Disease – we still experience some of it …

I have been wanting to write a devotion for quite some time again, however have experienced a really bad flu. Not only is my nose blocked, my head and limbs are also aching. But the worst is really this continuous cough. During the day I can hardly speak due to experiencing a coughing fit after merely a few words and at night I sleep two to three hours because a the coughing wakes me up every time after I have just managed to fall asleep.

It is not getting better, although I have taken just about everything available from the chemist and prescriptions.

So, when I sat here today, because my head felt a little clearer, I remembered the Bible Scripture: “I am the Lord that healeth thee”. Immediately, I thought of three vital points.

First of all, we find everywhere in the Bible, in the Old as well as in the New Testament, that God or Jesus heals people of their illnesses. The blind, the lame, the leper, they were all healed of their sufferings. And as God is our Lord, that never changes, I should also trust Him here and today in my illness. - When did you last pray for your health?

The second thing which came to mind is people who renounce all medication and modern medicine because God is their doctor. They don't want to meddle in God's handiwork. But, where does our modern medicine stem from? From where do we get the numerous medications for our multiple illnesses? In the first instance, during the creation, God created us as intelligent beings, who are able to explore and research. In addition, I am certain that He always has His hand in everything when we discover new things and manufacture new medication. God already ensured during the creation, that many plants and also chemical mixtures were able to cure illnesses.

The third point is, that God, as our Physician, does not merely want our bodily health: “To be healthy” in God's eyes means healthy bodies, spirits and souls. Our bodies, as our illnesses, are earthly and time limited. In God's eternity there will be “no sorrow, no screams, nor pain”. There it is only relevant, whether our souls are healed, whether our sins have been washed and our debt paid. God's healing is not temporarily like an illness, God's healing is based upon eternity. We see this in the New Testament time and time again, when Jesus first forgave the sick person's sin and thereafter healed his body.

And so it is these three points, that builds me up during my current situation: the trust in God, who has healed so many illnesses, the trust in medicine which God provided for us and the trust in eternal healing which we have in Christ.

I wish you all a healthy and blessed day.

Rainer Gigerich