Thursday, October 4, 2012

My On Call Doctor.

I have a great family Doc. We have gone to him for 10 years and we all like him. But he has crazy hours. He never works weekends, or any Wednesday (which always seemed to be the day my kids got sick), or any nights. He is great when he is there. But sometimes I will call the office seeking assistance and he will not be there. He can't hear me or meet my need. He is unavailable.

Jehovah Rophi - Jehovah Rophe - Jehovah Ropheka - The Lord Heals.  Long fancy hard to say words. But what does it mean to me? How does this name of God as my physician and healer shape my relationship with Him and is authority in me?

I have seen the healing hand of God where physical illiness and disease abound.  My sister had hodgkins lymphoma in her mid twenties, but has been cancer free for more than 5 years. A close family friend was radically and divinely healed from systemic matastisized cancer just a couple years ago and she uses each day to share God's story of love in her life. Just this spring another family friend in his early 30's fought testicular cancer and is now in remission. Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!

Yet, there are times when the healing hand of God seemed still. Allergies, asthma, arthritis, back problems, biopsy's, bone fractures, cancer, depression, diabeties, eating disorders, heart failure, hernia's, high blood pressure, infertility, joint injuries, kidney failure, lingering cronic health issues, liver failure, miscarrage, mental health issues like bi-polar disorder, parkinsons desease, thryroid issues...all of these have touched the lives of the people I do life with just this year. None of these things were cured. My friends and their families still suffer with the lingering effects of these conditions. There has still been illness, there has still been death.

"The word "rophe" appears some sixty or seventy times in the Old Testament, always meaning "to restore," "to heal," "to cure," as a physician, not only in the physical sense but in the moral and spiritual sense also. Jehovah here pledges to His people (conditional upon their obedience) to always be their "Healer." Our Lord (the Great Physician) still "heals" His people today of their spiritual illnesses (the disease of sin) through obedience to His inspired Word (See Matt. 9:12-13; Lk. 4:18; Lk. 5:31-32; Rom. 6:16-18; 1 Tim. 1:15). " The Names of God by Mike Riley

I am excited by this name. God is literally my always on call Doctor. But His healing isn't just limited to the physical. He can heal my heart, my mind, my emotions, my marriage, my relationships and my soul. 

God is  in the practice of healing marriages, families and friendships. Nothing is ever broken beyond what God can repair. 
God has the power to heal emotions and set free sisters and brothers in Christ that are bound in shackles by the hurts of yesterday. No wound is ever so deep that God cannot heal it completely.  God's power extends to His ability to heal the minds of His children who are stuggling with addictions, depression, anger and anxiety. Medication is a valuable resource, but only God can heal the root of this problems. God is not in the business of just treating symptoms.  God's authority provides for the spritual healing of men and women who are hurting and searching for real meaning and real love from the One True God. Praise God, no sin has ever stained so deeply that the the Blood of the Cross can't wash it away!
Sometimes I can see and understand the manner in which God heals. Sometimes I cannot. God is God and I trust that He knows what is best. I trust that he has a plan. I accept that He has no  obligation to share the details of His plan with me - but I don't always like it.

My take away for the day: Nothing is ever broke beyond what God can fix. The only limit to God's healing power are the limits I create in my mind. In all things I do have the opportunity to bring glory to God my Creator. So now I am gonna be a big girl. I'm gonna keep that Dr's appointment at the OBGYN today that I've already re-scheduled twice. And regardless of what happens I know that God's got it under control, and He will be glorified.

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