“When Jesus heard it, He said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance’” (Mark 2:17).
OUR MOST SERIOUS AILMENTS ARE NOT PHYSICAL, BUT SPIRITUAL. We are hurt far more by the malignancies in our character than by the illnesses in our body. And it is the removal of these sins in the heart that God is concerned with. The Great Physician desires to restore our spiritual health and wholeness.
If we want to improve, we must be honest and open to the truth about our character right now. Not even the Great Physician can help us if we’re not willing to be examined. Trying to hide our symptoms and pretending that nothing very serious is wrong will only result in our getting worse. An accurate diagnosis will be humbling, to be sure, but we should still want to know the whole truth. David’s prayer is that of an honest man: “Search me, O God, and know my heart . . . see if there is any wicked way in me” (Psalm 139:23,24). We must desire to see ourselves as God sees us.
But more than that, we must cultivate confidence that God knows what He’s doing. Whether we understand the wisdom of His plan or not, we must trust both the accuracy of His diagnosis and the effectiveness of His treatment. We must also have the courage to submit to the healing process that He prescribes. The cancer cannot be cut away from our character without radical surgery. Because sin is so entangled in our thinking, the purging operation is always painful and often lengthy. But as with physical disease, if we’re not willing to endure momentary pain in order to become healthy later on, our only option is to get sicker and sicker. We can stay in our sickly “comfort” zone or we can move toward greater health, but not both at the same time. “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
How much commitment do we have to the truth about ourselves? For all our talk about loving the truth, do we really desire to see all that God sees when He examines our hearts? There will be no redemption for those unwilling to face reality.
“When we go to our meeting with God, we should go like a patient to his doctor, first to be thoroughly examined and afterwards to be treated for our ailment. Then something will happen when you pray” (O. Hallesby).
Gary Henry – Diligently Seeking God – January 27
Wise words, like always. Today I was struck by your comparing approaching God to ask for help and going to a doctor to find a remedy for your physical or mental weaknesses. Those two things really have a lot in common. Among other things: people will only turn to God or to a doctor when they are aware of certain spiritual or physical or mental problems that they cannot tackle without the help of an expert in this field. This requires a certain degree of insight into one’s weaknesses and a certain degree of awareness of the need to seek for help.
Personally I find it easier to approach God than to go to a doctor. Especially when I have to consult my doctor with problems that are very human but that belong to the category of weaknesses that people do not talk about easily, I tend to enter the doctor’s office with feelings of hesitation and embarrassment. Then there are occasions when people who think they must see a doctor may be afraid the doctor will cause them pain in his attempts to cure them. Not to mention the fear that the doctor may have to tell you bad news: he may have to tell you that you suffer from the kind of disease that all people are afraid of.
The good thing about approaching God and asking him for help in overcoming certain weaknesses or sins is that you never have to feel any embarrassment: God has already witnessed your weaknesses and your sins so many millions of times that he considers them completely human, completely normal AND ALWAYS CURABLE. And when you turn to God for help and for a remedy for your ailments, you do not have to be afraid of any form of bad news. God’s reaction to any form of a sinner’s confession is always positive: if you sincerely regret your sins and are determined not to commit them any more, you will be forgiven (healed) right away and you may feel absolutely sure that with the help of God you will one day be admitted into His Kingdom where you and everybody who is there will enjoy perfect health (spiritually, physically, mentally) for ever and ever.