July 2009

Jeremiah 17.14 says, “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”

We often will pray for others to be healed or to be saved and forget that we too are in the need of God’s healing touch and deliverance. The word “heal” is translated from the Hebrew word “rapha” which comes from a word meaning “to mend.” It has the idea of making healthy and whole. Something is broken and needs to be repaired and mended. The word “saved” comes from the Hebrew word “yasha” which has the idea of deliverance, especially in battle. The word is often used in the context of saving us from moral troubles. When we put the two words together, we come to the realization that all of us are in the need for God’s healing and deliverance. Like the old spiritual, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer…”

Our lives are a lot like onions- we have many layers and we make those closest to us cry. When we peel back one layer, we discover another. We have surface deep hurts that are easier to mend than the ones that are found layers deep, often masked so well that its hard for us to identify what they are. But they are there just the same. Perhaps that is what the Psalmist was thinking when he wrote, “search me O God and know my heart” (Psalm 139.23). We have physical hurts as well as spiritual hurts. God uses doctors and medicine to heal our physical pains, but when it comes to our spiritual and deeper life issues, there is only One to whom we can find relief- Jesus. The prophet Isaiah (53) predicted that it was by his stripes that we are healed. It is only as we turn to the Lord that we discover a wholeness that we never thought possible. Perhaps that is why healing and deliverance are connected in thought in Jeremiah’s message.

There are some things that are so overpowering that we can not set ourselves free. We need a helping hand. Like a bear caught in a trap, we find it impossible to free ourselves. Every twist and turn only deepens the claws on our legs. Every noise only frightens us further. Life has many traps that we easily get into and rarely get out of without help. There is one trap that we can never free ourselves from outside of Divine help. I’m talking about the trap of sin. Once it takes hold, it holds on until death overtakes us. The good news is that through Jesus Christ, God has released the trap of sin and has given us the possibility of life lived in victory Jesus accomplished on the cross. I’m talking about true deliverance. And there’s only One who can truly deliver- God.

As we make our way through the lazy days of summer, enjoying sunshine, picnics and swimming, may we never forget that we are in need of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we find every spiritual blessing God has poured out for us to enjoy, and without whom we can never know what true wholeness and victory are all about. If you feel broken, turn to Jesus and He will make you whole. If you feel defeated, turn to Jesus and do what He says, and you will live in the victory that is ours through our Lord. If you need the ultimate refreshment, you won’t find it at a drive through window, but you will in Jesus.

Have a great summer.
Blessings,

Pastor Pete