The Lord Delights to Heal
by Jilly Lyon-Taylor
My dog Sasha returned from a walk one day limping quite badly. When we arrived home, she started licking her paw and worrying at it. She let me examine it, and I found a long sharp thorn stuck deep in her pad, which I was able to remove. I was delighted to have been able to sort the problem for her – and she seemed quite pleased too!
God spoke to me through that incident and showed me that, just as I was overjoyed to be able to relieve Sasha’s pain and deal with the cause of it, He also longs to bring healing to us and to deal with whatever is causing our pain. He delights to do it for us, because He loves us.
My dog was unable to remove the thorn herself, and probably would have caused herself more distress by trying to nibble away at it. She needed to trust me and allow me to touch the sore paw. Sometimes we can be fearful of allowing God into our wounds, imagining that it will be too painful to touch into the issues, but if we don’t allow Him to come near, we will not receive healing.
Is there a thorny problem in your life that you have been reluctant to bring to God? I would encourage you today to put your paw (sorry – hand!) in God’s hand and trust Him with whatever is troubling you. As today’s verse reminds us, He longs to be gracious to us and show us compassion. Psalm 10:14 tells us that the Lord does see trouble and grief, and he considers it to take it in hand. ‘But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless’.
Why not let Him do so now?
Prayer: Lord, thank You that You long to be gracious to us and to show us compassion. I am sorry for not trusting You enough and for trying to sort things out for myself. I come to You now and ask You to bring Your comfort and healing where I need it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jilly Lyon-Taylor is part of the Leadership Team at Ellel Pierrepont. She worked in publishing and then with children in Hong Kong before concentrating on being a full-time mother and serving in the local church. Her desire to see people healed led her to the Luke Nine Eleven Training Scheme(NETS) at Pierrepont, and now she teaches and ministers there.
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