Leviticus 16:29-18:30 / Mark 7:24-8:10 / Psalm 41 / Proverbs 10:15-16
If we had lived in Jesus’s day, we may have thought Him very strange. In Mark there is a man who cannot hear or speak and what does Jesus do? He takes him away from the crowd so they can be alone, then he sticks His fingers in the man’s ear and spits on his fingers, touching the man’s tongue. Okay…
This is not the only instance where Jesus healed someone using an unusual method. And while I can’t explain why Jesus chose to heal in these odd ways, I can tell you that His heart of compassion brought healing to everyone He encountered.
What about us? We’ve talked about compassion before in our Word of the Week (Empathy). Compassion is when we are moved into action to alleviate the suffering of another. We’re good about doing that to meet physical needs, but what about spiritual needs?
What about healing? What about those who are oppressed of the devil? Jesus cast out many demons from people; we should be prepared to do the same. But we shy away from praying for people, both for healing and for release of demonic influence. Why? I’m sure there are many reasons. Maybe we doubt our ability to be effective. Maybe we’re fearful we’ll see no results.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray! I’m reminded of a scripture in 1 Corinthians 3:7 NASB So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
Our responsibility is to pray; God’s responsibility is to answer, heal and deliver. That doesn’t mean we approach the situation unprepared. We must prepare with prayer, forgiveness, and sometimes fasting. It is my opinion that we should always pray when faced with a situation that is God’s to resolve.
Our resources will be of great value, but God’s resources are of eternal value. So, let’s offer God’s resources at every opportunity!
