I've always heard, 'by His stripes, we are healed.
So what's the deal, God?
Here I am ... have You noticed?
I'm grateful for Your gifts
And yet...
Tears streak my face,
Creating a different kind of stripe.
More vision has gone today.
More loss.
Less light.
Closer to the abyss that may or may not be coming.
It's the uncertainty as much as the threat, I think, Lord.
They are like the stripes of barred windows
Holding me in a prison of a future I cannot see or know.
(Do You like that play on words, Lord?
I've gotten good at down-playing, haven't I.)
But I KNOW that by Your stripes I AM healed.
This physical, this flesh, is so limited, anyway,
Even if it were whole and perfect.
It is my spirit that sings to You through silent nights
When my throat constricts with the joy of knowing You.
And that healing will last for eternity.
So, yes, Lord.
By Your stripes, I am healed.
This spiritual healing now and,
who knows ...
Maybe physical healing will come, too.
Your time is not my time.
But Your stripes...
They are mine to cherish.
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Author Notes
OKAY - Before anyone starts feeling sorry for me, know that I never feel like this. Well, hardly ever.
I do have a vision impairment but have so many other gifts from Him that this is a minor inconvenience, not a major sorro9w. And I DO know I'll be healed of this, whether here or in Heaven, makes no difference to me. If God can use this, He will. If not, He'll heal it. It's simple. And, like a child who doesn't always understand why Daddy makes the choices he does, I'll admit my inability to always understand God. (If I could completely understand Him, would He be worthy of my worship I think NOT!)
Oh, also, I do NOT have a cross tattooed on my face. Far too cool for me to do, my friends. :) I was trying to be 'artsy' and am not sure I came even close. MIght have reached 'strange', but no farther. lol
Isaiah 53;4-6 says (King James)
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes, we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
OR (in a newer translation than from the 1500s)...
Yet he himself bore our sicknesses,
and he carried our pains;
but we, in turn, regarded him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on him,
and we are healed by his wounds.
We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished him
for[a] the iniquity of us all.
Since this verse talks about 'iniquity' (sin), I know the first level of healing is spiritual. The physical will come when it comes. :)
Either way, God is good!
Thanks for reading and sticking around for the sermon! lol
Deb
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