Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53: 4, 5, NKJV.
Merciful God, here we are waiting on You for healing. Please draw near and apply the blood from Your stripes not only to our bodies, but to our minds, for complete healing. In the powerful name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Where would we be without the blood, I ask again, as we continue with yesterday’s topic. Yesterday we considered the cleansing from sin – the forgiveness of sins that comes through, “nothing but the blood of Jesus” (Robert Lowry)! Today we will look at the blood as a healing balm.
It is overwhelming to sit and watch the news on television, or, read about it in the newspapers. From every corner of the world we read of all kinds of sicknesses. Some of these illnesses are so rare. We have never heard of them before. And as plentiful as the illnesses are, so are the remedies. Many of these remedies have such terrible side effects that they are worst than the illness itself!
But there is one remedy that will never produce negative side effects – it is the blood of Jesus Christ! Our text for today talks about Jesus bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows. Where did He bear our griefs, and where did He carry our sorrow? In a very real way, He bore them on the cross. He carried them to the grave. When He suffered on the cross of Calvary – He was suffering in our stead! That is why we can pray for healing and receive it, because Jesus already effected our healing.
Am I saying that we should not take medication? No, I am not saying that at all! I am simply saying that had it not been for the blood that Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary, no amount of medication could heal us! And thanks be to the blood, many are still alive even after taking some of the medication that are on the market!
It is His stripes that make our healing possible! The punishment that we deserved, was poured out upon the Sinless Lamb of God; and as He suffered and bled, that blood became our healing balm – even in the twenty-first century! Any soul, who, by faith, takes hold of the blood, can experience healing.
If we can believe “all things are possible” (Mark 9: 23). And it is all because of “nothing but the blood of Jesus!”