Which is correct: Do we match our theology to our life experience or do we match our life experience to our theology? What do I mean? Let’s say you believe in miraculous healing.  As well, your theology backs up your belief in miraculous healing.  Then you go on to act upon that belief and theology by praying for the sick. You pray with all the gusto and faith you can possibly muster.  You do this repeatedly for a period of several years.  Over that same period no one is healed, not even a headache disappears miraculously.  You are left with disappointment after disappointment and not one single testimony of healing.  Now what do you do?

You have options. You can change your theology to one that says God no longer heals the sick.  You can get angry with God and declare He no longer hears your prayers and you refuse to be embarrassed by such prayers any longer. You can believe that you simply do not have the “gift of healing.”  Or you can back off, be discouraged and give up praying for those who need a miracle. In my lifetime, I have found myself somewhere within this list – mainly discouragement.  Today, because of the lack of experiencing miraculous healing, whole denominations are built on the belief that God no longer heals. It is how they justify their experience or lack thereof.  It’s dangerous to match your theology with your experience because God may have a different answer.  We’ll look at some of those answers next week.