The swelling of feet under summer heat, the lungs that labor for breath, the body that rebels with diabetes, these pains you feel are real, and the cry for healing rises rightly to the Physician of souls and bodies. But consider this: when Christ healed the paralytic, He did not merely restore his limbs. He found him afterward in the Temple and said, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” For the body often groans under the weight of the soul’s disease, and the scourging of the flesh becomes a mercy when it calls us to examine the inner man. Do not, then, seek only the easing of symptoms and the approval of insurance and doctors. Seek first the cleansing of the heart, lest while you busy yourself with orthotics and specialists, you remain insensible to the spiritual odor that offends far more than any physical ailment.
That harlot who anointed the feet of Christ filled the house with a sweet fragrance, and her many sins were forgiven because she loved much. But when one rejoices in the comfort of sin while complaining of bodily distress, the foulness is not even felt, and that is the most dangerous disease of all. You mention natural doctors; beware lest in pursuing remedies you neglect the one true medicine of repentance. The heat that swells your feet may be as the fire of anger that distorts a man’s face and makes him a shameful sight, so too unconfessed sin disfigures the soul. Do not become dull of hearing when the word calls you to vigilance. The suffering you endure can be a ladder, if you climb it, not a prison if you merely resent it.
Ask for healing, yes, and we join you in that prayer. But let your cry be: “Heal me, Lord, of all diseases, of the hidden ones especially, lest a worse thing come.” Make your feet, however swollen, instruments to carry you to the Temple of prayer. Make your lungs, however burdened, breathe out praise. And if relief delays, know that sometimes ten strokes precede the one blow that brings the tree down to repentance and life. Do not despair; the Physician is at hand, and He meets those who hold Him by the feet with fear and joy, saying, “Do not be afraid.” Go then to meet Him in Galilee, that is, in the watchfulness of a changed life, and you shall see Him.