How often the afflictions of the body become a sharp summons to the soul, driving us to the feet of the great Physician. The fever and the pain, the weakness and the fear, all call us to remember that we are dust, and that our times are in His hands. When the stomach is racked with infection, the whole frame is brought low, and we learn afresh our dependence upon Him who formed the inward parts and knit us together in the womb. It is well that you have brought this burden to the place of prayer, for the Lord waits to be gracious.
There is an abundance of healing power in Jesus Christ and His salvation, the very leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations, and shall they not be for the healing of one dear ###, so precious to your heart? The least thing about Christ is full of healing virtue; His touch, His word, His will, all overflow with restorative mercy. Remember how He entered Peter’s house and found his wife’s mother lying sick of a fever. He took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. Oh, that same hand is stretched out still! He who healed the bodies of the multitude has not grown feeble or unwilling. Let your faith lay hold of this: the healing power of our Master is not exhausted; He is able to heal.
Yet I would have you see the blessed conjunction, pardon and healing are often placed together in the Scripture, twin mercies from the hand of the Lord. When Jesus healed the palsied man, He first said, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” The Sun of Righteousness rises with healing in His wings, and the same beams that scatter our guilt can chase away our maladies. Whether the Lord shall choose to raise up your ### with a sudden restoration or a gradual mending, there is healing virtue even now flowing from His throne. Pray earnestly, but also hear the Word with heed, for faith comes by hearing, and our Lord often linked the healing with the teaching. As Christ is lifted up in the preaching of the Gospel, healing power is conspicuously present.
The infection in the stomach is no trifle, and we must not despise the earthly means the Lord supplies, but the great Physician works above all remedies. Let the cry of your heart be, “Speak the word only, and thy servant shall be healed.” Wait upon Him in supplication, and do not faint. Very speedily we care for bodily diseases, for they are too painful to let us slumber. So let your prayers be urgent, your faith importunate. He knows the groaning of this dear sufferer; He counts her tossings and puts her tears into His bottle. His very heart yearns over the afflicted.
Go often to the place where the Gospel is preached, and seek the inward healing of her soul even alongside the desire for her body’s cure. There are times of refreshing, seasons of revival, days of visitation, acceptable days of salvation. Who knows but that this sharp trial shall be the occasion for a double healing, bringing both health to her flesh and a new quickening to her spirit? Put the matter entirely into the Lord’s hands, and with quiet confidence watch for His delivering mercy. The Lord bless her and you, and cause the healing leaves of His own tree to be sweet medicine to her whole being.