Names of God - Adonia

It seems like forever since I posted on the Names of God series.
Let's see... so far we have done a little study on the names Elohim, El Elyon, El Roi, El Shaddai, and El Olam.
Today we will study a little about Adonai...

We are introduced to the meaning of this name of God in Genesis 15:1-6.

 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision,
saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”

 Abram said, “O Lord GOD,
what will You give me, since I am childless,

and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 

And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me,
one born in my house is my heir.” 
Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “
This man will not be your heir;
but one who will come forth from your own body,
he shall be your heir.” 
And He took him outside and said,
“Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars,
if you are able to count them.”

And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 

Then he believed in the LORD;
and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

When Abram answered God and said "O Lord GOD" he was saying "O Adonia GOD". The word Adonia means Lord or Master. It was at this time that Abram was submitting himself to God's Lordship. It was at this moment that he said, "I am not the boss of my life, God, You are."  

As we read further in this passage we see that it was at his moment that Abram was saved. When Abram submitted to God's Lordship and believed upon His Word and trusted in His way, God reckoned it to him as righteousness. Abram, right here, is our example that we are Saved By Faith.

yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

Romans 4:20-24

Abram's moment of salvation came by faith, it came by believing God. He was saved before circumcision and before the Law... to show us that works, even good works, do not save us... only believing God does. And not just believing in a god, or in the idea of God, but taking God at His every Word... and His Word said that a Son would be born,(Isaiah 7:14) and when that Son came He said His name is Jesus (Luke 1:26-38) and then He said listen to Him, my Son, and do what He says, (Matthew 17:4-6) do what I have said and be saved.

The way of salvation has always been by faith.

The way of salvation has always been by first submitting ourselves to the authority of God, giving Him full reign over our life, putting His on the rightful throne of our lives and taking ourselves off the throne.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,

and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,

you will be saved;

Romans 10:9

So what exactly does it mean for Jesus to be Lord of our life?  If you have been in church at all you have most likely heard the phrase Jesus is Lord of my life. The question is though, Is He really?

All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;... 

Isaiah 53:6

All of us, all of us are like sheep who have gone astray, following our own way. Romans 3:9-23 goes on to say how none of us seeks God, none of us understands, none of us does good, all of us are after our own will, our own desires and we have no fear of God before our eyes. That might be hard to swallow for some... but look deep, with open eyes, and you will see that it is indeed the truth.

We can't just say Jesus is Lord, it's more that that. In Matthew 7:21-27 Jesus Himself tells us that many will call Him Lord, many will use the phrase, "Oh yeh, Jesus is Lord of my life" but only those who do the will of His Father truly speak that phrase... the rest are only offering lip service.

THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

Matthew 15:8

Many will claim to be serving God and doing great things in the name of Jesus for the kingdom of God... but if you look closer, you will see they are simply name slinging in order to build up their own kingdoms. So be very careful who you follow and who you admire...

Obedience to the Word of God and the commands of His Christ are evidence of our faith... faith is not blind, it is not invisible. Evidence is something you present before a judge to prove your case. It is something tangible, it is something that can be examined and scrutinized... ever seen a prosecutor present invisible evidence to a judge in an earthly court? Think about it.

Our faith is something that can be seen if it is really there.

And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic,

“ Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

Matthew 9:2

Seeing their faith, He said,

“ Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

Luke 5:20

This man was listening to Paul as he spoke,

who, when he had fixed his gaze on him

and had seen that he had faith to be made well,

Acts 14:9

Oh precious one, when Jesus is truly Lord or your life, your faith can be seen, because your obedience to His Word, your willingness to submit to His will and His ways, can be clearly seen. By Him and by those who know Him.

