When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, all of the works of darkness entered into the world — fear, hate, weariness, and even sickness and pain. As believers, we recognize that without Christ, our future would have been one of endless slavery to those effects of sin, but how fortunate we are that God loved us too much to let us stay there! Because of the work of the Cross, we have been completely freed from every work of darkness — and that covers healing from physical and mental ailments as much as it does forgiveness of sins and freedom from shame.

However statements like this often cause people to ask, “If God provided health and healing, then why do faith-filled believers get sick? Why don’t they receive healing every time?”

I truly believe that we have a God who wants to heal us. It is true that ultimately, everybody dies, but it’s not His will for us to die sick and diseased. He wants to give us a long life and satisfy us and show us His salvation (see Psalms 91:16). He suffered on the Cross so that by His stripes we could be healed (see Isaiah 53:5). Those promises are written all over the Scriptures, but sometimes they get called into question when difficult things happen to those close to us.

Over many, many years of ministry, my family and I have seen countless healings, miracles, and deliverances — we’ve even seen the resurrection of the dead! By moving to the former Soviet Union, we have lived the Book of Acts and really seen all the incredible things that God’s power can accomplish. However, we have also seen people who stood in faith to the very end, and they died. They were not healed.

Just recently, one of my wife’s own assistants was diagnosed with cancer, and she fought so hard. From time to time, she would recover, and it would look like she was healed, but then she would relapse. It went on for five years — recovery and relapse, recovery and relapse — and then she finally lost the battle.

It is those kinds of things that make us question if God really does heal or if He really wants to do it for everyone, but I want to tell you today that we have no reason to doubt! When Denise’s friend died, so many people were asking, “Why did she die? Why wasn’t she healed?” But I want you to understand that right now, she is healed!

Right now, my wife’s dear friend is in the presence of the Lord, and she isn’t having any problems there just because she didn’t receive healing here. She left that cancer behind the moment she was released from her body. As she stepped into Heaven, the cancer laid in the grave. 

Friend, when people go to Heaven, they are not sick or afraid or confused anymore. They are totally free of the diseases that they had here, and they even understand why they were not healed before those diseases took their lives. Even though it looks like they lost the skirmish with the enemy, they left that loss behind when they passed into the presence of the Lord. We know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:8), so the very moment you die, you are instantaneously liberated from whatever affliction you may have had! That is a promise, and that is the future of every single believer — even if you lose the battle here, you’re victorious in Heaven!

What this tells me is that we as Christians should be the bravest people of all when it comes to facing the end of our lives. We see that example from the apostle Paul. He says in Philippians 1:23-24, “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”

He’s talking about death. He was facing the possibility of death, and he actually said he had “a desire to depart.” In fact, said he was “in a strait betwixt two [living and dying].” If you look at the Greek, that phrase conveys the sensation of being pressed upon from opposing sides. It paints a picture of a person being tugged back and forth, arms stretched by the relentless pull of opponents in a game of tug-of-war.

What is intriguing about this word is that, in the Greek, it implies that the person subjected to this tugging is the one who holds the power to decide the victory. Thus Paul was saying that he was truly grappling with two compelling desires vying for his heart. On one side, the allure of departing to be with Christ tugged at him earnestly, but on the other side, he felt the tug to remain in his earthly life to complete the unfinished tasks of his ministry.

Death was not frightening to Paul — it was something he looked forward to because he knew that Christ was on the other side of it. What an amazing hope we have as believers!

Another word in this verse that is so revealing of Paul’s attitude is “depart.” Instead of using the word “die” he chose “depart,” which is the Greek Word analuo (ἀναλύω). This word gives the image of a ship leaving its dock, unshackled and able to set sail and journey to its final destination.

Another possible interpretation of the word is in a military context. Analuo could be used to describe the pivotal moment when troops broke down their camps, packed up their tents, gathered their gear, and set their sights on advancing to conquer new territory. 

This means that in Paul’s eyes, death was not an end, but a vibrant beginning, a new and thrilling chapter that laid before him. He imagined that when he shed the chains of earthly existence, he would finally be free to set sail on a spiritual journey destined to carry him home to Heaven. He viewed it as a decision to leave past victories behind and march boldly toward new horizons!

Isn’t that powerful? With such a hopeful view of death, it is no wonder that Paul was able to write, “…Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). My friends, for a believer, death is not the end — it is just a launching pad into eternity! Regardless of the condition we die in, the moment we step out of our bodies and into the presence of the Lord, we drop infirmity, illness, and disease of the body, mind, or spirit — we leave it all behind. When we step into Heaven, we do so completely whole and victorious. 

Friend, I am telling you all these things because I don’t want you to throw in the towel just because you think sickness has won. It’s painful to lose someone, and we don’t yet have the answers about why it happened, but you can’t give up the war because you lost one skirmish along the way. That friend or family member may not have received healing, but the war continues. We continue to battle for souls. We continue to declare the healing power of God, and we do everything we can to help those who are still living and those who are standing in faith for a miracle. 

So I encourage you, whether you’re standing in faith for someone else or for your own healing, don’t let the doubts make you falter! Don’t say, “It didn’t work for that person, so it’s probably not going to work for me.” Don’t say, “I prayed for somebody, but they still died, so I’m not going to pray for anybody else.” That is a wrong response, my friends. No matter what happens on this earth, God’s promise of healing will be complete in Heaven, and our tragic experiences can’t change that fact.

Instead of seeing death as the ultimate defeat, I encourage you to change your perspective and take heart in the fact that every one of us is going to step into wholeness one day. Even if you are fighting and believing as hard as you can and still aren’t seeing results, the moment you step into Heaven, you will be completely healed. That is a promise to every single person who puts their faith in Jesus Christ.

This is your time to stand resolutely and commit to ushering others toward the blessings Jesus intended for them to claim. Embrace this opportunity to grab hold of God’s promises for yourself and to help others lay hold of the inheritance that is theirs due to Christ’s work on the Cross. If you know someone who died due to sickness and disease, use that loss to fan the flames of your commitment that you’re going to do all you can to help the next person receive their manifestation.

For Further Study

If you want to dive into God’s promises for yourself or reflect on Scriptures that will change your attitude about sickness and death, then I encourage you to take a look at these verses!

Promises of healing, wholeness, and blessing: Psalms 91:16; Psalms 107:2; Isaiah 53:4-5; Luke 4:40, Mark 16:18

Reflections about death: 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Philippians 1:20-24, 1 Corinthians 15:50-55