’ve actually taken him to a doctor in Boston to have a procedure, but the dog is still blind.”
“I will pray for your dog,” I said and dropped down on my knees in the middle of the store. I laid my hands on the dog’s face, turning him straight toward me. I noticed that he didn’t follow me and didn’t seem to respond as quickly as a dog normally would, though his eyes appeared perfectly normal. I prayed, “God, bless this little dog. He’s such a sweet pet and his family loves him very much. Please make this little dog well. You can heal this dog’s eyes. Jesus, would you heal this little dog’s eyes.”
I cupped his face in my hands, putting my cheek against his cheek with tender affection. When I stood up the man said, “Thank you.” I smiled and said, “You evidently know me and can get a message to me. I would like to know if your dog begins to see. My prayers go with you.”
I finished shopping and left the store. Later, as I reflected on the moment, God revealed, “My kingdom was manifest in that store right in broad daylight. You did exactly what believers should do when they recognize the importance of living with an awareness of kingdom power.”
Prayerfully, I asked God about the experience. “Why did that man say of me, ‘That’s the man who needs to pray for you’?”
God impressed upon my heart, “Because he was actually saying to his dog, ‘That’s a man who believes in a God who can do anything for anyone… anywhere… anytime. That’s My kingdom!”
Considering that thought, I wondered why he came to such a conclusion. Had he simply seen me on television or had he heard me speak somewhere? Perhaps, but wouldn’t it be best if he had, over a period of time, simply observed my life? You see that can and should be the case with every believer, not just preachers and teachers, but everyone reading this story.
If you are sick and fighting a disease in your family or among your friends and are under the load of some seemingly unbearable weight, I ask you to agree with this fact: The King is here! His presence and power are all around you as surely as the air you breathe. Ask Him to release His healing power to lift the load and accomplish His Kingdom purpose in and through your life, including those you care about. Trust Him! Kingdom results are in His hands. We receive the seed in receptive soil and the light of His life and the water of His Word brings forth beautiful fruit in His garden. No plant strains to yield its fruit; no flower, its blossom. It simply remains rooted and grounded, trusting God for the light and the water necessary for fruit to come. If we yield to the King to bring forth kingdom life, He will not fail. It’s our responsibility to yield. His grace working in us makes remarkable changes. We should live amazed by the power of His presence.
You may ask, “What if I’m not healed physically?” Keep trusting Him and thanking Him for a great work of healing and wholeness His Kingdom power can accomplish by shaping your character. This is the greatest healing of all. God provides healing for our souls and for our lives, even when we don’t always see it in our physical bodies. Jesus’ stated that the goal is for the works of God to be displayed in our lives.
Many people have been healed physically, but not spiritually, and, as a result, they still can’t clearly see God’s kingdom purpose for their lives. Jesus can heal a withered hand, but His greater emphasis is on the need for withered lives to be healed by the power of His abiding presence and kingdom reality.
Jesus miraculously fed the multitudes on more than one occasion. But when they kept coming, asking for another food miracle, He made it clear He wasn’t going to be the original “fast food opportunity.” He wanted them to have meat to eat they knew nothing about. They needed nourishment that comes from above—food with eternal promise and present-day effect.
He really did come to heal the brokenhearted and those who may also have a broken body. All disease and sickness will be absent in the eternal kingdom that is to come. Absent from that kingdom will also be any potential for disease, temptation or sin, and there will be no more death. It’s no challenge in heaven to overcome an enemy because there’s none to overcome. In this life God desires to make us more than conquerors—priests and kings, mighty warriors, ambassadors with His armor and the shield of faith that can quench every fiery suggestion of the enemy and all of the lies in this present world.
God’s kingdom power really did show up in that office supply store. It wasn’t simply an expression of love from a lover of pets, but it was an expression from the lover of our souls and our lives. It was the heart of One who cares about every concern we have. His desire is not that we should strive for righteous works on our own, but that we would allow Him to work His righteousness in our lives every single day. Once we allow His kingdom to rule in our lives, we can learn to express His kingdom here on earth.
Awareness of kingdom presence in the spiritual realm is like the knowledge of oxygen in the physical realm. You know it’s there, so you access it. By faith, we must recognize that kingdom presence and atmosphere is here. We are receiving into the visible realm the power found in that which is in the unseen realm. We must breathe it in. When you live in this awareness, you will find yourself suddenly producing kingdom fruit. This is when we, like the blind man Jesus encountered, allow the works of God to be expressed in our lives. This is true healing.
