Forget Not!

"Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! ² Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: ³ who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, ⁵ who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Psalm 103:1-5

It is God's will that sin would not reign in our mortal bodies.  Because of this fact it is reasonable to conclude it is God's will that sickness, a product of original sin, would not reign in our mortal bodies either.  While we agree to the first statement our faith can waver with the second.  How can this be?  What happens when God's Word seems to contradict our experience?  Should we trust what we see with our eyes or the naked Word of God?

Our God is a God who forgives all our iniquities, heals all our diseases, and redeems our lives from destruction.  Perhaps we falter at believing God's Words because the answer does not take the form we think it should.  We think of healing as being the freedom of pain and limitation.  I need not look further than Jesus Christ to know that He was limited in a body of flesh and experienced much sorrow and pain.  Yet He was a partaker of the benefits of the same God who offers them freely to all who repent and believe.

I do not believe this scripture means that we will ultimately be forgiven from our iniquities or eventually be healed of our diseases.  This is a promise to be entered into today!  Our sins can be forgiven today, and today can be a day of healing and deliverance.  Romans 6:8-14 reads, "Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: ⁹ Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. ¹⁰ For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. ¹¹ Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. ¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. ¹³ Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."  Christians have been freed by the dominion of sin through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

I have an insightful book called Indwelling Sin in Believers by Puritan John Owen.  He explains well the internal conflict of a Christian Paul discusses in Romans 7.  When we are born again through grace and faith in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, we are justified before God.  Our sins are forgiven and we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ.  But does that mean we are perfect?  No!  Because our souls reside in a body of flesh, we will undoubtedly sin.  The good we do is because we are dead and Christ lives through us.  Romans 7:17 reveals a remarkable truth when we sin after justification:  "But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."  In the way that sin should no longer govern our lives, sickness is no longer to have dominion over us!  Our God forgives all our iniquities and heals all our diseases!

Does this mean that God-fearing people are guaranteed bodies that will never experience physical illness or pain?  No.  It is God's will that none should perish, yet there are many who do.  There are many who are sick, but God has the power and desire to heal every one.  Do you let your circumstances, emotions, or physical condition reign over you?  Sickness can plague our bodies, but you are not to be governed by your sickness:  we are now governed by Jesus Christ, the Healer of both body and soul!  Choose to place your faith in Christ and believe the truth of the Bible!

Let us not forget the benefits of Jesus Christ freely bestowed upon those who rely upon Him.  Does sin, sickness, or despair have dominion over you today?  Our strength is not derived from the food we eat, but from the Saviour Jesus Christ who IS our life!  Ephesians 6:10 says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."  Look to Jesus as LORD and King, for there is healing in His wings.