CHRIST

Devotional: Healing

In Exodus 15:26 after God rescued the Israelites from Egypt and miraculously parted the Red sea, He led them to the bitter streams of Marah. It was there He healed the dismal and diseased water and referred to Himself for the first time as Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our Healer.

We are all in need of healing. We desperately need our souls to be healed; therefore, God sent us His Son, Jesus. We need physical healing during times of illness, and we need healing from the bitterness of sin that permeates our world daily. The fact is, we are all broken vessels, but Jesus is our Rapha. He is the One who can take that which is broken and restore it to its rightful intent.

What bitter waters have you faced recently? What bitter waters do you see in the world around you? As a community of believers, we are instructed to pray for our own personal healing, but also the healing of our land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. The condition for healing Jehovah Rapha gives in this verse is three-fold: We must humble ourselves, pray, and seek His face.

As we pray over the next several days, let us do so with humble and broken hearts over our own sins and the sins of our nation. But let us also do so in faith, with a spirit of expectancy for what the Lord will do in our midst as we call upon His holy name.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. – Ephesians 4:2

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. – Philippians 2:3

Heal us from: Ask God to heal us from selfishness and pride. Ask Him to give believers sensitivity to the needs of others, especially to those who do not know Him, so that our actions and attitudes might reflect the humble character of Jesus.