Obedience
Praise to the MIRACLE WORKER
“So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and WORKS MIRACLES among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”
Have you ever wished for a miracle? Jesus was and still is a MIRACLE WORKER. But consider the combination of the two words: miracle and work. Perhaps we think of a miracle as happening with the twitch of the nose as in the 1970’s show “I Dream of Jeannie.” However, Jesus’s life indicates that His miracles weren’t effortless. They took energy and power. (Luke 8:46) They sometimes required the other person taking part in faith. (John 5:8-9) They took place as the person was acting in obedience. (John 9:6-7) Rather than prayerfully demanding, “God, do it now,” perhaps we should pour forth thanks for the ways He has already worked in our lives. Perhaps, we should open our hearts to hear and obey what He tells us to do.
Praise to JEHOVAH-RAPHA
And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”
Are you in a desperate spot? Sick of body, mind, or soul? Are you frustrated because you’re not caring for yourself in the way you should? If so, I can relate. Our bodies, minds, and emotions are wonderfully made. But, if we don’t take care of them, and even sometimes if we do, they break or get sick. Disease can strike…physically, spiritually, emotionally. But, let’s zoom in on a way our Heavenly Father chose to reveal Himself. Israel had just celebrated with singing their crossing of the Red Sea and escape from the Egyptians. After three days in the wilderness and no water, they arrive at the waters of Marah, but the water was bitter. They couldn’t drink it. Picture the scene. You’re dying of thirst…looking at water you can’t drink. And you can’t do a thing about it. You can’t fix it. Are you there now in your life? You have a problem and can’t fix it?
Moses is desperate. He “cried out” to the Lord. And Jehovah-Rapha “showed him” what to do. Rapha means healer; to mend, cure, make whole. Jehovah-Rapha showed Moses what to do: throw a certain tree in the water. It worked. The water became sweet. Which brings us to question – what have we cried out to Jehovah-Rapha about? What has He shown us to do? Are we doing it?
Jehovah-Rapha’s message is very clear to us.
- “If”… that means there’s a choice we make with a correlating consequence.
- “we give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord our God” …. that means if we pay attention when He shows us what to do.
- “and do what is right”….Moses had to do the work of cutting the tree and throwing it into the water. We have to act on what Jehovah-Rapha shows us.
- “in His sight”….God is watching to see if we’re doing what He showed us.
- “and give ear to His commandments”… He knows what works. Do we pay more attention to our car manual than or the Bible?
God is our spiritual, emotional, relational, mental, physical doctor. Have we cried out to Him? Are we doing what He’s shown us?
Jehovah-Rapha, Lord our Healer, we praise You for the complete healing we’ll experience in heaven. In the meantime, move in our hearts to look to You for direction and act according to what You show us.