3/13/10- Psalm 103:1-5; John 5:6,7 "He Heals all your Diseases"

3/13-Psalm 103:1-5

(Carl Bloch- Jesus Healing at the Pool of Bethsaida)

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Ps 103)

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" 7 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.  (John 5:6,7)

Thoughts: Here is the great psalm of healing. “He heals all your diseases” and “forgives all your sins.” There is physical and spiritual healing in the Lord. To deny that God can help us is to deny who God is- the redeemer from the pit, the crowner, the satisfier, the renewer. He is the great Physician and worthy of our attention and praise.
     Jesus asked a question of the invalid at Bethesda- "Do you want to get well?"  It is not just a physical question, but a spiritual one.  The man gave a scientific, materialistic excuse- much like, "no one will take me to the doctor."  Part of getting well is wanting to do so, and part of getting well is coming to the Great Physician. 
     In the end, no physician can heal all our diseases.  In the end, every physician has to use the things God has given: talents, innate healing mechanisms (like white blood cells) or things God has made that we have discovered (medicines) to help those who are in need.
In the end, we need to come to the Great Physician- not just get into the pool or go see the doctor.  Going to see the doctor is also important, but it is not the only source of healing as we may sometimes believe.  How many times I have seen someone recover for whom the doctors gave up hope and explanation. 

Prayer: You are worthy of praise O God. Help me not to forget your benefits, though the whole world does. Help me to find you as my Help, my satisfaction, my resurrection.