Healthy and Whole

When God revealed himself to human beings during Old Testament times God defined himself in terms of a “covenant name.” These names described God’s own identity in terms of his covenant relationship with his people. Each name began with the famous “I AM” (or I Will Be), followed by a name that really constituted a covenant promise. I would love to say more but I really want to focus on one of those names.

As God was leading the slave-people of Israel out of Egypt he revealed himself to them in very important ways in the process of establishing a covenant relationship with them. One of the names he used was given when the bitter, poison waters of Marah were healed. “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you” (Exodus 15:26). I AM the Lord Who Heals You. What a wonderful revelation of God and his covenant relationship with us!

My question is this: What exactly did God mean by “heal”? We’ve all seen enough promises of healing, whether natural or supernatural (if there is much of a difference between the two) to wonder about the nature of God as our Healer. The (Hebrew) word translated “heal” in Exodus 15:26 is rapha. It means “to sew together, to mend; to heal a wound; to heal a person or a land; to restore.” In general, this word means to restore something to its original condition so that it can fulfill its original purpose. So when God promised to be our healer, he was not just promising to fix what is broken; God was promising to restore us to full humanity, to make us whole.

As human persons we are born sick. The disease of sin has resulted in pain and brokenness in every part of our lives. Our minds, our emotions, our physical bodies, our relationships – everything has been twisted by the disease caused by our separation from God. And every part of our lives needs to be healed by God.

The word for “heal” is used at some very important points in the Old Testament. The psalmist gave witness concerning God, “He sent out his word and healed them” (Psalm 107:20). When rehearsing the benefits experienced in a covenant relationship with God David sang, “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:2-3). Through the prophet Isaiah God promised, “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near, says the Lord. And I will heal them” (57:18-19). When speaking of the houses of Israel the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed, “I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security” (Jeremiah 33:6). The full range of healing was also indicated by Jeremiah: “I will cure you of backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22; see also Hosea 14:4). Similarly, David declared, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

God’s people did not hesitate to pray for healing. David prayed, “Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony” (Psalm 6:2) and “Have mercy on me, Lord; heal me” (Psalm 41:4). He was then able to testify, “Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me” (Psalm 30:2). Jeremiah prayed, “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise” (Jeremiah 17:14).

When speaking of God’s Messiah Isaiah foresaw, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (53:5). Not only has God revealed himself to us as “the Lord who heals you,” God’s promised Anointed One, God’s Son, provided healing in the wounds he bore on his body. And that healing was sufficient to bring wholeness to every part of our lives – spirit, soul and body.

Remember the story in Exodus 15? After going without water for three days, the Israelites encountered a lake whose water was bitter, or literally poison. If they drank the water, it would not just taste bad – it would kill them. And how did they respond to this dilemma? “So the people grumbled against Moses” (15:24). The bitter water was really a metaphor for the fact that the people were bitter, and their bitterness was killing them. In response, God asked Moses to do something very strange: “The Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water and became fit to drink” (15:25). Somehow a simple piece of word thrown into the bitterness was sufficient to heal the water. In a similar way, the coming of Christ and his death on a piece of wood was sufficient to provide healing and wholeness to all humankind. It was really the hearts of the people, more than the water, that needed to be healed. That’s why God introduced his promise of healing with the words, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees” (15:26). The basis for their wholeness was a return to a right relationship with God. The promise was that the judgment that had fallen upon Egypt would not touch the Israelites. If they would return to God, listen to him and follow him, they would begin to experience healing in every part of our lives.

And the same is true for us! We believe in the healing found in Jesus, and we understand that healing will come from a life centered around a commitment to following Jesus with every part of our lives, bring wholeness to every part of our lives. 

Why Wait?!

“Wait” is one of my least favorite words. While I give every appearance of being patient and “laid back” on the outside, inside of my head the hard drive is spinning full speed all the time. (It doesn’t even slow down when I’m asleep.) It can be frustrating to encounter the common “hurry-up-and-wait” process and attitude in our culture.  I don’t like to wait (especially when it doesn’t seem to be necessary)!

At the same time, the word “wait” has a very important meaning in Scripture. In fact, the fine art of waiting can be a vital key to our spiritual growth and health. Let me give you some examples from the Old Testament:

·         When confronted with a question concerning the law, Moses responded, “Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you” (Numbers 9:8).

·         During his many trials Job confessed, “I will wait for my renewal to come” (Job 14:14).

·         Waiting was David’s daily discipline. “In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3).

·         David advises us, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14).

·         Then there are these words from David: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7).

·         Why? “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield” (Psalm 33:20).

·         Here are more confessions from the psalmist: “Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God” (Psalm 38:15), “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1), “I wait for your salvation, Lord, and I follow your commands” (Psalm 119:166), and “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5).

·         On the other hand, some grew impatient and did not wait for the Lord. “But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold” (Psalm 106:13).

·         “Wisdom” promises, “Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway” (Proverbs 8:34).

·         The prophet Isaiah had a special understanding of the need to wait: “I will wait for the Lord” (8:17), “Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you” (26:8), “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him” (30:18) and “No one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him” (64:4).

·         And then there’s my favorite from Isaiah: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (40:31 KJV).

