God The Healer (Jehovah Rapha) Series

1. Trials and troubles can get us back on track. I talked to someone this week who told me that his difficulties led him to read the Bible and get close to the Lord. Another person told me that this past year was extremely difficult but it was actually a blessing because he fully surrendered to Christ as a result of the pain. That’s exactly what the psalmist said in Psalm 119:67, 71: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word…It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” Beth Moore suggests that we all have “empty places” in our lives as a result of brokenness and dissatisfaction is a “secret abyss” for many of us. When we’re hurting, we must run to Jehovah Rapha and resist the urge to fill our emptiness with things that will not satisfy.

2. Sometimes our pain is related to personal sin. When you’re hurting physically or emotionally, it’s good to do a quick inventory to see if you have any unconfessed sin in your life. In Psalm 32:3-4, David links his physical pain and his emotional agony to his personal sin: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” This theme is continued in Psalm 38:3, 17-18: “Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones have no soundness because of my sin…For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.” Let me say it again. Personal sin may be a contributing factor to your illness and therefore should be taken seriously.

3. Not all illness is directly linked to personal sin. We can certainly say that all illness ultimately is a result of Adam and Eve’s sin, but we must be careful to not link every problem we have to some sin in our lives. This was the mistake that Job’s friends made when they kept accusing him of wrongdoing. In their minds, Job was suffering because he had somehow sinned. Let’s be careful here. Some of you beat yourself up mercilessly as you blame yourself for your own pain. Others of you need to back off and stop giving your perspective on why someone else is suffering. Jesus addressed this prevalent mindset when he was asked to explain why a certain man was blind. His disciples wanted to know whether the man had sinned or his parents. Jesus answered in John 9:3: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

4. Its OK to go to professionals but go to the Great Physician first. While there are some people who refuse to get any help because they want to trust God alone for their healing, it’s my understanding that God often works His healing through doctors, other trained professionals, and through medicine. Remember that the bitter waters at Marah became better only when something was added to them. God could have made them sweet apart from any other means, but he chose to use the wood. Likewise God can heal with just a word from His mouth, but He uses other instruments as well. Having said that, what Asa did in the Old Testament is a warning to us. When he was sick, he didn’t go to God first but instead went right to the doctor. This is described in 2 Chronicles 16:12: “Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.” Here’s the point. Don’t bypass the Great Physician on the way to the doctor’s office.