God's Healing

Psalm 103: 1-8
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

Let's take a look at another of those incredible Psalms. In Psalm 103 David writes, "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy."

David goes on to describe the goodness of the Lord, and in several different places he mentions the lovingkindness and the mercy of the Lord. In verse 11 he writes, "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him." Then again in verse 17, "But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on them who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children." The psalm goes on at verse 20 and says, "Bless the Lord, you His angels." In verse 21 He says, "Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure."

Certainly you and I are a work of the Lord. Why should we bless the Lord? Because of all of the things He does for us. You know, if you read that psalm carefully and try to understand it, it will show you that God wants to meet needs for you in every area of your life. David writes about the fact that God forgives our iniquities, which is spiritual healing. And of course when your iniquities and sins are forgiven, there is a lot of happiness and joy that follows. This brings emotional healing as well. He mentions that God wants to heal our diseases. Even the very things that would attack our body, He wants to take care of. So God wants to take care of us mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. He wants to meet all of our needs for life. When the psalm talks about His mercy and His lovingkindness, that is just another way of saying He has got all that it takes to meet all of our needs.

As you are going through dark places and difficult times, I challenge you to think about the fact that God wants to meet all of your needs in every area of your life, and commit that to Him in prayer. Tell Him, "Lord, I need Your healing," and let Him heal you.

By Dr. Ann Shorb

Find out more about Christian counseling.

Related Articles and Devotionals:
God's Guidance for Our Lives
God: Our Loving Father
God Cares for Us
Our Refuge

Back to HOPE-LINE index.

Read more devotionals from CCES.

Read more articles from CCES.