There Is Power in Praise

10/02/24 – 10/19/24

Jehovah-Rapha

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  10/15/24

Are you hurting today? Maybe you are struggling with physical pain, such as a headache, an illness, or a disease. Or maybe you are experiencing the emotional pain of disappointment, depression, or hurt feelings. Or perhaps you are hurting spiritually from bitterness, unconfessed sin, or a broken spirit. If you are hurting today, then seek the help of Jehovah-Rapha, the Great Physician.

In Exodus 15:26, God introduces His name as Jehovah-Rapha, “who heals you.” The word rapha means “to heal, to cure, to restore.” God does not promise to heal us only in an isolated instance of illness or need. Rather, God says He is healing. By calling Himself Jehovah-Rapha, He is saying, “Healing is what I am.”

Jehovah-Rapha is our wholeness. We see this Truth echoed in the New Testament every time Jesus says to a person, “Be made whole.” Wholeness is God’s desire for us. No disease—nothing that causes us pain or suffering—can withstand the healing touch of Jesus. As Christians, we experience wholeness even in death as we spend eternity with Him.

Jehovah-Rapha is our restorer. He is our healer not only of physical illness but also of the hurts in our hearts and souls. When we are emotionally overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, grieving, or distressed, God is there for us. Only God can repair a broken heart. Only God can purify an unclean soul. Only God can set us free from addiction. Only God can heal us of sin. The Scriptures tell us, “‘[Jesus] himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed'” (1 Peter 2:24).

Prayer: Father, thank You for being Jehovah-Rapha. You are the God who heals me. I thank You for Your healing power in my life now and for eternity. May no area of my life be kept from Your healing touch. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, . . . 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” (Isaiah 53:4-5).