God can heal us instantaneously of any ill we have, physical or emotional. Yet He often seems to choose to do that healing over time. Why?
Christian counselors have sometimes noted the challenge of clients who expect that a lifetime of damage from emotional, physical, or sexual abuse can be resolved in just a few weeks of sessions. Such unreasonable expectations are sometimes defended by pointing to a Deity who Himself says that He can do the humanly impossible, and indeed it is true, He can.
However, our Lord also has told us that his ways and ours are not always synchronized. God often, perhaps most often, heals over time. He is not the God of the “crash diet” or the “get rich quick” scheme. He is the God of the tree that comes to maturity only after growing for two centuries. He is the God of the tortoise as well as the cheetah.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10
