Sandy’s Devotional

DEVOTIONAL

When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.  A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. (Matthew 8:1-3)

And a leper came to Him, begging Him and falling on his knees before Him, saying, “If You are willing, You are able to make me clean.”  Moved with compassion], Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”   The leprosy left him immediately and he was cleansed. (Mark 1:40-42)

This man had been ostracized from society, considered an untouchable sinner. Yet, he dared to approach Jesus  despite the large crowds.  Somehow, he had heard the message of Jesus’ power and urgently pursued Him.  Usually, lepers were together with other lepers, as in the case of the ten. Yet, here, he is alone – desperate, yearning, knowing that Jesus has the power to heal – but not knowing if Jesus cares about him or is willing to heal him.   He falls before the  LORD, calling out the yearnings of his heart:  “LORD , do you care about me?  Would you heal me ?  No one else cares about me – do you? “  Jesus’ gaze of compassion into the eyes of the hurting man must have been a soothing balm to his lonely soul. Then to the amazement of the man and the crowds –Jesus reaching out to him – and TOUCHED HIM - the  warm, merciful touch of a LOVING SAVIOR.  One can imagine the cry of his heart when he felt the immediate physical healing of his entire body and broken spirit – “He touched me!  He touched me!  I will never be the same!  His love healed me.”  

Here, in Be’ad Chaim, we see so many broken hearted women – many who have no idea that God is willing to touch their lives, to give them new hope, a new chance, a new beginning and to heal them of rejection, despair and loneliness.  We pray for many to come to Him in their illness of body and spirit and find that HE IS ALWAYS WILLING TO HEAL.    “We must rest ourselves upon his power;  we must be confident of this, that Christ can make us clean.  No guilt is so great but that there is a sufficiency in his righteousness to atone for it; no corruption so strong, but there is a sufficiency in his grace to subdue it.  God would not appoint a physician to his hospital that is not par negotio—every way qualified for the undertaking.” (Matthew Henry commentary)