King Asa gets badmouthed here, for even in his disease, he did not seek the Lord but sought physicians (2 Chr 16:12), as if there were only one choice or the other. There have been a number of cases in recent years that ring of that same argument, a family refusing care for their loved one because they believe that through prayer they are able to make any disease disappear. Sometimes this works out well, other times it ends in a preventable tragedy.
It has always been my belief that God has done amazing things through the gifts of those in the medical community. Whenever I gather at a bedside before a surgery I pray for the Spirit to draw out the gifts that are present in the people who will be performing care that day. There is no opposing choice for me; these messengers (angels) are the ones God has sent and has raised up with their gifts to serve the body of Christ in this way.
I offer today the image of the Nehushtan. You say, "The What?" I say, "Yeah." This image probably looks familiar to you at least in some form. It is similar to the emblem on the Blue Shield logo. The story in Numbers goes that the people complained and God sent poisonous serpents to kill them. When the people repented, God had Moses construct a staff with a snake, and people would look at the staff and live. It has become a modern symbol for healing. There is a great interwoven narrative between the work of doctors and our own faith. Rather than divide up the world into secular and religious, I invite you to discover the work of God in the things we don't usually think of as religious. May you have eyes to see and ears to hear.
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