Making Jesus Adonia means you no longer are purposely going your own way... you have made Him Boss, Master, Lord, He alone is on the throne of your life.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:5-8

Fierce Beauty

Only when we truly understand who our King is does our self-importance fade. Once freed from our pride, we can see how our purpose in this life is simple: to know Him. Our God is not passive in His care for us. He is a consuming fire. His love for each of us is both fierce and beautiful. Friend, God is calling you to ...be beautiful, but not in the way the world demands. It was never His desire for you to focus on looking beautiful- He wants you to become beautiful. Contrary to this world's declaration, you are far more than the sum of your exterior; you're a vessel for the Living God. He's calling you to take action, to become beautiful... to pick up your King's sword of encouragement and fiercely defend those around you who are losing their battle for hope. By doing so, you become- in the eyes of the King- a fierce beauty.

~ Kim Meeder

So this is the beginning of my newest book that I am reading for review, Fierce Beauty by Kim Meeder. I cannot wait to get into it and read it!

This is a subject I am so very passionate about. The worth of a woman... oh how so many do not know their worth... settling for sinful lusts of eyes of the flesh... and throwing off their clothing of strength and dignity for the attentive momentary eyes of someone who is never willing to see past their exterior or really even cares to...

It breaks my heart.
It breaks my heart because I know what they are doing and why they are doing it and why even though they cry themselves to sleep most nights and regularly think of ending their lives over what they are doing and the choices they are making... they can't find the strength to stop.

And all it takes is one phone call, one text, to set their hearts racing and emotions churning and heart wrenching...

It goes deeper than whether or not they had the perfect or worse childhood.
It goes deeper than whether or not they were, or were not, in church every time the doors opened.
It goes directly to the very core of their soul and to the very bottomless depths of their deceived and deceitful heart.

This is where we must reach them... our daughters, our sisters, our friends.

I don't want them to get lost in the lie of the "perfect man" confusing butterflies and flowers with love. While the man of God who would adore her and build her up and love her with a commitment like Christ has for His church, stands over on the sidelines unnoticed because he is not willing or able to seduce her with lies...

So I hope to gain more insight and wisdom as I read this book... because I want nothing more than for my daughters to be fierce beauties, completely enraptured and captured by the gaze of their God and burning brilliantly in the consuming fire of His holiness.

Strength and dignity are her clothing...

Proverbs 31:25

Life is Not a Production

Like a seamless performance, we want everyone to say their lines and
follow our directions—even God. We wrongfully equate redemption with
everything looking right (Isaiah 53:3). The beauty of Jesus’ birth, however,
shines brightly due to the greater beauty of His death (Ephesians 1:7).
There is no one scene that stands alone in our lives; rather, they all fit together
in the greater story of God’s redemptive work.

—Regina Franklin

Well today I had just a few main objectives to accomplish.

Quiet/Study time

School the girls

Paint the bathroom ceiling

Get some laundry washed and put up

Pay the bills

Get Bekah's clothes she can't/won't wear out of her room and boxed up for donations.

Go to my Mom-in-Laws for my birthday dinner

Simple right?

Everything was going grand until I went to check on the ceiling and see how it was drying.

What was happening... but that the ceiling was cracking as the paint was drying!

All efforts down the toilet!

Now all I want to do is grab a sledgehammer and demolish the entire bathroom, from ceiling to floor. Please, I asked my husband, let me take out the tub, the counter, the toilet, the ceiling and let's just start over from scratch!!! But alas he said, "No".

The sledgehammer would have been great, epic, fun. And I would have felt much better. For a little bit anyway. This is all following my own recent blog post about not allowing our emotions to control us... so I had to take a deep breath and pray. 

Well so, ummm no, life is not a production to be played out exactly as I had planned...

It's more like an off the cuff, night at the improv, or an evening of whose line is it anyway...

This life definitely is not mine that's for sure.

So we just take it and run with it.

And laugh.

Laughter is indeed a wonderful and beautiful gift from God.

And well I had much rather laugh about the ceiling cracking and falling... again... then be mad and pout and stomp... so as my husband has told me to "just relax"... I think I will.

Yes I am two hours behind schedule... but eh, who needs a shower anyway. That's what ball caps and body spray are for... 

So instead of sledgehammering the bathroom... I will relax, and not do it!

And somehow even this day that I deem as a wreck, God will work out for His glory... even if it was just to make you feel better about your day and get a laugh from whose line is it anyway :-)

Devastating News

Yes, devastating news... you read that correctly.

