Yes I Want To!

Matt 8: 1-4

“After he came down from teaching on the hillside, massive crowds began following him. Suddenly, a leper walked up to Jesus and threw himself down before him in worship and said, “Lord, you have the power to heal me…if you really want to.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the leper and said, “Of course I want to heal you—be healed!” And instantly, all signs of leprosy disappeared! Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t speak to anyone, but go at once and find a priest and show him what has happened to you. Make sure to take the offering Moses commanded so they can certify your healing.”

I feel like there are some people reading this who have prayed and asked the Lord for help. But you are not sure if he will answer you. You perceive your challenges, or the addiction to porn, or self cutting, or self condemnation, or thoughts of wanting to die, to rebel, to not be a Christian anymore. Even thoughts of wanting to kill someone have been weighing you down. You can’t tell anyone. You feel you can’t even tell God because it is so bad.

Like this leper in Matthew 8, you want to be free from your shame, your trouble, your heartaches, but you don’t know if Jesus would bother to help you. You have been staying away from friends. In days of Jesus, lepers were looked upon as unclean. They have to stay away from others. They were unwanted and unwelcomed. Lepers should stand twelve cubits (about sixteen feet) from any other house and should maintain this distance when speaking to the non leprous. When the leper approached Jesus, he must have been trembling with fear. What if Jesus rejects him or the people stone him?

It takes courage and determination on the part of this leper to go to Jesus. He knew that this was his chance to be healed. He was appealing to the mercy of Jesus. We read that “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the leper and said, “Of course I want to heal you—be healed!””

I can sense the compassion of the Lord. I am almost in tears reading this part of the scripture. Jesus wants to reach out to you, to touch you where you are hurting the most. He understands how you feel and what you are going through. He wants you to know today that “Yes, I want to heal you. I want to set you free. Be healed! Be set free from torment! Trust my love for you. Believe in my commitment to you.”

Jesus has died for our pain, our shame, our sins, our sickness and infirmities so that we can live. He has conquered death, so that we can be free from the effects of its grip on us. Galatians 5:1  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Christ has paid the price for you. You do not need to pay this price of burden and slavery to whatever pain you are going through.

Jesus has forgiven you. You need to forgive yourself, too. Have you been heavy-handed on yourself? Have you been whipping yourself with words for how badly you have been doing or how you could not rise above your challenges? Give them over to Jesus. These pains and burdens are not for you to bear. He has paid your price. A price you can’t pay. Just give them all over to Jesus today.

1 Peter 5:7 TPT. “Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you.”

You are not expected to do another day filled with shame, pain, and worries. You are allowed to pour them out onto Jesus. It is ok to do that. He welcomes you to do that daily.

Another Bible translation uses the word “cast”. The root word for “cast” means to “to throw upon”. Jesus is literally calling you to “throw all your burdens (the stress of your sickness, wounding and the pressures to sin on Him.” He has already taken them on Himself for you. He does not need you to be shy about this.

Isaiah 53 tells us that every stripe of the whipping that was laid on Jesus has been for the sake of our healing. If you are uncertain if Jesus would heal your sickness and pain because you have not accepted him to be your God, I want to assure you that Jesus loves you and has paid the price of pain for you. He wants to heal you. Come to him and ask him to help you.

The voice that is telling you to end your life does not come from you or from God. Jesus will never condemn you. He is the Prince of Peace. The word “peace” in Hebrew is “Shalom”. According to Strong’s Concordance (7965), shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, and the absence of agitation or discord. 

My friends, Jesus is saying, “Yes, I want to heal you. Let his shalom diffuses everything that has been causing a war inside of you. Call on his name today! Let the Prince of Peace walk into you now. Let His favor wrap around you and cover you. You are under His canopy of kindness.

Prayer :

Lord Jesus, our Prince of Peace, come and fill us with Your Shalom. Make us whole again. Heal us, give us the sense of safety, soundness of mind, health, rest and yes, Lord the absence of agitation or discord within us. Oh Lord, how we need you now.  Come Lord Jesus, come and make good what you have already paid on our behalf. 

We bind torment, shame, and sickness. Sins do not have a hold on us because of the blood of Jesus. Today, we receive the power of your blood and we apply its victory over ourselves. Let the power of sins be broken and smashed in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen!