In 2003 I was diagnosed with breast cancer, had a lumpectomy, radiation, and told I was cured. But was I healed? What is the difference between being cured and being healed? Healing and curing are different. Webster’s defines the word cure as “relieving a person or animal of the symptoms of a disease.” The word heal is defined as “becoming sound or healthy again, to alleviate a person’s distress or anguish, correct or put right an undesirable situation.”
Lissa Rankin, M.D. defines the difference between cure and heal: “curing means “eliminating all evidence of disease,” while healing means “becoming whole”.
I like to think of cure as being in the physical arena and healed as in the spiritual and emotional realm. And if we can strive to be both healed and cured you have a match made in heaven.
Can we always be both cured and healed? Not always. Some diseases have caused so many traumas and go on for so long that healing becomes overpowered by leaving us with scares on our souls and not just our bodies.
The bibles gives us a glimpse into how we can marry both cure and heal and turn grief into joy; be both sad and joyful at the same time.
Joy is not the absence of pain and suffering. Joy is experiencing the presence of God while experiencing the pain. Joy and sorrow can co-exist in our life; being both sad and joyful at the same time.
In John, Chapter 16, verses 16-22, Jesus tells how the disciples’ grief will turn to joy. “…In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” “…
Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” “…Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
No matter how long it takes to get through the pain, Jesus will erase the suffering when we get there. Jesus asks us to “wait awhile” because he has destroyed death. Just as birth overwhelms the pain of childbirth; when Jesus becomes the driving force in our lives we become part of the fruit of the Spirit and helps us in our “little while” of pain and suffering.
That’s all fine and good, Loretta. But how do I find joy when I am overwhelmed by the pain and suffering which seems like eternity itself? I know, my friend. I know. I’ve been around long enough to feel the pain, to get knocked around senseless and it’s not easy. But here are three suggestions:
- Worship regularly and truly participate. Don’t just mouth the words – shout them to the roof tops!
- Spend time doing devotions and reading the bible. It can be in the morning, it can be at bedtime. It can even be in the bathroom. Just make it a daily part of your day.
- Find a fellow believer to talk to and share your pain and suffering.
A friend of mine who is attending Asbury Seminary recently shared with me the difference between being cured and being healed with the statement that being healed is being able to surrender all your grief as well as your joy to glorify God. WOW! It stopped me in my tracks and I have been mulling this in my head now for days. Could I? Do I? We, as imperfect images of God must strive to place not only our successes but also our failures; our cures but also our pain and suffering to glorify God, knowing that in a “little while” we will spend the rest of our lives in eternity with God the Father.
And that is Joy that I can live with each and every day – To not just be cured but healed.
Lord, when I am in the depths of despair, help me to remember that this will be only for a “little while” before bringing me to life in eternity. In the meantime, help me with the fruit of the spirit to bring love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control to all those I encounter for your glory. For “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3
Thank you for reading my post. If you have found it encouraging please consider liking, commenting or sharing it. Feel free to comment here or even re-blog – may these words take flight!
I have additional insights I’d love to share with you found in the pages of my debut book: Surviving Medical Mayhem – Laughing When It Hurts. To order a copy or learn more go to my website at www.lorettaschoen.com
Blessings for Health & Wellness.