Objection: It’s up to God – God Will Heal Me If He Wants To
Not only does He want to, but as far as He is concerned, He did something about your healing already (1 Peter 2:24)! Healing is available on the same basis as salvation from hell – it is a gift from Jesus Christ. He paid for it, and anyone can receive it from Him at any time.
Receiving Healing Is Your Responsibility
Would you tell an unsaved person, “It’s up to God – God will save you if He wants to,” rather than telling him how to receive salvation by faith? Were you born again because God just made a sudden new decision to save you? No!
God made the decision to save you before He sent Jesus. You are the one who made the decision to be saved. God did not make a new decision to save you when you came to Jesus. Jesus had already done everything that He needed to do about your salvation. He did not need to do anything new – it was your move. You did not receive the gift of righteousness until you did something.
God’s other blessings are available to you on the same basis. He has already given you all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3) and all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3-4)! It is up to you to act on what you already have.
God made the decision to heal you before He sent Jesus. Now you are the one who makes the decision to be healed. God will not make a new decision about healing when you come to Him for healing. Jesus already did everything that He will ever need to do about your healing. He does not need to do anything else – it is your move. You will not receive the healing that He paid for until you do something.
Doubt or Faith: It’s up to You!
When Peter walked on water in Matthew 14:28-31, the wind, the waves and the command of Jesus were all the same when Peter was totally above the water as when he started to sink. The difference had nothing to do with God or Jesus. It had nothing to do with the circumstances. It had only to do with Peter’s faith (at first) and doubt (as he considered the circumstances more than Jesus’ word). It was up to Peter, not Jesus, whether he walked on the water or started to sink. (Thank God, this story also shows the mercy of God when our faith is not what it ought to be. We don’t want to be too hard on Peter – he didn’t have a New Testament to read, and he was the second person in the world (after Jesus) to walk on the waves. Who knows how WE would have fared in the same situation?)
God Wants You to Be Healed
To say that God will heal you if He wants to is to question His will for your healing. It is the same as saying, “I do not know whether or not it is God’s will to heal me. I have not taken the time to read His Word and find out.”
Jesus said that if you saw Him, you saw the Father (John 14:9). He went everywhere healing the sick. He did not please Himself, but He always pleased His Father. Therefore, God’s will was healing for all of the sick who came to Him.
A certain leper was the only person who ever questioned Jesus’ will to heal in Scripture. Jesus’ direct answer was, “I will.” Read Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 1:40-45 and Luke 5:12-15. The Bible says that God is no respecter of persons; He does not play favorites (Acts 10:34, Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 3:25, 1 Peter 1:17). If it was His will to heal the leper, it is His will to heal you.
Jesus bore your sicknesses and pains (Isaiah 53:4). There would be no point in that unless it were His will that you should receive the healing that He provided for you. He surely didn’t intend to suffer for nothing.
“It’s up to God” at best demonstrates lack of instruction. At worst, it is a religious cop-out to avoid having to develop your faith or assume personal responsibility for your healing.