Healed and Reigning in Life
by Herman Redelinghuys
One evening I heard a high pitched noise and saw a mosquito circling around me and I thought ‘how can such a tiny, insignificant insect be responsible for such a reign of pain and death throughout the continent of Africa?’ The World Health Organisation has estimated that every 30 seconds a child dies of malaria in Sub Sahara Africa. As I was staring at this unique little ‘flying machine’ I was reminded of the scripture in Romans 5:17 which says ‘…because of one man's trespass, death reigned…’ and I thought about the devastation throughout the ages caused by one man!
The quest for a cure that will conquer the reign of malaria is still continuing, with millions of dollars spent on this cause every year! The world needs this, but how much more the world needs an eternal cure from all pain and death. The good news is that the cure was achieved through ‘the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness’ of Jesus Christ. ‘Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous’ (Romans 5:18-19). It’s through one Man's obedience on the cross that we’ve received an eternal cure in life!
God didn’t just want us to be healed but intended us to ‘reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ’. We were healed to reign! It’s this ‘reigning’ part that I find the most challenging. How do we reign in life? The Bible says we lost life by one man’s disobedience and life was restored through Jesus’ act of obedience, and if we are in Jesus and obey Him then we can reign in life with Him!
You maybe feel challenged by the situation you’re facing right now. It may appear quite overpowering, complicated or just ‘a bridge too far’. God encourages you today to take the first small step to obey Him and to keep on taking steps in the direction He’s leading you. These small steps of obedience are far from insignificant. They’re powerful in Him. As you obey may you grow and discover the joy of being healed to reign in life with Jesus.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You so much for Your amazing act of obedience that brought me the ‘cure of life’. Lord, I ask You to give me the courage to obey You today, so I may reign in life with You! Amen
Herman Redelinghuys is a trained Social Worker who spent most of his career in the corporate training environment. He joined Ellel Africa’s part-time team in 2005 and is mostly involved with prayer co-ordination of the Ministry.
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