Spring sniffles

I've been battling a spring cold or allergies or sinus problems or something -- I can never be sure which it is. It started with a scratchy throat, progressed to the runny nose stage and the achy discomfort, and now seems to be leveling off at that wiped-out feeling. This time of year there are lots of folks who "feel my pain," I'm sure. There are many stories of physical healing in the Gospels -- Jesus anointing the eyes of the blind man with mud, healing a woman who reached out to touch the hem of his garment, restoring a withered hand, relieving the pain of lepers. But I don't recall an instance in which a person with a cold was cured!

There are no recorded cases of physical illness among the first disciples that I am aware of. Christ did heal Peter's mother-in-law, and he did relieve the mental illness of Mary Magdalene (referred to as being demon-possessed). But the record is silent about any healing of infirmities within the original twelve disciples. It's true that the apostle Paul was cured of the blindness he experienced when he encountered the Risen Lord on the Damascus Road. Paul, like Peter and the other apostles, also was given the capacity to heal others through the Name of Christ. But later in his ministry, when it came to his own "thorn in the flesh," his repeated prayers for healing were not answered. Or rather, they were answered in an unexpected way. The Lord answered his prayer by saying, "My grace is sufficient for you."

There are illnesses from which people cannot recover, apart from a miraculous intervention. For the person of faith, even when faced with such an illness, it is enough to know that God's grace is sufficient.