Get Well Part II
Download MP3Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine encouragement. This is Joy in Every Step with your host, beloved preacher, retired teacher, and faithful faithful servant of the Lord, Sarita Bernadette. Each week, Sarita shares heartfelt messages rooted in the Word of God, filled with wisdom, joy, and the gentle reminder that God cares deeply for you. Whether you're walking through the valleys or dancing on the mountaintops, Sarita's voice will guide you back to his promises step by step. So open your heart, settle your spirit, and take the next step in faith with Joy in Every Step.
Sarita Bernadette:Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome back to another episode of Joy in Every Step. I'm glad you're here. Beloved, this first scripture is one I've been hanging on to while working through the previous episode and the one I'm sharing with you today. It's familiar. It's from the seventeenth chapter of the book of Jeremiah.
Sarita Bernadette:This is the prophet crying out to the Lord in the midst of his intense emotional pain. You've heard it before. In verse 14 he said, Oh Lord, if you heal me I will be truly healed. If you save me I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone.
Sarita Bernadette:Again Jeremiah 17 and verse 14. If you do the healing Lord, I'll be well. Remember emotional healing is a part of the promise beloved. Healing is indeed the children's bread. Get well, and get well soon.
Introduction:Three
Sarita Bernadette:John one:two declares, Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health just as it is well with your soul. There's a story in Luke seven that illustrates just how much God cares about our well-being. This is Luke seven verses 11 through 15: Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother's only son and she was a widow, and with her was a large crowd from the town.
Sarita Bernadette:When the Lord saw her, he was moved with compassion for her and said to her, do not cry.' Verse 14: Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stopped. And he said, 'Young man, I say to you, rise.' The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. This miracle takes place right after Jesus heals the centurion servant in Capernaum. That's right above in verses one through 10. Feel free to read that at your leisure.
Sarita Bernadette:It is a wonderful miracle as well. So some Bible translations say this miracle that we're talking about today happened on the day after he had done that miracle. Let's just talk context for a bit, if you will. Nain was a small farming village at Jesus' time nestled up against Mount Moray in the Eastern Jezreel Valley. The town itself was off the beaten path.
Sarita Bernadette:It was about 25 to 30 miles southwest of Capernaum, which would have been a full day's journey in the first century, and the site was about 700 feet above sea level, requiring an uphill climb of over 1,300 feet from the 600 feet below sea level elevation or 600 foot below sea level elevation of Capernaum. In order to walk from there to Nain, it would have taken at least one or two days. All right? One or two days at least. Full day's journey, one to two days.
Sarita Bernadette:So Jesus traveled uphill, possibly all night, to intercept this funeral procession the day after, some translations say, he had healed the centurion's servant. It was indeed tragic in that this woman is already a widow, and now she's lost her only son. In ancient times, a woman was dependent on a husband to provide for her, and in the event that the husband died, that duty fell to the eldest son. In this case, we read that the widow had only one son, and therefore she's now left alone, possibly even destitute. Her pain came not only from losing a son but also from looking ahead at what her life might look like without financial support.
Sarita Bernadette:In the ancient biblical world, a woman whose husband had died was was believed to be vulnerable, as I said, virtually helpless, and there was possible even social exclusion for this woman. Widows suffered in society in those days. Hence the biblical commands to protect them and care for them. You read that throughout the word. Jesus was aware of all of this.
Sarita Bernadette:He was moved by compassion for this woman's desperate situation. The Message version says, When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. So he raises her only son from the dead in this tiny, off the beaten path town. As the large funeral procession leaves the city, Jesus stops it. He touches the bier, that is the stretcher used to carry the body from the home to the burial site, and he commands that young man to arise, restoring him to life and giving him back to his mother.
Sarita Bernadette:Beloved, God cares for us. He said to the woman, Don't cry. Don't weep. He feels for us. Isaiah 50 three:four declares, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Sarita Bernadette:He will go out of his way to let us know he's right there with us all the time, even in our struggles. Psalm 40 six:one reminds us that he is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. In this passage of scripture, Jesus not only raises a dead son, but he restores this woman's life as well. He's available to restore our lives, beloved. This moment was a sudden change for this woman.
Sarita Bernadette:Suddenly, suddenly, suddenly she had her son back and her life could go on. Paul and Silas found themselves in a jail cell. They prayed. You might be familiar with this story. You know, at midnight, and the word tells us suddenly, suddenly, this is Acts sixteen and twenty six, suddenly there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains were unfastened.
