WHO HEALS ALL
The Chowchilla News
What part of the following passag=
e do
you struggle with?
“Bless the Lord, O my soul,=
and
forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all =
your
diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast
love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed l=
ike
the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:2-5)
If one of us is suffering from a
prolonged illness we may struggle with the part that claims the Lord, ̶=
0;heals
all your diseases.”
If you have had one setback after
another financially or socially you may flinch when you read that the Lord =
“satisfies
you with good.” How can it be good when you’re
always broke or in debt or when no one comes along to share your life with =
true
love?
If we qualify for the “seni=
or
menu” and feel old, tired, burned-out, and disillusioned with life we=
may
chuckle cynically upon reading, “your youth is renewed like the
eagle’s.” Perhaps=
it
should read, “the old grey mare who ain’t what she used to be!&=
#8221;
If you’ve cried out for for=
giveness
and try to serve the Lord with all your heart yet still wrestle with the ch=
ronic
torment of guilt, depression, and fear you may question the power of the
statement that the Lord “forgives all your iniquity.” You say you believe it but rarely f=
eel
it. You believe the Bible pro=
mise
but can’t enjoy it in your spirit.&n=
bsp;
Puzzling.
Maybe you struggle with the call =
to “Bless
the Lord, O my soul, , and forget not all his benefits.” Try as you will, bitterness, hurt, =
and
the awareness of life’s unfairness keeps you from any real joy, peace=
, or
sense of freedom. You feel bo=
und by
ingratitude even though you don’t want to be.
Instead of pushing back and press=
ing in
for answers many of us have just resigned ourselves to skipping over such e=
nigmatic,
puzzling passages. We’ve
chocked it up to our ignorance or to the mysteries of God that we’re =
not
meant to understand. I’=
m no
longer convinced that such religious sounding escape routes are pleasing to=
God
or helpful to us.
I recently heard a fellow pastor =
read
the part that says, “who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all yo=
ur
diseases.” Then he look=
ed up
and said, “I’m holding out for the ‘all’ part.̶=
1; His declaration moved me greatly a=
nd I
found myself saying, “I will too!”
Over the next several weeks I wil=
l be
sharing things I have learned and am currently learning about forgiveness a=
nd healing. What I can say today is that they a=
re a
lot more connected than we have realized.&=
nbsp;
The Bible’s key verses on healing clearly connect the state of=
our
spirit and soul with the health of our body. You can look for those connections =
yourself.
Read James 5:13-16; 3 John 2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Matthew 9:5.
We’ll consider all these ve=
rses
in upcoming columns.
Give’m Heaven, Pastor John!=
The Reverend John Parker facilita=
tes
Christ’s abundant living at ChristChurch of Chowchilla located at