There grows no healing herb but the one plant of renown, Jesus Christ the Righteous. His leaves are for the healing of the nations, and the least fragment of His grace is charged with restoring virtue. Take your husband’s case directly to Him, for He is the one great Physician who lays His hand upon the sick and they are restored. There is abundance of healing power in Him, not only the full ripe fruit, but even the leaves, the little tokens of His presence, are medicine to every disease.
The Lord has been a Husband to you both. Does He not provide, commune faithfully, and set His special love upon His own? As a husband cares for his bride with all his worldly goods, so does the Lord care for you. In this trial, lean upon that covenant bond. A wife tenderly loves her husband and knows the ache when his body suffers; yet your Maker is your Husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name. Cry to Him as one who is wedded to Him by faith. He hears the sighing of His own bride. He will not neglect your cry. Look to the Cross where pardon and healing flow as one stream. Sin is the root of every bitter fruit, but at Calvary the axe is laid to that root. When sin is forgiven, the soul’s disease receives its deathblow, and the life of Christ works health throughout the whole being. First forgiveness, then healing. We are on our way to eternal health, and the seed of that perfect wholeness is already in every believer.
Do not hold the healing virtue at a distance through unbelief. The poor leper said, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean,” and he felt the difficulty lay in the will of Christ, not in His power. So plead with Him: His power is boundless, His will is goodness itself. When Jesus was teaching, healing power was conspicuously present. Sit under the teaching of His Word, and may the Spirit apply it. Seek before all else the healing of the soul, for that is the first consideration, and then bodily mercies follow in their season. He is able to touch the hand of nature’s failing frame and lift it up; a contact is established through the Incarnation, there is healing in that blessed doctrine! Christ took our flesh to heal our flesh.
Yet remember, we often dread a relapse more than the primary disease. When the virus of our natural corruption or bodily weakness gathers renewed energy, the true battle must be fought. But the abiding power of Christ’s healing leaves keeps the soul in perpetual health, and His salvation will also perfectly heal our bodies, either by restoration here or by resurrection hereafter. If the disease has come, the Great Physician has come also. Do not be alarmed at the Cross when Christ comes with it. The Sun of Righteousness rises with healing in His wings; we shall not need to say, “I am sick,” because the Lord dwells with us and has begun to heal us. A man who is quite sure of perfect health tomorrow says little of the sickness of an hour, so fix your eyes on the golden age of eternal vigor that dawns for all the redeemed.
Cast yourselves both upon His faithful care. This is not a matter for careless hearing; take heed what you do with these promises. Do not merely thank the messenger and neglect the Remedy. Apply directly to Jesus. Come with your husband in prayer, lay hold of the hem of His garment, and plead the blood that pardons and the love that heals. He who forgives all your iniquities is He who heals all your diseases. Let your request be, “Lord, if You will, You can make him clean; speak the word, and Your servant shall be healed.” May the Lord answer you with strength and peace.
