Our Hope for Healing

"For thus says the LORD: 'Your affliction is incurable, your wound is severe. ¹³ There is no one to plead your cause, that you may be bound up; you have no healing medicines.'"

Jeremiah 30:12-13

There is no cure in this world for the ills which plague men.  The "self-help" section of shops and libraries has not diminished because of the success of previous editions.  New books are written to build upon the faulty foundation that man is able through effort to better himself.  The detestable nature of our hearts and afflictions of mind and body cannot be addressed by human means.  We have all sinned, and sin ultimately brings death.  Surgery does not cure, nor does therapy heal.  Our lives are one of physical decline, and all society with us.  Our affliction is incurable, and our wound is severe.

Those who believe lasting positive change in the world can by implemented through government programs, laws, taxes, religion, or tradition chase a mirage.  Only the LORD who accurately diagnoses the condition of men is able to do anything to cure it.  If a doctor treats a man for a common cold who has AIDS, his treatment will be ineffective and pointless without addressing the source.  The problem is not a runny nose or sore throat, but a systemic problem which weakens the body's defenses.  Treating symptoms without dealing with the cause only temporarily masks the problem.

If we were to ask "the man on the street" what is the biggest problem in the world today, he would no doubt supply an answer.  There are a plethora of potential responses.  The follow-up question is the more difficult one:  "What would you do or how could you fix the problem?"  Our affliction is incurable, our wound severe.  There is no one to help plead our cause, no one to bind our wounds we have suffered, and no balm to promote healing.  There is only one hope for this world:  Jesus Christ.  He is the One who raises the dead to life, gives those who trust in Him new hearts, supplies the Holy Spirit who comforts, convicts, helps, and instructs, and makes us new.  Naaman was cured from his leprosy by dipping seven times in the Jordan River at the word of Elisha the prophet, and all are washed clean from sin through the application of Christ's shed blood by faith. A relationship with Jesus Christ transforms our perspective and provides unshakable hope in a hopeless world.

Luke 4:17-21 speaks of when Jesus went into a synogogue in Nazareth:  "And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: ¹⁸ "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; ¹⁹ to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." ²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  For all who hear and trust in Jesus, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.  There is no earthy cure for what ails you, no medicine to heal your broken heart.  But if Jesus is able to cause the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dead to live again, He can restore you to wholeness!  With a word He cast out demons from a distance, and by His Word the world was created.  He rose from the dead, proving His power over sin and death.  Because Jesus lives, He can be your life.