Can I Receive Healing for a Problem That I Brought on Myself?

Yes, of course, but you should repent of the underlying cause first.  Psalm 107:17-20 speaks of fools who get sick because of their own wrongdoings.  What is God’s attitude?  In His mercy, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

However, this doesn’t give you a license to run around outdoors in the winter with no coat on, overeat, eat junk food all day, overwork yourself, get too little sleep, stay mad at people, and then “claim” healing.  Epaphroditus almost died because he overworked himself in the ministry (Philippians 2:25-30).  You have to take care of your body.  Failure to do so will get you into trouble, and it won’t be the devil’s fault.  As the saying goes, if you don’t rest your body, your body will rest you.

You could rationalize that things are just so busy at work that you have no time to rest, but God rejected that rationale in Exodus 34:21: “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing [plowing] time and in harvest thou shalt rest.”

You won’t have much success if you continue to do the things mentioned above and keep coming for healing.  Even though God heals you in His mercy, if you keep making yourself sick, you will keep looping around to the same place.  But if you will repent of the things you are doing to yourself, you can stay healed.  Just realize that if you continue living wrong on purpose, you invite more trouble.  As Jesus told the man at Bethesda, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee” (John 5:14).

Of course, one class of problem doesn’t involve sin, such as slamming the car door on your foot by accident.  Yes, God will heal you of that; He is the Lord Your Physician, and any physician will treat problems even if you brought them on yourself.

God’s willingness to heal problems that are your fault includes the healing of sexually transmitted diseases.  There is reason to suspect that David himself has such a disease, repented and got healed, based on some of the verses in Psalms.  Consider Psalm 38:5-7: “My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.  I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.  For my loins are filled with a loathsome [burning] disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.”  Remember that God “forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases” (see Psalm 103:1-5).  Whom God forgives, God is willing to heal, and forgiveness for whatever sexual sins you have committed is already yours because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Unless you truly repent, though, you are in no position to receive healing and stay healed.  You tempt Christ when you say you want to be healed of AIDS, but you still plan to sleep around or go to gay bars or use illicit intravenous drugs.  God does heal things that you bring on yourself, but if you keep bringing them on, you will be a sick person.

I knew a 4-pack-a-day chain smoker who never stopped smoking while believing God for healing from cancer.  She died of cancer.  She could have been healed, but she kept pumping carcinogens into her body, negating her faith to undo the effects of those carcinogens.