Jehovah Rapha- The Great Physician

Below is a video on this topic – Jehovah Rapha. You can either watch the video or read the post or both☺️. Your Choice🤗. This is my first video ever, so if you decide to watch the video, I really hope you enjoy it. Quick warning tho, “I talk too much.”😂 God bless.

Jehovah Rapha! This means the Lord who heals or restore.

The dictionary defines healing as, “The process of making or becoming sound or healthy again” and it defines restoration as, “The process of returning something back to it’s unimpaired or improved condition.”

So, family,  I have been going through some emotional rollercoaster for the past few days. It actually started when my mental health /psychiatric class began. But it got really worse and peaked last week  after we watched a movie titled, “Back from Madness.” This movie was made in 1996, and this was my first time hearing about or watching it. It is about four (4) individuals who suffered from various mental health disorders: Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, suicidal depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Before we started watching the movie, I pray to God to help me get through it. Emotional, I am not strong, and I break down quickly, but I still wanted to watch the movie, so as to learn more about the disorders. Well, if you can guess, from the first scene, my countenance changed, and my emotions started running wild. I felt so much pity for these individuals who were suffering from mental disorders. This was my first time actually watching the day to day life of a person suffering from a mental disorder. My clinical experiences were limited because of the short hours and time spent there. I couldn’t actually see how their daily life went. So watching this movie really opened my eyes, and I couldn’t stop crying in my heart. As I was watching the movie, I kept asking God;

Why?

Why God? why are they going through this?

These are your children, who you created in your image and likeness, why are they acting out of their own free will?

What happened? Where did they go wrong?

God, why didn’t you heal them or come to their rescue?

You are the great healer and physician. You can heal physically, emotionally and spiritually. So why?

I want some answers, Lord. And thus the digging began.

I found out that the revelation of the name Jehovah Rapha was in  Exodus 15: 26 (NLT). “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” That is “I am your Jehovah Rapha.”

If you look at that bible verse, it starts with the word, “IF” which is a conditional clause. That is, you must do something to get something. The condition here is simply to listen to the voice of the Lord, do what is right, obey him & keep his decrees or commandment. In two words, “FOLLOW ME.” That is all God is asking of us. Just follow me, trust me, and I’ll take care of you, you won’t suffer from any disease because I am your healer, your Jehovah Rapha.

When I saw this verse, what came straight to my head was, “Does it mean that the people who get sick are the people who do not follow God and hearken to his voice?” But then I thought of some true believers who still get ill and suffer from one illness or another. What about them?

So, I picked up my Bible, turned to the back and looked for Bible verses that talked about healing. I also went online and googled healing scriptures, and to my amazement, there are quite a lot of them. Ranging from the old testament to the new testament. And in my head, I just went, “Wow, if only people will read the word of God and find all these wonderful scriptures about healing and restoration. If only.” The Bible says in Hosea 4: 6 (ESV), “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” NLT translation says, “My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.” People are going through so many things and pain all because they do not know God. They are so ignorant to the fact that with God every single thing is possible. And, until you realize that he is the Jehovah Rapha, the only God who can restore and heal you wholly (spiritually, physically and emotionally), you will continue to get played by the world.The devil will keep tossing you back and forth like a ping pong.

 THE WORD OF GOD – THE GREATEST MEDICATION

The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12,  “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” God’s word has power in it, it’s alive and active. It is able to cut through every illness in your heart and make you whole again. PSALM 107: 20  says, “He sent out his word and healed them.” The word of God is healing and life to your soul. You must feast and meditate on God’s word daily. His word shall fulfill that which he has sent it to do, it won’t return void and unaccomplished.  If only, we would just pick up our bible and read.

 

Instead, we go from one doctor to another, looking for some medication or chemicals or we go around telling people about every single thing that is wrong with us, and we refuse to go to God himself. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying it is not good to go to physicians or doctors. I am a nursing student myself, and I aspire to be a surgeon someday by God’s grace and will. So, I am totally not against medicine. However, I believe we shouldn’t limit and put all our trust in medications or chemicals that fellow humans sat down in the lab to mix together and after some trials and tests were finally put on the market. It is time to return to God. He designed our bodies himself and the designer always know the product best right? The Bible says we are his masterpiece (Ephesians 2: 10 – NLT). He knows our body best, so why not go to the creator of the body to repair and restore it? After all, some really luxurious cars have to be taken specifically to the brand company for any repairs whatsoever. Same with us and we are more than mere metals or cars. We were created in God’s image and likeness, so go to Him. The care that doctors or nurses are going to provide for you is very limited. Their knowledge is limited to what they learned in school and their experiences so far. And when they have exhausted all that, and you are still not healed, what next? So, go to God in prayer and go to His word.

PRAYING WITH RIGHTEOUS BELIEVERS

Also, telling people about your situation is not entirely wrong. But you must be careful who you tell. Don’t go to people who are just gonna add more to your situation and say more negative words to you.Instead, go to believers who are going to pray with and for you and are ready to fight with you. The Bible says in JAMES 5: 14 – 16, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven…The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” The Lord God will definitely answer the prayer of the righteous ones.

 

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH

FAITH! This is paramount. The Bible says in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” You have got to believe. No matter the number of prayers you pray if you do not have faith and continue to doubt in your heart then you are basically wasting your time.

I really love the story of the woman with the discharge of blood in Mark 5: 25 – 34. 

Let’s read it together☺️.

 “A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse.

Let’s take a pause here✋. 

