“Invite Christ to drive out the darkness with his glorious light.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – September 19, 2024
Whoever conceals their sins do not prosper, but those who confess and renounce them find mercy. Proverbs 28:13, NIV
For years, I avoided going to the doctor. Though common wisdom would tell me to at least make an annual visit for a check-up, I assumed youth was on my side and felt relatively fine, and thus couldn’t be bothered to take the time to let a doctor see what was really going on inside. However, since having a major health scare last summer, I have had more doctor’s visits than I can count, and will not miss an annual physical for the rest of my life. What I’ve learned in this process is a simple yet profound truth: doctors can make you well, but you have to invite them in if you want to receive healing for your sickness.
This is true for our bodies, and it is even more true for our spiritual health. Jesus Christ offers to each of us complete healing for the sickness of sin that wreaks havoc on every aspect of our lives. It turns us inward, away from others and focused only upon our own distorted passions and desires. It makes us bitter, callous, jealous, and angry. These passions and countless others like them can and should be seen as sicknesses that infect our souls and make us shadows of who we were made to be.
Jesus our Good Physician longs to heal you of this illness, to invite you into his mercy and love. Yet as we learn today from Proverbs 28, it is possible to reject his mercy and cling to our sins in the darkness. We can “conceal our sins,” perhaps out of shame or embarrassment, unwilling to look at the “dragonish” parts of our lives. This is understandable, yet concealed sickness keeps the healing touch of the Lord at arm’s length. Healing comes when we let the light of Christ into our lives, inviting him to drive out the darkness with his glorious light.
We do this, according to the proverb, by “confessing and renouncing” our sins. Confession is when we open the door and acknowledge that we are, in fact, sick. That we need healing and help. Yet renouncing is just as essential. To renounce our sins is to say “I am sick and I no longer want to be sick!” It is a turning away from darkness and intentionally and actively pursuing the light of love, taking the healing medicine that the Lord gives to his beloved children.
Today, do not be ashamed or embarrassed by your need for help or healing. The Lord does not shame you but instead stands at the door with healing in hand, longing to restore you and make you whole. Let us, therefore, be quick to let the light in and receive the healing he offers.
Prayer
Father, may we never convince ourselves that we are beyond the need of healing or your saving touch, but instead, keep us ever open to the mercy and grace that is found in your presence, we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
How has shame or embarrassment kept you from receiving the healing medicine of the Lord?
Related Reading
Psalm 32:5; James 5:16; 1 John 1:9
Worship Resource
Jon Guerra: Let a Little Light In
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