Day Four

“He sent forth his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.”(Ps. 107:20)

Scripture Reading: Psalm 107:10–21

The psalm does not reflect the ravages of and restoration from physical illness. In this text God sent His Word to heal a different illness—rebellion against God and refusal to accept His counsel. In their attempt to be free from His authority, God’s people became prisoners in iron chains. Psalm 107:20 makes one of the most important statements about healing in all Scripture. God’s Word is His primary healing agent. God’s people were in bondage because they rebelled and refused His counsel. They were suffering because they lacked God’s Word. Only His Word could heal them.

Many of us desperately need the healing power of God’s Word. The Scripture is the written Word that reveals to us the living Word who is able to deliver us.

We sometimes act as if rebellion means drugs, a season of infidelity, or a complete apostasy. The biblical definition is simply refusing God’s counsel. Isaiah 50:5 says, “The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.” Observe his words, “I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.” Rebellion is drawing back from God’s Word. We can attend church Sunday after Sunday and still rebel against God. If we continue to seek answers elsewhere and do not take God’s Word seriously, we are in a state of rebellion.

I’ve experienced this kind of rebellion. In early adulthood my heart needed healing. I knew God. I served Him, but I ached for release—YET I never considered His Word as a cure for my illness. Fortunately, in my growing desire to please the Father, I realized I did not harbor a love for His Word. I began asking Him to develop such a love within me. As He did, something I never expected happened to me. My heart began to heal. I knew I was healthier. I felt it. I didn’t begin studying God’s Word so I could become whole, but I soon discovered that the more I sought His counsel, the more I healed. The process continues today, and I’ve gained far more than health. I’ve gained a deep love relationship with the Healer.

Please hear my heart. Healing is found in God’s Word—not just in seeking healing—but in seeking Him. We can be children of the living God and still sit “in darkness and the deepest gloom” as “prisoners suffering in iron chains” because we refuse His counsel. The writer of Psalm 119:92 testified to the healing power of God’s Word. “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” Only God can set you free. His Word can soak the chains from your wrists.

Is there an area of your life that needs healing? Perhaps an undisciplined life, a festered wound, or a binding addiction? Write it down. Tell it to the Great Physician; then seek God’s Word for healing.