ENCOURAGEMENT-19 (John 9:25)

JESUS, THE GREAT PHYSICIAN WHO HEALS PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY!

BIBLE PASSAGE:
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t
know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
(John 9:25)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever thought that even if we do not see Jesus, He still sees us?
We may be blind to His existence as our Savior, but He still knows that
we exist. Not only does He see us, but He cares about us and our well-being.
He wants what is best for us, and for us to enjoy His blessings. We want to
see Him, but we can see the evidence of His presence all around us!

We can read about how He healed the physical eyes of a blind man, so He
could see Jesus when He walked on the earth in human form. But He did
much more than that – He healed the man’s spiritual eyes as well. In fact
Jesus asked him if he believed, to confirm that the eyes of his heart had
been opened.
    Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when
    he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
    “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may
    believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in
    fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said,
    “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. (John 9:35-38)

Jesus healed this man both physically and spiritually. But the Pharisees
were a different story. They could see physically, but their spiritual eyes
were closed tight. Their blindness was so severe that they were jealous of
Jesus.

What happens when a person is consumed with jealousy? They want to
discourage others from wanting to be friends with the person of whom
they are jealous. They want to discredit anything good the other person
does, and to influence others to look at him or her with contempt, even
to the point of calling them names. That is exactly what the Pharisees
did with Jesus. They portrayed Him as a sinner, and wanted the healed
blind man to view Him as a sinner too.

But the blind man knew that Jesus had healed him, and he told the
Pharisees that it was not for him to determine if Jesus was a sinner
or not. He was grateful for being healed, and he refused to be caught
up in all of the turmoil and clamor created by the Pharisees.

There is a social condition called ‘group dynamics’, where one person
can be influenced by the opinions of others. Even when they disagree
with the ‘group’ opinions or actions, some will ‘go with the crowd’ so
they will not be in the minority.

Some place a higher priority on being liked than they do on standing
firm in their morals and ethics. However, this blind man stood firm
in his allegiance to the Lord, even though the crowd encouraged him
to turn against Jesus.

When he defended Jesus, and the Pharisees realized they could not
convince him to accept and embrace their opinions, these “religious”
people threw him out of the sanctuary.
    The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You
    don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my
    eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He
    listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody
    has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.
    If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
    To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth;
    how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
    (John 9:30-34)

ACTION:
Does Jesus still heal people physically today? You bet He does!
There are many instances where a sick person seems to have no
possibility of healing, but due to the prayers of many, the person
made a miraculous recovery.

Many of us have seen or heard of instances where Jesus ‘shocked’
the medical field by healing a person who was deemed unhealable.
It is interesting that the Lord provided me with this devotional to
share, several hours after we witnessed His healing of the daughter
of some friends of ours (for whom many were praying for).

We should never forget that He also heals the blindness of the
hearts of man. It is evident that Satan is intent on blinding us
from Jesus and the spiritual healing He offers us. As a result,
we can experience a ‘real’ battle for our mind and soul.

It is a battle too strong for us to fight on our own, but the Lord
has promised to help those who call on Him. When we call on
Him and honestly admit that we are depending on Him, He will
not only help us, but He will fight the battle for us! Look at these
words in 2 Chronicles:
    He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live
    in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says
    to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of
    this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s”.
    (2 Chronicles 20:15)

Of course, as we read the scripture above, Satan will immediately
fill our minds with all kinds of negative thoughts, such as:
     “That is Old Testament information and it was about
      a physical battle, so it is not applicable to fighting
      any spiritual battles for you”.

That’s how he works, isn’t it? He doesn’t try to get us to think
that God did not fight the battle for the people in Jerusalem
and Judah, but he wants us to believe that that was an event
many years ago which has no meaning or application to us in
the world we live in today. If he can convince us of that, then
he knows he can discourage us from calling on the Lord.

However, Satan purposely overlooks the fact that God does not
show favoritism. If He fought battles for His people in previous
times, then we can be assured of His availability to fight our
battles for us today (and especially any battles with His greatest
adversary).

Do you need physical healing? Pray to the Lord with a faith that
He will heal. Do you need spiritual healing? Pray to the Lord with
a faith that He is the Son of God who went to the cross for our sins,
and was resurrected three days later to be with our Heavenly Father.
The Lord knows our spiritual frailties, and He is there to help us in
our weaknesses. How encouraging is that?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I thank You for the sacrifice of Jesus that
made salvation available to all who believe. Thank You, Jesus
for voluntarily going to the cross for me. Thank You for Your
power that not only provides physical healing, but also spiritual
healing to all who seek You. I pray that You would remove the
scales from my spiritual eyes that prevent me from seeing You.
Even when I can’t see You, You see me. Forgive me for my sins
and teach me everything I need to know about following You as
my Lord and Savior. Help me to open the spiritual eyes of others
by living a life which is a testimony of my belief in You and my
desire to serve You, worship You, praise You, and obey You.”

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