There are at least four kinds of healing in the Bible. Everyone has wounds of some kind. As we look at these four kinds of healing, we will see God’s multifaceted power to heal every wound. Then we will focus on physical healing for the rest of this study.

In my last post, I began this series on divine healing in the Bible and why it’s important to study it. In this post, I want to clearly define some of the ways God heals and why we will focus on divine physical healing in this study.

Since I became paralyzed in 2013, my wounds and scars are visible to all. My favorite people who notice them right away her children. They don’t have a filter, so they point at me and ask their parents, “What’s wrong with him?” I thoroughly enjoyed their parents squirming to teach their children how to have manners and still try to answer their questions.

We all have scars and wounds. Most people can hide them well. Some people live in the past where their wound occurred. There are several kinds of wounds we incur throughout our lifetimes. The beautiful promise of Scripture is that God can heal any wound. Let’s look at some of the most common woundss and the promises the Bible for them.

God Gives Spiritual Healing

The first kind of healing in the Bible is spiritual healing. Sometimes I can see the wounds atheists carry when I talked to them, and the reason they hate God and want nothing to do with Him. They have been hurt spiritually at some point in their lives. Sadly, it is often Christians or the Church that cause their spiritual scars.

We don’t realize how easy it is to hurt people spiritually. It could be in a comment we make without realizing it. I hate to mention it, but you can watch Christian TV and easily be exposed to spiritual injury. False teaching and false prophecy can destroy a person’s faith. Some people belittle and challenge the faith of others and that sends them into a spiritual tailspin.

People carry spiritual wounds deep inside. You have to get to know them very well before you see spiritual wounds. The promise of Scripture is that God sees our wounds and wants to heal them. The Holy Spirit comes alongside you. Whatever lies the world has told you about God, the Spirit helps you to know Him intimately.

God Gives Emotional Healing

The second kind of healing in the Bible is emotional healing. It’s just as easy to cut deep into a person emotionally and not even realize it. We can cause emotional wounds with how we treat people, ignoring them, or making them feel alone or unwanted.

Most people don’t aim to hurt people emotionally. But when we do, they are deep gashes some people never get over. Emotional wounds affect how we treat others. Some people burrow deep within themselves so they don’t get hurt again. They put up barriers and guard themselves in every relationship they have.

Hagar found herself in the middle of the desert with no water for her son Ishmael. She was used and abused by Abraham and Sarah to get what they wanted, only they didn’t want her and rejected her. God let her know that He saw her even though no one else did and provided for her and Ishmael’s needs (Genesis 21:8–21).

For those who have the deep internal wounds caused by emotional scars, the Bible promises God is close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). No matter who hurt you or how deeply they hurt you, God is with you. Cry out to God and He will hear you and heal your broken heart.

God Gives Relational Healing

Another example of the four kinds of healing in the Bible is relational healing. Whether we act out in anger or jealousy, fear or hate, we can destroy a relationship and never get it back. I have found speech to be the number one cause of relational separation. Once you say something, you can’t take it back.

Relational scars happen through the way we treat one another. Our volatile emotions might be behind our actions, but we can act on them. Some relational scars are intentional while others are accidental. No matter how it happens, these are some of the deepest wounds we can inflict on others.

You can turn to God when you need your relationship with people to be healed. Only He can see the human heart and change it. Whether you need healing from someone who hurt you in a relationship or you heard someone in your relationships, you can take your need to the Lord and watch what He does.

The most hurt and hostility we have inflicted in a relationship is the one we have (or don’t think we have) with God. How easy it would be for Him who created us and is so hurt by our sin and rejection to turn the other way and let us plunge toward demise. He would be justified in His judgment of us. He didn’t have to provide a way for us to know Him or live the righteous life He desires for us.

Yet, that is exactly what Jesus did on the Cross. One of the most beautiful words dealing with relational healing is reconciliation. God made the first move in restoring our relationship with Him. It happens every time a person comes to Christ. He frees us from the terrible debt we owe and takes it upon Himself.

God Gives Physical Healing

The last kind of healing in the Bible we will discuss his physical healing. Some people don’t believe in it today with and God still heals physically but He does. If you don’t believe in physical healing you won’t ask for it. You won’t get it because you don’t ask for it (). God is the same today as He was in Bible times (Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17).

Physical wounds can be caused by accidents, other people’s negligence or carelessness, and even in ways we don’t understand. My paralysis resulted from my body making an antibody that attacked my spinal cord. Nobody except Jesus knows why. Physical wounds can cause other scars. I know paralytics who are angry at God and hate the world.

Physical scars can cause us to push people away, resulting in relational wounds. We can hate God because we see other people get healed while we are still injured. Physical wounds are the ones everyone can see and only God can heal.

There are so many accounts of physical healing in the Bible, but the endeavor of this series for the rest of these posts will detail much of these accounts. God healed many people in the Bible and He wants to heal us today.

I firmly believe there is no sickness, illness, disability, or affliction we face that God cannot heal completely. Let our study of divine physical healing in the Bible encourage you and build your faith to receive healing for even what you think is the most impossible of maladies.

Focus on the God Who Heals

No matter what kind of these four healings you need, God is able. Our many wounds and scars can only be healed by loving God who has the power to heal. What kind of healing do you need today? The Bible promises He heals our wounds (Isaiah 53:?). Open your heart to Him today and receive His healing touch.

As we continue our study on divine physical healing in the Bible, we will leave no stone unturned. Watching how God heals in the Bible increases our faith to see miracles of healing in today’s world. That’s the task we turn to next.

Praying for Your Healing

Precious Jesus, I come before You and ask that You would minister to the hidden wounds and deep scars my friend has been carrying. Only You can see these scars and heal them. Touch the hearts and pains we are walking around with and let your healing balm disinfect our wounds and give us joy for sadness, pleasure for pain, and healing of all kinds. In the name of the great Physician, Jesus, amen

Up Next

Now that we have defined some ways God heals in the Bible and today, we will look at how to label and describe multiple experiences in sickness and disability.

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