Imagine a well-dressed man with a fist full of money arguing with a general store owner. The man is simply wanting to by a loaf a bread. He has thousands of dollars in his hand. But the store owner will not sell him the bread – even for thousands of dollars. Here’s the problem: it is 1965 and the man is holding Confederate bills. You probably remember that the American Civil war was divided between North and South – Union and Confederate. The Confederate states were trying to pull away from the United States. The Union army prevailed and insured that the states would stay united. 

The Virginia department of Historic Resources explains: The overall quality of Confederate currency declined throughout the war. The first notes were worth only 95 cents compared to the dollar in gold, and that value quickly fell. By 1863, the notes were worth 33 cents to the dollar. Two years later, they were worth less than 2 cents to the dollar. Southerners continued to use the currency for at least a month after the end of the war in 1865. After that, the bills became worthless and could not be converted into anything else. Many Southerners lost their fortunes as a result of using Confederate currency throughout the war.

Currencies, whether furs, beads, gold, money or crypto, are only valuable in places where others value the currency. God’s kingdom has it currency. God’s currencies are not things like talent, skill, good works and self-righteousness, they are trust and faith in Him alone. This series is talking about a time to heal, but healing is a gift from God that he gives to those who trust and believe in Him. He gives it to those who believe and ask. He gives it if, and when, He decides. Many people forfeit healing because it is not something we can demand or control, and they try to get God to heal using their currencies of begging, bribing or demanding. But God’s currencies of trust and faith are not unattainable, they just require humility and submission. 

Isaiah 53:5 declares that: “He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.  

Faith is the catalyst for healing. Although we cannot demand healing, our faith often determines how much God can do for us. Often our healing comes because we pursue God. In future lessons we will recount the Bible stories about healing, which some of you will remember. Stories like the blind man who cried out to Jesus, or the woman with the issue of blood who pushed through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus garment. It those people hand not been aggressive in faith, they probably would not have been healed. 

Sometimes we hesitate to ask for healing because we aren’t really sure if we can trust God to heal us. Maybe we are not sure if healing really happens, or maybe we don’t feel worthy to be healed. But the Bible doesn’t ever leave the impression that anyone deserved healing. Healing is a gift. But often God is waiting for someone to trust Him enough to ask.