[Note: Some may identify Jehovah Rapha as Jehovah Rophe. Both are Hebrew words that mean Heal, cure, restore or make whole. Both have been tied to Exodus 15:26 and defined as The Lord Who Heals.]
Exodus 15: 22 -26 (NIV) "22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.[f]) 24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” 25 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
I am constantly amazed at God. At how He makes me understand more and more of His Word. I was sitting and reading on Jehovah Rapha and discovered something that I should have known but it didn't become apparent to me until studying. The Lord Who Heals, Jehovah Rapha, is more than a natural healing. God wants to heal us in totality. He wants our bodies to be healed, yes, but He wants our spirits to be in right standing too.
In reading the verses above, I had to stop and really look at what I was reading. God had delivered the Israelites from Egypt. After years and years of complaining, He removed them from their surroundings, from the natural thing that was suppressing them. Yet, their minds were still in captivity. I'd heard this before. I heard how we can be removed from a thing but our minds are so use to being in that thing that we stay there. Here's an example. You are at a job and your supervisor is verbally abusive. He/She constantly tells you that you aren't cutting it. You make up your mind to find another job but your fear whispers in your ear, "what about your bills?" Naturally, you made the decision to leave but your mind is caught up. You forgot that Jehovah is a Provider. So, now He must heal your spirit.
I think the most powerful part of the scriptures above is in 26 - "If you listen carefully" and "if you pay attention". God is telling us - reminding us - that He has the power to meet all of our needs, both naturally and spiritually. He can heal that which is hurt within us. Sitting here, I think back to years ago when I had a broken heart. A heart so shattered, that I thought it would never recover. But, there stood God who loved on me, who held my hand, who whispered to me that He was still there. He healed the parts within me that were broken. The parts that said I am nothing. The same parts that now say, I Am Enough!!!
When we look to God for healing, let's remember to look for more than a natural healing. God is more than the box we put Him in. We need to trust the Word when it says "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us," Ephesians 3:20 KJV). It's not about us and what we can do. If we could heal ourselves, we wouldn't need God. But, we cannot heal the dark places that are dry and in need of water. We cannot remove the hurt that has cut us so deep that it feels that it will never go away. This is where God's healing comes in. It's the place where we turn our face to the skies and wait for the still small voice of the Lord that tells us that He is there. It's the place where we listen carefully and pay attention. It's the place where we've called out and God takes a piece of wood and changes that thing within us from bitter to sweet.
Are you ready to listen carefully and pay attention? There is a big difference between those that cry out to the Lord because they want a thing to be cured and those that cry out and want a thing healed. Be healed in the Lord not cured. Cure means to reliever of the symptoms of a disease or condition. Heal means to become sound or healthy again. Which do you choose?
Be A Blessing and Not Just Blessed
- Nakya