09/25/2022
God is our defender and provider, but He is also a healer of people and nations. Whether it be from pandemic, invasion, or our own sinfulness, He can save us, restore our wealth, and rebuild those things we have lost. Our God is merciful and good in his provision, and true to His Word in delivering on His promises. In every age He has healed, and now in this unfaithful age we are living in, we need His healing touch once more.
“Behold “Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first.”
Jeremiah 33:6-7 ESV
When Jeremiah was shut up in the court of the guard, and the invading Chaldeans were striking fear into the hearts of everyone in Judah and Israel, God spoke to Him, and made this promise to him, but it came with a stipulation, that they call on God. We would all like to see God heal us now despite our unfaithfulness, but this one requirement remains firm… we must call out to Him.
““Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”
Jeremiah 33:2-3 ESV
God has already provided us with the instrument of His healing; it is through the person of His Son Jesus Christ. He sent Him to us out of His unfathomable love, but the requirement that we call out to Him remains. We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, because only through the redemption that we receive in Christ can we come to know God. Listen…
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6 ESV
In the time of Jeremiah God had to cleanse Judah and Israel before He could heal them, and he needs to cleanse us again today. Listen to what He told Jeremiah, and consider it in reference to our present age…
“I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.”
Jeremiah 33:8 ESV
Today we are equally guilty of sin and rebellion against God, and we too must obtain God’s forgiveness. As much as we would like to be given a free ride to health, peace, and righteousness, the requirement that we call out to God remains, and our healing can only be received by reaching out to the Lord through our faith in His Son Jesus.
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
So Jesus, having taken our sins upon Himself as He hung on the cross, is the instrument of God’s forgiveness, through Him alone do we call out to God the Father, and only by His blood can we as people, nations, and sinners, be saved… healed.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight”
Ephesians 1:7-8 ESV
Now, knowing these things, and how we can be healed today… are we prepared to call out to God through His Son Jesus Christ? Are we ready to refer to God as our Holy Father, and by calling out to Him in the name of Jesus, will we trust to receive the healing that He promises us? Can we turn our backs on our own sinful nature, and looking towards heaven, pray for eternal healing in the name of Jesus Christ? Are we ready to hear the voice of the bride groom, and have our fortunes restored?
“the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord: “‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’ For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 33:11 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your mercy and grace that flows forth through your Son Jesus, and thank you for sending Him to redeem us, to save our souls, our people, our nations, and to restore our Heavenly fortunes. Praised be your name as we lift our faces towards Heaven, and with our arms raised high, call out to you in the mighty name of Jesus. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God, who through Jesus has made it possible for us to be redeemed, forgiven, returned to you, and in this way for you to heal us. Your grace pours forth through Christ, and covers us. You reach out to us while we are yet sinners, but your plan for our redemption is perfect… our promised healing secure. Wash us clean in the blood of Jesus, and see us transformed in Him as we stand before you on the day of our judgement. Pronounce us worthy in Him, and as we are thus made whole once more, call us into your eternal presence… righteous, holy, and now, and always, your precious children.
““Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks. In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb, in the land of Benjamin, the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of the one who counts them, says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 33:12-13 ESV
Rich Forbes