Yesterday during world history I am teaching on the first printing press. We are discussing how before the print a Bible was more expensive than a house. We discussed how they were so precious that they were chained to the altar of a church so that they could not be stolen.

We talked about how most people, even kings, in Europe didn't know how to read before the day of the printing press. Before the print no one had books, so there was no point in learning to read.

I looked at my girls and as we are discussing these dark middle ages and discussing how no one had books and no one could read, not even the Bible, and how very sad that was... then the devastating news slammed me in my chest.

I look to my precious Shelby and I see in her eyes that she shares my grief and she exclaims how awful it would be to not be able to read and not to have books and I look over to my Bekah to expect the same distraught agreeance and she sits grinning and says "I don't see the big deal, I don't like to read anyway" 

AHHHH GASP!!!!

What?
A child from my womb?
A child that I carried for nine months, birthed in hard natural labor, the one the epidural wore off on before delivery... this child of mine does not like to read????
Flabbergasted!
How could this be?

It's her father's fault I tell you!
How dare she get this part of his DNA!
Inconceivable!
Unacceptable!

Oh me...
Yes, devastating news.

Now I am panic stricken.
How in the world am I going to figure out how to make her love to read?
How am I going to be able to teach a child who doesn't like to read?

But now all those times that I have become frustrated because she could not "get" the instructions that I have made her read at least twelve times is now all making sense. Her brain just does not comprehend the information from reading like mine and Shelby's does...

I have my work cut out for me with this one :-)

The One Who Refuses

“The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race” (Psalm 14:2). The conclusion: “All have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” (Psalm 14:3).

That’s emphatically inclusive language! “Not a single one” includes you and me!

“Everyone has sinned,” Paul asserts. “We all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). Thankfully, there’s more. “Yet ......God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous,” Paul adds. “He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins” (v.24).

We have no right to despise those who choose not to believe in God. Rather, in love, we can thank God, who “chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes” (Ephesians 1:4).

~ Tim Gustafson

How do you respond to the scoffer?
How do you treat those who refuse to believe?

I read this devotional this morning and immediately my mind went to those in Scripture who refused to believe in the presence of Christ and how He responded to their unbelief, even those who scoffed...

The first that came to mind was the rich young ruler: 

As He was setting out on a journey,

a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him,

and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good?

No one is good except God alone. 

You know the commandments,

‘DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’” 

And he said to Him,

“Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.” 

Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him

and said to him, “One thing you lack:

go and sell all you possess and give to the poor,

and you will have treasure in heaven;

and come, follow Me.” 

But at these words  he was saddened,

and he went away grieving,

for he was one who owned much property.

Mark 10:17-22

In this passage we see that Jesus still felt a love for him. Jesus knew he would turn away. He knows our hearts better than we do... yet still He felt a love for this one who He knew would walk away from Him...  

Then my mind went to Jesus as He looked down upon Jerusalem:

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets

and stones those who are sent to her!

How often I wanted to gather your children together,

the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,

and you were unwilling.

Matthew 23:37   

As Jesus looked down from His glory in heaven before He came in the flesh and as He looked out upon Jerusalem as the Word made flesh, as He watched the scoffers, the haters, the unbelievers, those who so held to the lie and their own ways that they stoned and killed those sent to them by God...

Jesus still wanted to gather them under His wing...

He still loved them as a mother loves her children even though they be absolutely wretched in their behavior and actions... the mother who sits in the courtroom who watches her child being rightfully convicted of a murderous crime loves them no less than the mother who sits in the crowd to watch her child being honored with the Nobel Peace Prize... they love regardless... they just can't help it. 

Jesus loves us regardless of our wretchedness or our righteousness...

He just can't help it. 

So we who have believed.

We who have heard and have come to drink of the living water without cost

How are we to treat those who refuse to believe?

Those who refuse to come?

Those who scoff at the cross?

If we are His, then we are being conformed into His image, we are being led by His Spirit, so we should respond as He responds...

