There’s a beautiful little girl in our community who has a rare form of brain cancer. Along with countless others, our family has been praying every single day for the past six months for her to be healed. My five-year-old daughter prays that God will “make a miracle for her” every night before bed. But so far, the miracle has been that her parents and two brothers have had more time with her than they expected… but so far, God has not healed her little body. I’ve never met her, but my heart breaks for her family every day.
Just before Christmas when I was barely 10-years-old, my great-grandma had a heart attack. As she laid in the hospital in a coma, I prayed every day for her to get better. She didn’t and shortly later, she passed away. That’s the first time I remember praying for God to heal someone, and it didn’t happen. More importantly, that’s the first time I remember being hurt that God didn’t answer my prayers, and wondering why.
Almost nine years ago, my lifelong best friend was diagnosed with cancer. Hundreds, probably thousands of people prayed every day for healing. We prayed that his wife wouldn’t lose her husband and that his two boys wouldn’t lose their dad. But for some reason, God chose not to heal him and nine months later, he was gone. Honestly, I’m still wrestling with that.
If you’ve ever prayed for healing – for yourself or someone you love – you know how hard it is when the answer isn’t what you hoped. Maybe you’ve seen God heal someone miraculously, but then, when you needed healing, it didn’t happen. It can feel confusing, frustrating, even unfair.
So, why does God heal some people but not others? This question is deeply personal. If He can do miracles, why doesn’t He always? How do we make sense of this? I know the “right answer” because the Word of God explains it for us. It doesn’t feel like a great one – certainly not an answer I like or the one I would choose – but I believe it’s true.
God Sees What We Can’t
Ever tried to put together a puzzle without seeing the picture on the box? That’s kind of what life is like for us. We see the pieces, but God sees the full picture.
Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
We see pain and think, Why won’t God just fix this? But God sees beyond our immediate pain and He’s always working toward something bigger. We view healing as an immediate relief from suffering, but God, in His sovereignty, knows what will ultimately bring about His greatest glory and our greatest good. Sometimes, that means healing in this life; other times, it means allowing suffering to remain for a greater purpose – often for reasons we won’t understand this side of eternity.
Take Paul, for example. In 2 Corinthians 12, he talks about a “thorn in the flesh” that he begged God to take away. But instead of healing him, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In other words, God had a purpose in Paul’s struggle—one that was bigger than his comfort. It kept him dependent on Christ and magnified God’s strength.
Healing Isn’t the Main Goal
Jesus healed a lot of people – but not everyone. But if you look closely, healing was never the point. It wasn’t just about physical restoration; healings were signs pointing to His identity as the Son of God and the greater healing He came to offer: the healing of our souls.
In John 5, Jesus healed a guy who had been paralyzed for 38 years. But there were tons of sick people at that pool. Why didn’t He heal them all? Because His mission wasn’t just about fixing bodies—it was about restoring souls.
If Jesus’ main purpose was to end all suffering, He would’ve set up hospitals instead of preaching the gospel. But He came for something even greater—to defeat sin and death forever. That means physical healing is temporary, but what He offers us spiritually lasts forever.
Everyone Gets Healed—Eventually
One of the hardest but most hopeful truths in the Bible is that everyone who belongs to Jesus will be healed—some in this life, and some in eternity.
Revelation 21:4 gives us this promise: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
That means, even if healing doesn’t happen now, it will happen. No one who belongs to Christ will suffer forever. Death and disease do not have the final say—Jesus does. The ultimate healing is coming. We just have to do our best to trust God’s timing for now.
God Uses Suffering for a Purpose
I know this isn’t what we want to hear when we’re struggling, but the Bible is clear: God uses our pain to shape us.
James 1:2-4 says: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
Think about the people you respect most—the ones with deep wisdom and unshakable faith. Chances are, they’ve walked through some serious struggles. Hard times make us stronger. They teach us to rely on God in ways that comfort never could.
Sometimes, God allows suffering because He is shaping us into the image of Christ. The stories of Job, Joseph, and countless others in Scripture show that God uses hardship to strengthen our faith, draw us closer to Him, and display His glory.
That doesn’t mean God likes our pain, but it does mean He uses it.
Faith Means Trusting Even When We Don’t Understand
Remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? When they were about to be thrown into the fire, they said:
“The God we serve is able to deliver us… But even if He does not, we will not serve your gods.” (Daniel 3:17-18)
That’s faith. Believing that God can heal but choosing to trust Him even if He doesn’t.
So what do we do when healing doesn’t come? We keep praying. We keep believing. But we also rest in the fact that God is good and we surrender to His will, knowing that His plans are always better than ours – even when we don’t understand what He’s doing.
At the end of the day, this question is tough because suffering is real.
There’s no easy answer, no magic formula. But what we can be sure of is this:
God is in control, even when life feels out of control. God never wastes our pain. Healing is a sign that points us to Jesus. And our ultimate healing is coming, whether in this life or the next.
So if you’re struggling with this, you’re not alone. Keep seeking Him. Keep asking questions. Keep wrestling… God is big enough to take it, and He’s not scared of your doubt, fear, hurt, or anger. He is patient and understanding and will work it out with you.
Most of all, keep holding onto the hope in the promise that one day, for everyone who trusts in Jesus, every wound will be healed, every tear will be wiped away, and we’ll be made new and made whole in His presence forever.
