Gratitude, Day 10 (Healing)

I am so thankful for all the many ways God brings healing to us.  At times, I have been in need of both physical and emotional healing.  Some of my favorite healing verses in the Bible are from Isaiah 53:5, "...and by His stripes we are healed",  Malachi 4:2: "But for you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in His wings" and Psalm 103:3, "Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases."  These are just a few of the promises of healing from God's Word.  I also like Scripture that speaks of healing those who are bowed down due to the hardships of life.  Psalm 147:3 tells us that "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." 

God brings healing to us through His miraculous touch.  I have a friend who was diagnosed with a terminal illness, but was divinely healed through the grace of God.  This was years ago, and she is completely healed, doing well and still praising God for her miracle. 

God also brings us healing through medicine and medical personnel.  In 2002, I had a burst appendix and had to have an emergency appendectomy.  I was very pleased with the surgeon who operated on me and when I went back several weeks later for a follow up exam, I thanked him and told him that God had used him to save my life.  He look startled, as though he wasn't used to patients thanking him!  But I needed to let him know the role he played was very important to God and to me.  He was grateful and I felt blessed that God had chosen him as the best surgeon for me. 

Psalm 91 tells us that if we make God our dwelling place, we will find safety and rest in Him and we'll be given a promise of protection from inflicted disease (no plague shall come near your dwelling).  But this is conditional on making the Lord our refuge and maintaining our trust in Him.  When we stay close to our heavenly Father, walking daily with Him, reading His Word and spending time with Him in prayer, we enter into that sheltered place of promised health.  I am convinced that there have been  times I would have gotten sick had God not so graciously prevented this from happening.  I have no doubt you too have been in that same sheltered place yourself. 

Thank You, Lord for keeping us in the shadow of Your wings, where we safely dwell as we trust in You.  Amen.