Feel a love for them

Long to gather them

For what have I to do with judging outsiders?

1 Corinthians 5:12

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders,

making the most of the opportunity.

Colossians 4:5

so that you will behave properly toward outsiders...

1 Thessalonians 4:12 

Take Courage

I think anybody who has ever undertaken a work for the cause of Christ has felt that kind of discouragement: the sense that you work and work and the product seems so paltry. You pour yourself into a thing week after week and month after month and the fruit is so minimal. Then you look back in history or across town and see the grand achievement of others, and your temple seems so trivial. And you get discouraged and are tempted to quit and put away your aspirations and drop your dreams and put your feet up in front of the television and coast. Who wants to devote his life to a second-rate temple?
~ John Piper

There is a principle here that applies to you and me: God takes small, imperfect things and builds them into a habitation for his glory. O, how we should take courage in our little spheres of influence! And is this not the message of Advent and Christmas? What more appropriate word could God have said to Mary as Jesus was growing up: Take courage, young mother, you build more than you see. And so it is with every one of us. Nothing you do is a trifle if you do it in the name of God. He will shake heaven and earth to fill your labor with splendor. Take courage, you build more than you see. ~ John Piper

These are a couple of quotes that grabbed my heart as I read Take Courage by John Piper.

I don't know about you, but as a wife and mother and servant of Christ and His church, I often find myself doubting my significance in this big ole world. I wonder if the sacrifices I make, the efforts I put forth, will ever show fruit or be of any use to God or anyone else.

As a mother when I have to repeat and reteach the same things over and over and over and over I wonder if anyone is really even paying attention to anything I say or do. When I read how the mom over there has managed to get their kids to music lessons, science fairs, dance lessons, sport activities, and they field trip once a week and the child is stylin' and profilin' in the latest Justice apparel with a feather in her perfectly styled hair after eating her four star breakfast, lunch, and dinner and mom has still managed to get them in bed by 8pm with a bed time story to boot...
I wonder am I getting anything right?

As a wife when I read how this wife over there is up at 4am showered and dressed and made-up and donning her newest outfit with heels to fix her honey his breakfast and give him the June Cleaver kiss on the cheek and wave as he goes off to the office and turns back into the house and her dress spins and poofily swirls about her as she skips into the house to grab her feather duster and float through the house removing all the grime of life...and never, ever, ever does she loose her temper... and well supper is always on the table at the exact right time, and never burned... and its been planned out all week, and the underwear is always clean and in the drawer, and never does anyone yell wet and naked from the bathroom, "Are there any clean towels?!?"
I wonder am I getting anything right?

As a servant of Christ and His church and I hear how so and so has this many who come to class and this ministry has exploded and I watch the church down the road grow and grow and I know what God has to offer through the servants and ministries of my local church and I wonder why people leave or don't come or don't serve or don't shout with praise over and in the Word and why you just can't seem to make them happy no matter what you do or change...
I wonder am I getting anything right?

Then I have my little one's come running up and grab me and tell me that I am the bestest Momma ever!!! They think I am marvelous, even though it's one sport at a time with a break in between, hand me-down clothes most of the time, frozen waffles or cereal for breakfast, and yes I will yell after the second time I have repeated myself...

Then I have my husband lift my chin and look me in the eyes and tell me that he loves me, and when I am complaining about how I feel as though nothing is ever accomplished, he looks at me and says, "I see when the sink is empty, I notice when the laundry is all done." It's absolutely crazy how much that means, that to know that he notices, that he saw, made it an accomplishment. But maybe it's not so crazy after all...

Then I get the random text from someone whose life I have poured into and they ask me to pray or are just needing to vent or are excited because they have just gotten involved with a certain ministry or area of service and just wanted to share it with me, or when a precious one I taught in VBS comes running up to me and wraps thier little arms around me and says "Hello Mrs Nicole!" then all the hours, frustrations, prayers... they're worth it... always worth it.

