MAY 19, 2015
The Great
Healer
Read:
Genesis
2:7-15
I am
the Lord, who heals you. —Exodus 15:26
The doctors I know are
smart, hard-working, and compassionate. They have relieved my suffering on many
occasions, and I am grateful for their expertise in diagnosing illnesses,
prescribing medication, setting broken bones, and stitching up wounds. But this
does not mean that I place my faith in physicians rather than in God.
For
reasons known only to God, He appointed humans to be His partners in the work
of caring for creation (Gen. 2:15), and doctors are among them. Doctors study
medical science and learn how God designed the body. They use this knowledge to
help restore us to a healthy condition. But the only reason doctors can do
anything to make us better is that God created us with the ability to heal. Surgeons
would be useless if incisions didn’t heal.
Scientists
can learn how God created our bodies to function, and they devise therapies to
help restore or cure us, but they are not healers; God is (Ex. 15:26). Doctors
simply cooperate with God’s original intent and design.
So
I am grateful for science and doctors, but my praise and thanksgiving go to
God, who designed an orderly universe and who created us with minds that can
discover how it works. I believe, therefore, that all healing is divine because
no healing takes place apart from God.
Father
God, You are the Great Physician, and I ask for healing, whether mind, body,
spirit, or in all of these. I believe You will give what is best. Thank You for
Your goodness, kindness, and love in all things.
When you think of all
that’s good, give thanks to God.
INSIGHT:
Genesis 2:7-15 gives us a glimpse into the perfect living environment of Adam
and Eve before the fall. God provided everything necessary for their sustenance
and enjoyment—food (v. 9), water (v. 10), and other natural resources (vv.
10-12)—and gave man the responsibility to manage these resources (v. 15). God
had originally intended for humanity to live forever, but after the fall Adam
and Eve were prevented from eating from the Tree of Life so that they would not
live forever in their sinful condition (3:22-24).
Source: Our Daily Bread 2012