"The Root of Jesse"
"Jehovah-rapha" The Lord Your Healer
The flight of an eagle can be wondrous to behold. Watching it soar above the heights of the tallest mountain peaks can become quite breathtaking. The majesty and power of it's wings as it circles ever watching for it's prey. It never seems to grow weary or tired and only swoops down when something catches the attention of it's eyes.
Oh, to soar like an eagle. To feel the wind beneath our wings. To have the sense of freedom that it brings. Free from the world below. Free from the nest. Free from the cleft in the rocks. With the earth beneath us and the sky above us. Just the wind to carry us to new discoveries and places unknown.
The eagle's ability to soar comes from the air currents and updrafts that catch beneath it's wings. Carrying it higher and farther with less effort because of the size of it's wing span and the grouping of it's feathers. Maneuvering it's body in graceful swoops and circles gives it the ability to cover a great deal of territory without much effort.
Catching just a glimpse of this magnificent bird of prey is awe inspiring. Forming visions of what can be accomplished by a leap of faith. The eagle is guided by instinct from birth. That first push out of the nest by it's mother is a long drop from a very high precipice. Often the mother eagle will catch it's young on her wings, carry it, and then drop it until it's wings spread wide to catch the wind's power. Once that power is realized, every instinct born into that eaglet is stirred. A sense of freedom and a release from all that binds it to it's lofty abode.
Freedom can be just as difficult a task in life. It is a leap of faith on our part. A belief that once we set our course and begin to take the first strides we will soar just like the eagle with the wind beneath our wings. It is the beginning of a new life; the freedom to stretch our wings and fly on our own.
For far too many, that leap of faith is a belief that they are leaving behind all the grief, heartache, pain, shame, and disappointment. It is a sense of finally having power over their own lives and being free from all that held them captive. However, it can be difficult to soar like an eagle when you have a wounded wing or your leg is entangled in a snare.
For nearly twenty years David ran from Saul and his army. Yet David's freedom did not come from the places where he concealed himself. It did not come from the king of Moab or Achish the king of Gath. Nor did it come from the death of Saul. David had been given the promise of the kingdom. Samuel had anointed him and the Spirit of the Lord had come upon him from that day forward.
*Psalms 103:1-22 "Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul."
U
The crowd was merciless. "Crucify him, crucify him, give us Barabbas," they cried. At the sixth hour the man they had called Jesus, king of Jews hanged, dying upon the cross. Nailed, suspended on a tree between heaven and earth. Yet still they mocked Him. "Come down from there if you are the Son of God." "You saved others, save Yourself." They taunted and jeered, spit, and threw stones for three hours without ceasing. His body wretched with pain as He struggled against the anguish of the weight pulling, forcing His body downward. His bones moved out of joint and His inward organs were burning like hot wax. His tongue cleaved to His jaw and all His strength had vanquished.
Finally He cried, "Eloi, Eloi, Why have You forsaken Me." Some, believing He was calling for Elijah said, "Let us see if Elijah will come." But no one came to His rescue. No band of angels, no troop of heavenly warriors, and no Elijah. The heavens above Him had grown dark as night. There was a great quaking in the earth as the Son of Man bowed His head and died.
For three days His followers hid themselves in fear of what might follow. After His death they had regrouped trying to understand what had happened. Surely they weren't that beguiled by this man. Surely what He said would come to pass. Surely He had spoken the truth. Surely their trust and their faith was not in vain. Did He not say, "The truth would make you free," and, "Who the Son of Man has set free is free indeed." He said to stay in Jerusalem until He came to them, but what did He mean by that? And now these men who were traveling to Emmaus said they have seen Him and broke bread with Him.
And as they spoke, Jesus stood in the middle of them, and said, "Peace be unto you." But they were terrified and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I. Touch me and see; because a spirit does not have flesh and bones."
Forty days later they stood and watched as a cloud took Him into heaven. He had instructed them to stay in Jerusalem until the promise of the Father would come. Once the promise came they would receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon them. Fifty days after His resurrection, on the Day of Pentecost, there were 120 in the upper room in Jerusalem when a mighty rushing wind blew and tongues of fire sat upon each one of them.
By believing in Jesus, through His death we have crucified our "old life." By His resurrection we are raised again in "new life." Through His sufferings we receive healing for our body, soul, and mind, because by His stripes we are healed. Because He ascended into heaven the Father has sent us another comforter, the Holy Spirit, that we might have power over sin. Power to be obedient to His word. Power to walk by faith and not by sight. Power to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
During his lifetime David wrote over one-hundred psalms. Not all these psalms were written while he was king, nor while he sat in the moonlight keeping watch over his father's sheep; but they were written while he was hiding. Cowering in fear of his life. Seeking solace, not in the caves that concealed him, but in the One Who stood beside him and guarded every step that he took. Because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him.
Put your trust in the One Who is able to keep you from falling and make you stand in His presence blameless and with great joy. Enter His covenant of promise and you will soar like the eagle with the Holy Spirit upon you, within you, and by your side through the only God our Savior and Jesus Christ our Lord.
There is freedom in the Spirit of Christ. Freedom from every bruise. Freedom from every fear. Freedom from every pain you cannot escape from, both physical and mental. Freedom to rise above shame, fear, and every doubt you may have. Freedom through Jesus Christ our Lord, the Root and offspring of Jesse, through Whom comes life and life more abundantly.
P It is said in life, "all good things come to those who wait," which may or may not occur. But one thing we can be sure of is the fact that death is inevitable. An untimely death can be most disastrous and devastating. Something that is beyond description in what takes place within our emotions, our heart, and our mind.
*March 4, 2006