I have realized that when I look at others all I see is what they want to show. I don't always glimpse the behind the scenes. I have learned that we all have our issues, and what's even crazier is that I have learned that there are others who are looking at me and thinking the very same things that I think when I look at them... no matter how perfect things and people may look from the outside, we all have our issues...

However, we are all here for a purpose, even with our issues, and we are here in this time around this group of people for a reason beyond our own comprehension and understanding.

You are not here by chance but by God's choosing. His hand formed you and made you the person you are. He compares you to no one else. You are one of a kind. You lack nothing that His grace can't give you. He has allowed you to be here at this time in history to fulfill His special purpose for this generation. It is encouraging to know that we do not have to be perfect to be memorable and to be used by Him. Perfection is over-rated.
~ (from my birthday card from Precept)

So keep building that temple, for it's His and for Him...
Keep putting forth those efforts, keep pouring out your heart, keep serving, for you build more than you can see.

But as for you, brethren,

do not grow weary of doing good.

2 Thessalonians 3:13

Your weaknesses.
Your failures.
Your struggles.
Your seemingly unnoticed efforts.
Your thought insignificance.

Lay your measuring cups and spoons aside.
Stop comparing your Monet to Michelangelo.
Live purposefully and intentionally and obediently to your calling in your sphere of influence in this day and know that the Grand Weaver is at work... 

I do all things for the sake of the gospel,

so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

1 Corinthians 9:23

Take courage you build more than you see.
You sphere of influence reaches further than you realize.
Your temple is more beautiful than you know.

As a matter of fact, I would bet that as you sigh and look across the way and admire the temple of another and consider yours so small and second rate compared to theirs, if you were to turn around there would be one behind you doing the same as they compare their temple to yours and then if you could walk across the way and speak to the one you are admiring you would most likely find them staring across the way...

That's why God says 

For we are not bold to class

or compare ourselves with some of those

who commend themselves;

but when they measure themselves by themselves

and compare themselves with themselves,

they are without understanding.

2 Corinthians 10:12

Let us stop comparing our work with each other and let us only look to see if our Bridegroom, has noticed... if He has lifted your chin and told you that He loves you and lets you know that yes He has seen... 

Because when it is for Him, for His house, for His children, even if it is simply a momentary empty sink or empty laundry basket... or frozen waffles and hand-me-down clothes... or a Sunday school class or prayer meeting that only two or three attend...

If your Bridegroom has noticed (and if it is for Him, in Him, through Him, and to Him... He will) then it is always an accomplishment.  

The woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home,

Filling it with love and prayer and purity,

Is doing something better than anything else

Her hands could find to do beneath the skies.

~ J.R. Miller

Healing

This morning I will be teaching on the gifts of healings, miracles, and discernment.

and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 

1 Corinthians 12:9-10

My heart this morning in this post is to share what I have learned from the Scriptures concerning healings.

First of all, does God heal?

Yes!

He most absolutely and positively does.

However, my heart breaks from one particular thought or belief or teaching that permeates through christendom. This teaching that the stripes of my Savior were meant to heal me of every physical ailment and that God is obligated to heal me here on earth simply because I claim it.

I can't claim what is not mine to claim. You see this life is no longer mine in Christ. He bought it at a price, a very high price. My life is His to do with as He pleases. I have no claim on it any longer. I don't want claim on it. This life that I live now in this flesh I live by faith in Christ, for I died, and I live only in and through Him.

Let us look at the root of this teaching that so concerns me. We find it rooted in the interpretation of a passage found in Isaiah 53.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.

Isaiah 53:4-5

Precious one, let us let Scripture interpret Scripture:

When evening came,

they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed;

and He cast out the spirits with a word,

and healed all who were ill. 

This was to fulfill what was spoken

through Isaiah the prophet:

“HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES

AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”

Matthew 8:16-17

and He Himself bore our sins

in His body on the cross,

so that we might die to sin

and live to righteousness;

for by His wounds you were healed. 

For you were continually straying like sheep,

but now you have returned to the Shepherd

and Guardian of your souls.

