Day 3 - Growing Strong to Carry On

“He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” (Psalm 103:5, NLT)

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ‘Rabbi,’ his disciples asked him, ‘why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?’ ‘It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,’ Jesus answered. ‘This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.’” (John 9:1-3, NLT)

“He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” (1 Peter 2:24, NLT)

Life sometimes unfolds differently than we planned: We think we’ll spend the rest of our days with our spouse by our side, but death or divorce changes everything. We assume we’ll live long and strong, but an unexpected medical diagnosis proves us wrong. We dream of financial security, but the economy takes a nosedive. We think we’ll enjoy loving relationships with our adult kids and grandchildren, but they choose a path that doesn’t include us.

Broken dreams break our hearts. We feel like Humpty Dumpty, who was left shattered and unfixable after falling off a wall. We bear a weight of self-blame or shame, supposing things would be better if only we had done or said such-and-such. We hide behind a mask, lest others discover our pain or see our imperfections and think less of us. Truth be told, they’re probably hurting too.

It’s easy to lose hope when we’re hurting, but we grow strong to go on when we learn to live from the truth of who God is as revealed in His Hebrew name Yahweh Ropheka—“The LORD Who Heals You.” Yahweh refers to the all-sufficient, all-powerful God who created the universe and wants relationship with us. Ropheka comes from the root word rapha which means “to mend, repair, restore, or make whole.”

The name Yahweh Ropheka appears in Scripture only once: “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you [Yahweh Ropheka] (Exodus 15:26 NLT).

No wound is too deep or longstanding for Yahweh Ropheka to heal or restore, but His promise to ease our pain comes with a condition: We must listen to Him and do what He says. This concept sounds like, “Follow the doctor’s orders if you want to get well,” right?

In practical terms, broken dreams that break our hearts can breed bitterness. Yahweh Ropheka’s prescription for wellness includes forgiving and praying for those who hurt us. He tells us to give thanks in every circumstance and to cast all our cares on Him, because He cares for us.

“The LORD Who Heals You” can and wants to restore us, but following His directives is vital. When He shows us what our role is, then let’s comply, assured that because of who He is, He will bind our wounds, strengthen us, and make us whole again.