When I compared the classic King James translation of Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord,” with the NIV, “but those who hope in the Lord,” I looked up the word translated “wait,” and sure enough, it is also the word translated “hope.” You see waiting on the Lord is not just a passive, “I hope so” kind of waiting. It is a joyful, expectant waiting. Why? Because it is the Lord we are waiting for. And for the Lord, and all those who are waiting for him, the best is yet to come. We see the same language used by the prophet Jeremiah when he was mourning the destruction of the city of Jerusalem: “I say to myself, The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:24-26).

Those who are waiting for the Lord are not part of some desperate “white knuckle” club, but rather are those who have learned that true dependence on and intimacy with God always has a good result. It’s important to admit that difficulty waiting can just be a sinful need to be in control.

I’ve had a recent example of this “waiting” thing in my personal family. On March 27 my brother received a scary lab report. His dermatologist had removed a spot on his arm and gave a report of “melanoma.” Because it was a fairly deep spot they scheduled surgery for April 4 to remove a larger area of his arm and the closest lymph nodes. If the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes, then chemo, etc., etc. And then the wait…and the wait…and the wait. The lab report was to have come in on Monday, April 8. Nothing. Then on Tuesday. Nothing. And even as I was writing this article I received this text: “Just heard! All lymph nodes clean!! No cancer there. No cancer in the additional skin tissue! A true miracle! What an amazing God….” Waiting for the medical team can be frustrating. Waiting for the lab report can be filled with anxiety. But waiting for the Lord?! With God, truly the best is always yet to come!

Freedom to Believe

I’ve always identified with the disciple called Thomas. The church has traditionally referred to him as “Doubting Thomas,” and not as a complement. Doubting does not get a lot of good press in the Bible. When Peter was walking on the water and began to sink, Jesus questioned his doubt (Matthew 14:31). Later, Jesus taught that faith not mixed with doubt would have the ability to move mountains (Matthew 21:21). Even after witnessing the resurrected Christ, “they worshipped him; but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17; Luke 24:38). The apostle James stated that one who doubts “is like a wave of the sea” (James 1:6). On the other hand, Jude advised those he addressed to “be merciful to those who doubt” (Jude 1:22).

“Doubt” is an interesting word. In the New Testament it usually refers to someone differentiating or discriminating, to making a judgment. In that sense, “doubt” is not necessarily a bad thing. However, in some cases (when used in the middle voice) it refers to someone doubting themselves, and thus vacillating, wavering, being uncertain. “Doubt” as a need for further evidence is not necessarily a bad thing. “Doubt” as a complete lack of certainty can be paralyzing.

Thomas had a lot of questions about this so-called “resurrection.” After all, on that first Easter Sunday evening Jesus had already appeared to the other disciples. In that first meeting, “he showed them his hands and side” (John 20:20). At first the disciples refused to believe the evidence standing right in front of them. Jesus had to specifically instruct them, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:39). And if that wasn’t enough, Jesus asked for a piece of broiled fish (I guess it’s even unhealthy for resurrected folk to eat deep-fried fish): “They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence” (Luke 24:42-43). He wanted to demonstrate that he did not have some kind of totally new spiritual body; he could eat and digest food just like anyone else. Jesus had provided the other disciples with clear evidence of the reality of his physical resurrection. But Thomas was not present at that meeting. When the guys gave Thomas a report, he stated his personal need for evidence; he needed to have his own encounter with the risen Christ (John 20:24-25). Was that really so unreasonable?

As a young university student, I took the typical egghead position of a “soft-boiled agnostic,” i.e., I wanted to believe in God but didn’t think it would ever be possible to know for sure. Of course, my “knowing” had to be a “scientific,” evidentiary knowing. There was little room for faith, only for doubt. But because I wanted to believe in God, I began to search for evidence in good faith. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that if there is no God, if everything we are experiencing is the product of time plus chance plus nothing else, then there is no final meaning in life. There is no basis for truth or beauty or morality. Everything was purely arbitrary. Nothing made any sense. I was desperate to know. So one night I shut myself up in a little chapel in our dorm, wrapped myself in a blanket, and told the Lord that I would not leave that room until I knew for myself whether or not God existed and could be real in my life.

You might think that Jesus would have been upset with Thomas for asking for evidence of the resurrection. Instead, one week later Jesus reappeared to the disciples, and this time Thomas was with them (he had not abandoned them). Instead of rebuking him for his unbelief Jesus said, “Peace be with you! Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side” (John 20:26-27). Jesus offered Thomas the same evidence he had already given the other disciples. And Jesus, taking the time to show himself to Thomas in this way, liberated Thomas to believe. In fact, the response of Thomas is the most complete statement of faith and worship made by any of the disciples: “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). The freedom to believe then released Thomas to be and do all Jesus purposed for him from that moment on.

I can’t fully describe what happened to me in that chapel so long ago; all I can say is that God visited me, that night and for many nights thereafter. I didn’t deserve it, but God empowered me to believe and gave me the freedom to go forward, not just by sight but more importantly, by faith. I still tend to question everything, but I am forever convinced that God is, and that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

After showing himself to Thomas and liberating Thomas to go forward by faith, Jesus made this important statement: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). While you and I have never touched or eaten with the risen Christ, he has revealed himself to us in many important ways, and he has pronounced a blessing on us, those who have not seen and yet have believed. Our lives do not have to be dominated by doubt; we have been set free to believe, making abundant life possible. “Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27).