A place of healing

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:

3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,

Psalm 103: 1-3 NKJV

These words serve as a reminder,

a sign post to what is true and right.

Whether one is walking in health or sick,

Whether one realizes their sin or not,

God can and will deal with those things.

He is waiting to forgive the repentant.

He is able to heal the most broken.

He is continually pouring out His blessings upon mankind.

For the person who knows God,

for the one who has a personal relationship with Jesus,

these words are a guide to our every day behavior.

They remind us of Who God is.

They remind us of how we should respond.

And our attitude,

our actions in response,

should not be tainted by the

circumstances we find ourselves in.

Instead blessing, praise, thankfulness,

should be our first response,

despite

the circumstance.

Because God

is worthy

of all

our praise.

And when one can find this place,

this heart of continually blessing,

of remembrance of all His benefits,

there is the place

of healing.

True healing

of the

soul.

O LORD of hosts,

“O LORD of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!” Psalm 84:12

Yesterday was full of emotion for me.

My allergies seemed to be up, and I struggled with my asthma throughout the day, on into the night.

But the emotion was only magnified by my health, not the cause.

For several days we have been praying for a baby in Bangladesh.

He’s the first grandchild of our dear friends there and the baby was in the hospital with a high fever.

We have also been praying for our neighbors.

Their little boy fell and broke his arm and they have ended up hours away at a large hospital for multiple surgeries.

To add to these emotions our Bell’s best friend had her graduation party yesterday.

During the party I chatted with a sweet woman I’ve known since a teen and she shared about how God is using the separation she is undergoing with her husband.

I promised to stand with her in prayer.

But it wasn’t until last night as I sat praying with our family friends when I was able to see clearly where the emotion was coming from.

It became apparent with a few words my friend prayed for my complete healing.

She asked God to completely heal my lungs and resolve my allergies

I realized,

I had given up.

At some point I’d stopped expecting to be healed in any areas.

And those sweet words in my friend’s prayer showed me that I had stopped expecting God to heal others as well.

Sometimes trials wear on us to the point we stop expecting God to be the hero.

Or even worse, we stop seeing how He is our hero.

And when the Lord showed me how I had resolved to just be sick, He spoke gently to my heart.

I am holding you child, and I hear your prayers.

“Father, I want to expect miracles again, because I know You truly are working. I just am struggling to see it. Please help me to find expectation again.”

And this morning I woke.

My husband and I were praying together when work called him.

He was needed.

He was preparing to go and I was getting ready for my day when he called me.

He had received a message from Bangladesh.

The baby was healed and home from the hospital!

Praise God!

“O LORD of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

Sick

There’s something wrong.

It’s frustrating.

It gets in the way.

But ever present,  no matter where the day takes,  no matter what is going on.

It frays the nerves.

It wears heavy, like an invisible chain hung around the neck,
pulling
pulling
straining against all that needs doing.

It can smother the breath and discourage the heart.

For those blessed with good health it is foreign and baffling.

For those who have illness or other health issues that continue, it is a fact of life.

Fighting for your health can seem a monster unable to be slain.

“Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His (Jesus) garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. ” Luke 8:43-44

This verse has encouraged me many times.

I know the monster of weak health.

I have to watch my weight, my eating patterns, my stress level, my sleep…you get the idea!

Why?

Because I am not a healthy person. It’s easy to catch a cold and hard to get well.

I have had surgery some years ago and have been improving but have accepted that if I am not careful, illness is waiting to put me back in my bed.

My attitude at times has been poor but when I read of this dear woman who touched Jesus’ garment my heart is glad.

I may have to be careful with my health but I am not alone in this.

Jesus has been with me during sleepless nights and discomfort that robs me of the ability to work.

He reminds me that this world is not my home and there are others who suffer as well from things far worse than I could ever understand.

In all of this my character has been polished.

It is a choice, but sickness doesn’t mean I have to focus on myself.

It is difficult to look beyond the inward insistence, but it is possible.

For those who struggle with health don’t allow it to steal your joy. Life is more than being healthy and being able to do what you want,  when you want.
Jesus wants to comfort you no matter how your body struggles.

For those who are blessed with good health,  pray for those who are not. Be compassionate when you run across a person who is tied up in themselves due to being sick.

For all of us, we can praise the Lord that He is God. For sending us Jesus means that we are able to have help in the everyday,  sick or whole.