(Jeremiah 8:22 NIV)
Several weeks ago I bent down to pick up a coat on the floor and somehow slammed my finger into the wood trim on our steps. In the process, a large splinter - half the length of my fingernail - lodged itself right against the fingernail. I could see its brown color against the nail itself. And it hurt. A lot. A very lot. We tried to pull it out with tweezers, with no progress. I cleaned it, put ice on it, and watched it closely for infection.
The next day a friend asked if she could do anything for me and I (somewhat hopelessly) asked if she could figure out how to get the splinter out. To my surprise, she said she knew just what I needed and went to Walgreens to purchase a "drawing salve" for it. This homeopathic medicinal balm was part painkiller and part splinter-puller and, as far as I was concerned, a God-send. Within just a day or two the pain was basically gone. I still watched the splinter for infection, but it was no longer so hurtful or distracting. I was content to live with this splinter under my nail for as long as it took the nail to grow out, but God had other plans.
A few weeks later I noticed that the splinter had grown out with the nail and I wondered how much. So I used my other hand to try to pull at the splinter. Imagine my surprise when the entire splinter came right out without any pain! No broken splinter, no more pain, and no infection! Thank you, God, for wise friends who knew the balm I needed for healing.
We all have "splinters" in our emotional/spiritual lives - things that have hurt us deeply. However, unlike a physical splinter who will eventually grow out, these unseen but deeply felt splinters can be lodged within us for days, weeks, years, and even decades if we don't know Who has the medicinal balm.
Similarly, I believe that our society has huge "splinters" lodged in her collective soul from the trauma of the last two years. So many people live fearfully, angrily, without hope, and with great suspicion of other people. The demonic spirit of fear that came with the covid-19 virus has been, in my opinion, vastly more destructive than the virus itself. While the virus will eventually become less dangerous as all viruses do (even after taking a vast amount of lives with it), the emotional and spiritual scars of this time of great fear and anxiety will not be as easily set aside. Like the prophet Jeremiah, I weep for the people of this world who are living with a gigantic "splinter" of fear and anxiety in their spirits. I cry out to God, where is your balm for these people? Where is their healing?
Yet, I know the answer. We as a society must turn to the Great Physician for healing. God knows what we need. In Exodus 15:26 he calls himself the "Lord who heals you."
We must raise up our eyes to the Lord God Almighty whose love has called us into relationship with him. We must listen for the sweet voice of Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us into God's fervent hope. And we must allow Jesus the Great Physician to apply his healing balm to our deep wounds - both at the individual and societal level - so that we can live free from our wounds.
When the Son sets us free we are free indeed!
Lord God Almighty,
Thank you for all the gifts and graces you pour into our lives. Thank you for being our Jehovah Rapha, our Great Physician - our Healer who has the spiritual balms for the many splinters in our souls. Help us to turn to you for healing, both in our individual lives and spirits and in our society. Free us from the demonic "splinters" of fear, anxiety, anger, and distrust of others and of you. I join my voice with many others begging Holy Spirit to send revival of your Church and a Great Awakening of our world. I pray that billions and billions of people you dearly love will know and accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ and be able to grow into the disciples you mean them to be. May your Church be seen as a healer in this era and may your people help others to know the Balm of Gilead in Jesus. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
“...For I am the Lord who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26 NKJV)
"[A] woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God." (Luke 13:11-13 NIV)
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36 NIV)
"There is still so much sickness and suffering today.
Heal us, heal us today!
We gather together for healing, and pray:
Heal us, Lord Jesus." (by Peter D. Smith (c) 1978 Stainer & Bell)
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