My Healer

Isaiah 53:5  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

I always thought that healing was merely something to ask for when someone got sick. As a child I used to read the prayer lists in the church bulletin every Sunday. I grew up hearing my pastor and our deacons pray for sick church members. I've grown to love reading the accounts in the gospels where Jesus healed the sick. I have witnessed my own sick daughter prayed for and then watched her break into a sweat as her fever broke before our very eyes by the end of the prayer. There is power in the name of Jesus.

But since I've never had any real health problems, I never thought much about needing healing for myself. And then tragedy struck our home and family, and my world was turned upside down. Suddenly my life was in such upheaval that I very quickly came to understand the need for a healing of a very different type than any I had ever considered before.  I had no choice but to turn to my Healer and beg Him to pick up the fragments of my shattered soul.

Psalm 147:3  He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

It wasn't easy in those early days as I was learning to fill the void in our family with Jesus. I was tortured for a very long time with flashbacks of horrible things I saw and heard on the day of our tragedy. I began to cling to scriptures that promised healing, and my new thirst for the Word was very different from my quest to learn and recite memory verses each week as a child. This time, I felt I would die without His precious promises. Without the assurance of His healing, I felt completely hopeless.

Countless people prayed for us during those months, and I always noticed that they prayed in faith, believing that God would grant what they were asking Him for. They believed that He would answer their pleas on our behalf---that He would heal us, that we would be blessed abundantly, and that He would turn all the bad in our lives to good. So through the example of some amazing prayer warriors, and because I could see the work He was already doing in our lives, little by little my faith increased and I began to more fervently claim healing for my family. Today I know Jesus in a much deeper way than I ever did before. I personally know Him as Healer of the brokenhearted.

Just as surely as Jesus defeated death and overcame the enemy, and just as surely as He took away our sins and rose from the dead, through that same incredible power He can most certainly bring healing to us today, in whatever ways we need it. He still does miracles every day. He heals the sick...He reunites broken homes and families...He repairs friendships...He revives churches..and He restores souls.

Lord Jesus, as I meditate on Your sacrifice for me on this Resurrection Sunday morning, I humbly attempt to express to You my gratitude. I believe You are my Healer. Thank You for all You suffered so that I could be healed, forgiven, and blessed with eternal life---for this was the greatest miracle of all.