Sarita Bernadette:God can and will change things for us in an instant. Our mental health, our emotional health is no exception. There's hope, beloved. There's hope. All it takes is a touch from the master.
Sarita Bernadette:Jesus reached out and touched the stretcher of this woman's son and told him to rise, get up. His touch heals. I'm a witness. His touch healed that family's whole outlook. The widow's hope and joy were restored when Jesus gave her son back to her.
Sarita Bernadette:He will give us hope, joy, and a renewed life if we believe. Beloved, let's take a look at Psalm 13. David, David, David is writing here and he says, How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
Sarita Bernadette:How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Verse three: Consider and answer me, O Lord my God. Give light to my eyes or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, 'I have prevailed.' My foes will rejoice because I am shaken, but I trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Sarita Bernadette:In this psalm, we see David lamenting about his emotional health. Some have said he was outright depressed. It takes us on a journey from his deep despair to self assured faith. In the first couple of verses, David cries out in absolute distress. He asks the Lord, How long?
Sarita Bernadette:How long? How long? How long? Four times he asked the question. We've heard the question before from other people throughout the Bible, How long, Lord?
Sarita Bernadette:Sometimes believers struggle with God's timing. That's a fact. We want God to fix the situation and we want him to intervene and fix it quickly. When we feel a delay, we cry out. So David takes his raw emotions to God.
Sarita Bernadette:He bears his soul. At this moment, David is not feeling the Lord's presence. He is struggling with some deep seated grief and sorrow. He's agonizing over what he perceives as the Lord's abandonment of him and the victory of his enemies. Sound familiar?
Sarita Bernadette:We've all been through something similar, I'm sure, and that's okay. We talked about the word lament in a previous episode. It's that audible expression of grief, right? David is here verbalizing his sorrow to the Lord, and he does it honestly and passionately. Then David appeals to the Lord for deliverance.
Sarita Bernadette:He asks the Lord to hear him and to answer him. He says, Light up my eyes. Enlighten me, God. Help me to see things the way you see them. Beloved, that part right there, what if we remembered to always ask the Lord to help us see things the way he sees them?
Sarita Bernadette:He sees us living healthy and victorious lives. Lord, help us see things from your perspective. The Apostle Paul knew the importance of having our eyes enlightened by the Lord. This is what he prayed for Christians, That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe according to the working of his great power. That's Ephesians one verses 17 through 19.
Sarita Bernadette:Enlighten our eyes and give us the hope you've called us to, Lord. Your spiritual riches are glorious, and your power for us who believe is immeasurable. The last couple of verses of Psalm 13 describe the change that takes place in David's heart. David's depression turns to confidence and trust in God. He shifts from focusing on his own issues, his own problems, his own situation, his own set of circumstances, to trusting in God's character.
Sarita Bernadette:He knows God is merciful and loving. He says God's love is steadfast, steadfast, resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. My Lord, resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. Even though he finds himself in a low place emotionally, he declares that his heart will rejoice any way. He takes charge of his feelings instead of allowing his feelings to take charge of him.
Sarita Bernadette:He says he's going to sing based on God's track record. He knew God had been good to him. This is quite a moment, quite the revelation. David's eyes are opened, and he sees the goodness of God. Oh, that our eyes would be opened, beloved, and we would see the goodness of God.
Sarita Bernadette:We would be willing to sing his praises based on his track record and his character rather than our situations and circumstances. My Lord. In just these six verses we see David transition from feeling abandoned by God and overwhelmed by his enemies to rejoicing. He's rejoicing in the knowledge that God is in covenant with him and God doesn't break his covenants. He understands that God loves him unconditionally.
Sarita Bernadette:I believe that David in that moment understood that he was indeed a man after God's own heart. This Psalm serves as a reminder for us, beloved. When feeling emotionally overwhelmed, we can cry out to the Lord. We can pursue healing by being honest in prayer. We can tell the Lord exactly how we're feeling, whether it's depression, whether it's anxiety, whether it's fear.
Sarita Bernadette:We can lament about how difficult the situation might be. We can lament about those seemingly unanswered prayers. He hears us, beloved. He's ever present help. He'll help us get well.
Sarita Bernadette:Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health just as it is well with your soul. You've been listening to Joy in Every Step. I'm Sarita Bernadette and I'm grateful you chose to spend some time here with me. Feel free to share this episode with someone you know would appreciate it. You can find Joy in Every Step wherever you listen to your podcasts and give us a follow there.
Sarita Bernadette:Do check out the website at joyineverystep.org. See you next time.
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