Honor The Father
This is the week of Palm Sunday and Easter. Let us especially remember all that Jesus has done for us.
Last week we talked about God’s great mercy and compassion. We actually honor our Heavenly Father by speaking of His great mercy and compassion, of His loving-kindness. We must think of God as only good and loving and only wanting to bless His children. When we speak of God’s great love, we are praising Him and that praise turns the enemy back, causes him to stumble and works deliverance in our behalf. Remember that Abraham grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God (Romans 4:20).
You don’t just praise and speak words of faith when you feel like it. You do it all the time. There is something about speaking of God’s great mercy and compassion that causes faith to rise up on the inside of you and the reality of God’s great love for you grows big in your spirit.
You must see God as yearning to heal you. That must be the picture you have on the inside of you. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tells us that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. Moffatt’s Bible translation says that He is looking to exert His power on behalf of those who are devoted to Him. The NIV Bible says that He is looking to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. God is looking for people to bless. He is looking for ways to pour out His great love on you and me.
Suppose the huge Pacific Ocean were elevated high above us. Then think of pressure into every crevice to find an outlet through which to pour the water of that great ocean on the earth. The pressure finally becomes so great that the tsunami of water overtakes the earth. That is a picture of God’s love. His love is so great and so intense that He has to find outlets of His love to overtake and consume His children with His goodness and mercy. One of the ways He expresses that goodness is in healing of our physical bodies.
We see so many instances of the Lord’s compassion in the scriptures. Jesus healed the leper (Mark 1:40-45). When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion toward them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9:35-38). Jesus was moved with compassion and healed the sick (Matthew 14:14). Jesus had compassion on the blind men and touched their eyes, and they were made whole (Matthew 20:34). The list goes on and on.
Even when Jesus left the earth we are reminded in Hebrews 4:15 that He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. Infirmities are the expression of our inability to produce results because of limitations imposed by our flesh.
In the story of the Good Samaritan we are reminded of the Lord’s compassion to pour in the oil (Holy Spirit) and the wine (His Word) to heal and make whole (Luke 10:33-37). The good Samaritan had compassion on the man who was wounded and stripped by thieves. In the same manner, Jesus has compassion on us who have been stripped by that thief satan (John 10:10) and wounded. Like Jesus, the Samaritan bound up the man’s wounds, poured in oil and wine (healing) and took care of him, regardless of the cost. He carried him on his own beast to a safe place at the inn. Jesus is our safe place. He has healing available for us. The Samaritan paid the price for the man’s healing just as Jesus paid the price with His precious blood for our healing. All we have to do is receive God’s mercy and compassion for us. It is freely given.
Bodily healing is an expression of the mercy and compassion of God.