A Day-by-day devotional

January 4, 2023

Jehovah Rapha: My God that Heals Me

Chronological One Year Bible Reading Plan: Job 1-5

Scripture of the Day: Matthew 8:1-17; Luke 4:38-41

I woke up this morning with the sad news of my Uncle Roy´s demise. Uncle Roy was my father´s older brother. I do remember him to be a person whose contagious laughter was so loud, crisp, and snappy, that it would not fail to bring someone near him to also laugh with him. He was such a jolly person. He had met an accident 40 years ago which paralyzed a part of his body. His body was frail ever since, due to the accident, but his disposition did not change. He was still fond of telling funny stories. He was not seriously ill. But of late, his energy started to dwindle, and he passed on.

His passing away made me ponder about life and death once again. Oftentimes, our loved ones are being called to be with the Lord due to sickness and disease. Scripture tells us that God physically (2 Kings 5:10), emotionally (Psalm 34:18), mentally (Daniel 4:34), and spiritually (Psalm 103:2–3) heals. Also, when Jesus was on earth, He not only healed many but healed all those who were sick whom He encountered (Matthew 8:1-17; Luke 4:38-41).

If God has the power and willingness to heal, you might ask, why then were people whom you probably prayed for, and believed healing for, not healed but died instead? There has been a season in my life where I understood God´s healing to only be in the here and now – the part that I can witness in this lifetime. However, as years went by, I came to understand healing in another light. When God takes our loved ones away, and they had been sick, but they have died without us seeing them healed of whatever ails them, we might think that the Lord has not healed them. But if you come to think of it, when they had been taken away by God, He has put them in a better place – a place where they would no longer feel pain and suffering; a place where they are healed of whatever was ailing them, forever!

The Lord promised “to wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and that there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Reflection: Have you ever lost a loved one in sickness and unto death? Have you, in the process, lost your faith in God´s promise of healing? Think about the place where your loved one who passed away now lies. If they are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, surely, they are at this moment, already in His very presence – healed of each and every pain and sickness!

Prayer: Jehovah Rapha, my Healer, I come before you and ask that you extend your hands towards those who need physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing today, even myself. In your Name Jesus.  Amen.