Why Doesn’t God Heal Everyone?

One of the names of God is Jehovah-Rapha, “the Lord who heals.” In Exodus 15:26, God declares that he is the healer of his people. The passage refers specifically to healing from physical disease:


He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” (NLT)


The Bible records a considerable number of physical healing accounts in the Old Testament. Likewise, in the ministry of Jesus and his disciples, healing miracles are prominently highlighted. And throughout the ages of church history, believers have continued to testify of God’s power to divinely heal the sick.


So, if God by his own nature declares himself Healer, why doesn’t God heal everyone?


Why did God use Paul to heal the father of Publius who was ill with fever and dysentery, as well as many other sick people, yet not his beloved disciple Timothy who suffered from frequent stomach illnesses?


Why Doesn’t God Heal Everyone?

Perhaps you are suffering with a sickness right now. You’ve prayed every healing Bible verse you know, and still you’re left wondering, Why won’t God heal me?


Maybe you’ve recently lost a loved one to cancer or some other terrible disease. It’s only natural to ask the question: Why does God heal some people but not others?


The quick and obvious answer to the question rests in God’s sovereignty.


God is in control and ultimately he knows what’s best for his creations. While this is certainly true, there are several clear-cut reasons given in Scripture to further explain why God may not heal.


Biblical Reasons God May Not Heal

Now, before we dive in, I want to admit something: I don’t fully understand all of the reasons God does not heal. I have struggled with my own personal “thorn in the flesh” for years. I’m referring to 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, where the Apostle Paul stated:


Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. (NLT)


Like Paul, I pleaded (in my case for years) for relief, for healing. Eventually, like the apostle, I resolved in my weakness to live in the sufficiency of God’s grace.


During my earnest quest for answers about healing, I was fortunate to learn a few things. And so I will pass those on to you:


Unconfessed Sin

We’ll cut to the chase with this first one: sometimes sickness is the result of unconfessed sin. I know, I didn’t like this answer either, but it’s right there in Scripture:


Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:16, NLT)


I want to stress that sickness is not always the direct result of sin in someone’s life, but pain and disease are part of this fallen, cursed world in which we currently live. We must be careful not to blame every sickness on sin, but we must also realize it is one possible reason. Thus, a good place to begin if you’ve come to the Lord for healing is to search your heart and confess your sins.


Lack of Faith

When Jesus healed the sick, on many occasions he made this statement: “Your faith has made you well.”


In Matthew 9:20-22, Jesus healed the woman who had suffered for many years with constant bleeding:


Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”


Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment. (NLT)


Here are a few more biblical examples of healing in response to faith:


Matthew 9:28–29; Mark 2:5, Luke 17:19; Acts 3:16; James 5:14–16.


Apparently, there is an important link between faith and healing. Given the multitude of Scriptures connecting faith to healing, we must conclude that sometimes healing does not occur because of a lack of faith, or better, the pleasing kind of faith that God honors. Again, we must be careful not to assume every time someone isn’t healed the reason is lack of faith.