This woman has been suffering for good 12 years, went to make doctors, spent a lot of money but couldn’t get her healing. Instead, she did what? She got worse! That is the story of many of us today. We run from one doctor to another, spend so much money and still no satisfying result. We ain’t healed yet.

Let’s move on☺️. 

“She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”  Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

Another pause, please✋.

I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I am because this is my favorite part of the story😀. She thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Seriously, how did she think of something like that? I would have never thought that touching someone’s cloth will heal me. And truly it won’t. But she didn’t just touch Jesus’s robe, she touched it with something. She touched it with FAITH. The Bible says in Matthew 17: 20 – NIV, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” This means you can also tell that sickness in your body to get out and it will get out.

Let’s read a bit more ☺️

 “Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

OMG, I really love Bible stories🙌🙌. What a happy ending😀. Not only did she receive her healing, but she was also recognized by Jesus himself, and He talked to her saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” Note he didn’t say, “The 12 years worth of medications and treatments has made you well.” Neither did he say, “Telling every single person your story has you well.” He said, “HER FAITH MADE HER WELL.” 

And I just relate this to that movie I mentioned earlier, “Back from Madness.” A lady had schizophrenia, and she had to go through so many medications before she finally found one which seemed to work. And when I mean work, I mean just temporary suppression of the voices she was hearing so she could function in here day to day life not that she got healed wholly like the woman with the discharge of blood. She still had schizophrenia.

We can’t afford to settle for less. Even though we can’t go touching Jesus robe now and the fact is we don’t have to because we now have his Spirit living and dwelling with us. We also have God the father, the great physician, our Jehovah Rapha who is able and willing to heal and restore us wholly.

And that takes us to my next point.

GO TO GOD

Stop wasting your time and money and go to God. Matthew 11: 28 – 29 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus freely invites us to come to him. Go to him, and he will lead you to the father. The Bible says we have not because we ask not (James 4: 2b). We have to learn to open our mouths, go on our knees and face and ask God to restores us. However, we must do this the right way. In 2 Chronicles 7: 14, God said, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

When we read scriptures, we must read it while noting every single word. We can’t just treat it as a menu and pick what we want from it.

Let’s look at the bolded RED statements in that Bible verse.

1. Humble yourself:  You must realize that you can’t heal yourself and you need God’s help. So you go to God in total submission. Don’t act like you are so wise and know it all. Proverbs 3: 7 – 8  says, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”
2. Pray and seek his face: Go on your knees and face and pray to God. Seek his face. Read and study his word day and night. And remember to ask with faith that all you have prayed for, you will receive.
3. Turn from your wicked ways: This is the part where most of us miss it and fail it all. We are humbling ourselves, praying, reading the Bible but we are still dwelling in sin, and we refuse to let go of our old lives.

But you must do all this because then and only then, will the Lord hear your prayers, forgive you and heal your land and everything that concerns you.

KNOW YOUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST JESUS

As a believer, we must know who we are in Christ and the privileges and grace that we ought to enjoy.  In Isaiah 53: 4 – 5 says, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.”

You were already healed by Jesus’s wounds and stripes long before you got sick. But if you don’t know this, you basically give the devil a free pass in your life. You should be aware that he is already defeated and has no place in your life. The Bible says our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). So there is no way the devil can also stay in your body. You have to be bold because we do not have the spirit of fear and timidity but of power (2 Timothy 1:7). With the power and authority you have in Christ Jesus, tell the devil to take his baggage and illness and leave your body.

But Esther,  the type of healing I need is not physical but emotional and spiritual. Can God do that too?

Of course my dear. God is the great physician and Jehovah Rapha. Spiritually, many Christians have lost the Joy of God’s salvation over their lives, and it feels like that keep trying to work out their relationship with God, and they are getting nowhere.

Psalm 23: 3 says, “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” The Almighty God is able to restore the fire, joy, and love you once had for him.  I have some questions for you, though, and you have to answer sincerely to yourself. Do you read and study God’s word daily? Do you pray and have little chats with him daily? Do you go into your secret room and have your quiet time while sitting still to listen to his voice? 

Many of us are so busy with life, and we are running around trying to make ends meet that we refuse to spend time with God and his word. Pray to God today, read your Bible and listen to his voice. You must be intentional.

Emotionally, many of us are still hurt from our past and need God’s healing and restoration. We must also go to God and ask for his help. Be ready to let go of your past and move on into what lies ahead of you.

Are you battling with addictions and you really want to let them go. The same thing, go to God. I don’t have any medication for you than to direct you to the one who can truly heal you. I was battling with masturbation and pornography. I called myself a Christian but deep inside. I was dying. I had dirty secrets I wanted to keep a secret forever if possible. At the same time, I was losing the joy of his salvation. I was sick.  I had to humble myself, realized that I needed God’s help. I prayed and prayed and made every effort to run away from my addictions. And to the glory of God almighty, he healed and restored me. And I am happy and confident to tell you that I haven’t returned to my old sins and I will never do in Jesus’ name. He did that for me. He can do the same and more for you.

Don’t give the devil a space in your life. Feast on God’s word daily. As Christians, we are not exempted from trials and tribulations. For some of us, we basically allowed the devil into our lives because we moved away from God, while for some of us, it’s just a temporary test (like that of Job)  and we must continue to trust in God and hold on to his promises, and he will definitely heal you.

If you are not a believer, you must accept Christ as your Lord and Savior and come into God’s family to enjoy all the privileges and the power of  Jehovah Rapha over your life. So accept Christ today. Visit the (INVITATION) page.

 

Thanks so much for reading.

I pray you have been blessed. HAPPY NEW MONTH 😁

Much love and Shalom (peace)

Esther Ademiju