Hello to the few of you who may stumble onto this blog! No, I have not fallen off the face of the planet, regardless of the fact that my last post was in March 2013. The blog is more of a therapeutic kind of thing for me. I'm not one of those avid bloggers. I just do it when I have a thought that may or may not interest someone else or when I have a lot of thoughts that I need to get out in some way. In this case, my journal is in another room and typing is way faster, so I'm opting for the blogging option.
I'm reading a book currently called Lord, I Want to Know You by the beautifully gifted writer Kay Arthur. I've always been more of a Beth Moore girl, but, Kay, I have to tell you: You're growing on me quickly. Anywho, this book goes through several of the names of God, shows where they first showed up Biblically (because I've learned that it is critical in understanding the meaning of name), and then digs into the meaning of the name and why it's important to know that name of God. Names in Biblical times were just as important as your actions, I feel like. Your name spoke to your character. It told more stories on you than your parents when your first date comes over to meet them. The first name Kay wrote about was Elohim. I could talk on that one for a long time, so I'll save that for, perhaps, another blog because it deserves its own slot.
The name I'm on now is Jehovah-rapha or the Lord who heals. And, like everything else in this book, I get to it and think, "Oh, this will be a good chapter for me to read for someone else. You know. For those hurting people out there who need God's healing." I don't know why in the world I CHOOSE to think things like that, because I'm always wrong. I'm sure God laughs at me when I think things like that.
So, yesterday's study led me to where the Lord first reveals Himself as a healer in Exodus 15. To put this Scripture into context for you, this was not too long after the Israelites had been delivered from Egypt.
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shut. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" 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 issues a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. 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." --Exodus 15:22-26
I know, I know. I thought the same thing you did. How is this important, and how it is applicable to me? I don't have a water problem right now. I'm not escaping a Pharaoh. I know Jesus loves me and He forgives me and that I am healed, so what does this have to do with me? Well...I don't know if you thought that or not, but those thoughts surely ran/are running through my head. The Lord promised not to plague them with the diseases of the Egyptians if they listened to His commands and were obedient to them. It's funny. While I do believe the Lord may have very well been talking about physical ailments, I also believed the Egyptians were plagued with bitterness. I find it no coincidence that they were led to a place with bitter water. I find it no accident that listening to His voice and following His commands were the only healing for that.
Bitterness truly is a plague. Once it takes root, it takes over everything you are. Insecurity is like that, too; both of these I struggle with more than I would care to confess. Unfortunately, ridding yourself of both isn't as easy as throwing a log into some water--I wish. The little stream behind my house would be blocked with logs. Yesterday, I was with some friends, and I got really insecure about our friendships. They were busy chatting away, and, like a child, I felt "left out" because I didn't feel like I belonged in their conversation, like they didn't want me involved. So, I backed away, and the thoughts came flying. You know, your thoughts can be your own worst enemy. They can literally destroy you and steal your joy. The thoughts about you usually aren't true. They literally come from an evil one who wants to steal, kill, and destroy you. Boy, does he do a good job sometimes. "Marlie, you're not needed here. Not only are you not needed, you're not wanted. Stay in your chair over here. Nope, see? They don't even notice you. You can't possibly build friendships with people. All of your friends end up leaving; either moving away or drifting away, and then you have to start all over, knowing the process will happen all over again. Just quit trying. It's not worth it. Just learn to live lonely because that's all you'll ever be." Y'all, really. I wish I was kidding, but every single one of those thoughts raced across my mind yesterday, and the worst part was, I let them and believed them.
Kay Arthur posed the question at the end of yesterday's lesson, and it was so simple: How do you need to be healed?
I think I got my answer as yesterday's events unraveled, and I allowed Satan to steal every ounce possible of joy from me, every granule of truth. He made His people a promise: Listen and obey My commands, and you won't be plagued with what the Egyptians had. This morning, wondering how in this world I was going to handle today and take on God's joy and take it in full stride, His commands came to me:
"Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 2 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"My soul finds rest in God alone. My salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress. I will never be shaken. How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down, this leaning wall, this tottering fence? They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place. They delight in lies. With their mouths, they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Find rest, O my soul, in God alone. My hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, He is my fortress. I will never be shaken." --Psalm 62:1-6
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." --2 Corinthians 10:5
God told the Israelites their way to healing was listening and obedience. Obviously, that was true, because yesterday when I refused to hear all of these Scriptures flying through my head, it led to hurt instead of healing, instead of freedom. Want those waters to turn from bitter into sweet? Jesus.
Just to let you know, none of those thoughts about my sweet friends were true. They are very much dear to me and care about me. Like I said though. My enemy's mission is to steal life from me, and they very much make my soul happy. However, there's really only one life giver, only one helper, only one healer: Jehovah-rapha. So thankful for the gracious presence He has in my life and that He gave us Word to follow to find healing, to find completion, to find joy, to find Him.
