God has devoted much of His Word to accounts and promises of healing. He tells us that we are awesomely and wonderfully made and that our health is His great desire. If our health becomes compromised, two components that greatly influence our ability to receive healing are our attitude and our actions toward our healing.
So how does our attitude affect our healing? The importance of one’s attitude has long been acknowledged as an influential factor in the success, health, and quality of one’s life. According to God, our deepest thoughts shape our lives.
Proverbs 4:23:
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
With such a wide array of thoughts to choose from every day, how do we determine which thoughts are best? Which thoughts will lead to an attitude that contributes to our healing?
Colossians 3:2:
Set your affection [set your mind, thinking, thoughts] on things above, not on things on the earth.
We can set our thinking on things above (on heavenly things) and all that Jesus Christ accomplished for us, which includes our healing, or we can set our thinking on things on the earth (such as our feelings or the circumstances we face). The Word of God can heal (Psalms 107:20). Setting our thinking on God’s healing Word helps us develop a godly attitude toward our healing.
Once our attitude is in order, our actions follow. And right actions yield right results. I have heard it described as actions are the fruit of thought. Our attitude toward our healing will be reflected in our actions. A stellar example of this is recorded in the Gospels regarding the woman with an issue of blood.
Matthew 9:20,21:
And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
For she said within herself [she was repeating to herself what she believed God was making available to her], If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
Some additional details in this account are found in the parallel record in Mark 5. It reveals she had suffered many things of many physicians and had spent all that she had, but instead of getting better, she got worse. Despite these years of setbacks, her thoughts were focused on things above; her attitude remained “I shall be whole.” And her sustained actions, concluding with her touching Jesus’ garment, resulted in her full healing. Knowing that power had gone out of him, Jesus saw her and said, “Daughter, thy faith [believing] hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague” (Mark 5:34).
Here are two key points we can take away from this record to bolster our attitude and actions toward our healing:
- Keep our confession positive.
Proverbs 16:24:
Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. - And never give up; refuse to quit!
Galatians 6:9:
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
We do good to ourselves and others as well, persevering toward our healing.
To enjoy the healing God wants for us, we must start with a healthy, “heavenly” attitude—an attitude that has been developed by elevating truth over circumstances and confessing the sweet, pleasant, healing words from God. And we stay determined to receive our healing, not giving up if the healing doesn’t come quickly. Once our attitude is in alignment with God’s Word, our actions will reflect and produce the positive, healing results we want.