1 Peter 2:24-25

The healings that Christ performed were to confirm His Diety. It was to confirm that He was indeed the Promised Seed, the Christ! They were to fulfill the Scriptures. The sickness that His wounds healed was our sin sickness. By His stripes we were healed of the leprous gangrene of sin. This terminal illness of sin is the one that we were promised deliverance from on and by that cross.

When we enter glory then we will be delivered from every affliction of this flesh... but until then:

strengthening the souls of the disciples,

encouraging them to continue in the faith,

and saying,

“Through many tribulations

we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Acts 14:22

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren,

as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged,

and the love of each one of you

toward one another grows ever greater; 

therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you

among the churches of God

for your perseverance and faith

in the midst of all your persecutions

and afflictions which you endure. 

This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment

so that you will be considered worthy

of the kingdom of God,

for which indeed you are suffering.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-5

For you have been called for this purpose,

since Christ also suffered for you,

leaving you an example

for you to follow in His steps

1 Peter 2:21

Can you praise God in your suffering?

Do you give more glory to God and praise Him more when he cures cancer or when He cures a sin sick to the point of dead heart?

Should we as the church give more credit over a deliverance from earthly pain than a deliverance from eternal hell?

Should we credit the stripes that our Savior bore to something as limited as earthly comfort? 

I am sorry but I have yet to find where God has promised me a life of wealth and comfort free from suffering, pain, illnesses, hurt, struggles, etc because of the cross.

No, what I read is that I am to take up my cross,
whatever that cross might be.

I am to walk by faith through whatever trials and toils that come my way and 

  “Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him. 

Job 13:15

Because this is truth.
Every suffering I go through God will use for His glory.
Nothing will be in vain.
I will look for His glory in suffering.
I will pray for mercy and ask for healing, but if that request is denied, I will know it was for God's greater glory. His grander will. His eternal purpose. And I will praise Him still.

Sometimes the purpose of an illness is in fact to bring us home... and why on earth would you not want to go home if your Father is calling?

When Elisha became sick with the illness

of which he was to die,...

Elisha died, and they buried him

2 Kings 13:14,20

Why do we fight death so hard if we have been delivered from its sting through the victorious cross of our Christ? Why had we rather fight to cling to this life then surrender to the will of God for final freedom? Why is not our first response to an illness to ask God if He is finally bringing us home... or if this illness is to serve another purpose?

I beg of you, brethren, become as I am,

for I also have become as you are.

You have done me no wrong; 

but you know that it was because of a bodily illness

that I preached the gospel to you the first time; 

and that which was a trial to you

in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe,

but you received me as an angel of God,

as Christ Jesus Himself.

Galatians 4:12-14

What?
Paul, who had the power in the name of Jesus to heal others was afflicted with a bodily illness and could not heal himself?

Did Paul lack faith?

Was the stripes of Christ and the wounds of our Saviour insufficient for Paul?

NO!

His illness served a greater purpose!

The furtherance of the gospel!

The eternal deliverance from death due to the sickness of sin for all who would believe in God's only begotten Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ!

Paul's bodily illness, his eathly discomfort, served a purpose in God's grander plan.

Greater Glory to God!

Was Paul healed from this illness?

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,

for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself,

there was given me a thorn in the flesh,

a messenger of Satan to torment me—

to keep me from exalting myself!
2 Corinthians 12:7

Possibly not...

Did that lessen his faith?

Did this thorn cause him to shake his fist in the face of God and doubt Him?

Did you ever read of Paul saying, In the name of Jesus remove this thorn from me?

Greater Glory!

Greater Glory to God!

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...

And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw,

and He knelt down and began to pray, 

saying,

“Father, if You are willing,

remove this cup from Me;

yet not My will,

but Yours be done.”

Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him,

strengthening Him.

 Luke 22:41-43

Are we to pray for healing?

Oh yes, precious one we are!

But when God says no...

Then we trust that He will send us all the help we need to go through whatever we must go through for His will and purpose to be accomplished in and through us.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 

For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD,

OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 

Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM

THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 

For from Him and through Him and to Him

are all things.

To Him be the glory forever.

Amen.

Romans 11:33-36