Psalm 103:1-5
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.
Who forgives all your iniquities.
Who heals all your diseases.
Who redeems your life from destruction.
Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies.
Who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
I really like Psalm 103....
If it had been written today, Old King David would have probably been put away in a padded room.
Why?
Because he was talking to himself. He was talking to his soul. I don't think that the "soul" is recognized by the American Medical Association as a viable part of the human anatomy.
David recognized the need for his entire being to be in harmony with God.
Sounds weird, but I think he may have hit on something.
Isn't our greatest problem those battles that rage within us? The conflict between Spirit and flesh is as old as time itself, but is something that is cast off by most everyone.
Yet David found the incredible benefit of telling his soul to "Bless the Lord!"
Reminding his soul to think back and go down the list of all the benefits that come from having relationship with God.
Then there is the list.
Iniquities.....that would be our deeds....our behaviors. You may not have ever thought about it, but your outward behavior is a direct result of your inward beliefs. You see, each of us have constructed a "belief system". A world view that we look to, to tell us how we should deal with problems and situations that we face. We construct such a world view through family and friends....we are influenced by media and others that we see. Throw in the mix the old sin/nature we carry around and without the influence of God in our life, we will not have a complete or very good world view.
He heals all our diseases.....
What falls under all?
Everything.
Even addiction?
Yes, even addiction.
So why isn't everyone healed? Because we, humanity, are living in a time between the times.
We live in a time between Jesus' first appearance here in our time and space, and his coming return at some time in the future. The Apostle Paul called it this "present evil age". The Kingdom rule of God is here and now. We see glimpses of it every time someone is prayed for. Yet, we do not see the complete full kingdom rule of God. We are moving toward that completion every day. Sometimes healing comes in a form that we don't want to view as healing. Sometimes the we receive the ultimate healing...the transition from this life to the next. Crossing over, we will see the complete Kingdom of God at work. Life is hard whether you are a follower of Christ or not. But it sure is easier to face whatever comes my way if I am a follower of Jesus.
Maybe we all need to take a page from Psalm 103 and begin talking to our "insides".
Who knows...what's the worst that could happen?
We might actually be filled with a greater peace.
I think I'll try it!
God on you...
mb
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