Jesus: The Great Physician

We all get sick from time to time. When that happens, what we choose to do about it has a direct bearing on how quickly and fully we recover. If it’s only a common cold, getting extra rest and waiting it out may be enough, but more serious illnesses generally require more from us. By the time we are adults, we’ve learned to recognize when something isn’t right in our bodies, and we pay attention to those warning signs. We may not know what they are symptoms of, but we know that our condition will likely worsen unless we get it diagnosed and do something about it. If we’re too proud to admit we’re sick and need help, or if we’re lackadaisical and fail to take action, we inevitably suffer more in the long run. Pain has taught us to pay attention to our health, to do what we can to stay healthy, and to get help when we do get sick.

The same goes for our spiritual health and well-being. We all have experiences that have a negative effect and leave us spiritually sick—the hurtful deed that we can’t forgive, the unkind remark that triggers negative thoughts and drives us into ourselves, the setback that sends us on a downward spiral. Like the symptoms that accompany physical illness, we need to learn to recognize the symptoms of spiritual problems, and we need to take action before they cause more pain or become harder to deal with.

The good news is that just as Jesus, the Great Physician, can cure our physical ailments, He has a cure for every spiritual malady. Nothing is more important to Him than your spiritual well-being, so go to Him when you need inner healing. He’s ready, willing, and able to help, but you need to ask.

Isaiah 53:5 ESV – But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

Deuteronomy 7:15 ESV – And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you.

Matthew 10:1 ESV – And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.