Healing by Immersion in God’s Word

I. Humility, God’s Word, and the Jordan River

 

As Naaman took dip one in Jordan’s river,

Humbling himself wholly before Christ,

God’s word began to penetrate his skin cells

And struck him as a bit of good advice.

 

First taste of faith. Step out and take a break now.

Dry off. Relax. Into your chariot climb.

Then see your servants’ arms crossed, feet a-tapping.

They’re right, of course. Let’s try it one more time.

 

Dip two: Submerge the body head to toe, guy.

Come up again with goosebumps. That was wild!

Could be Elisha’s word is truly working.

And yet the change appears to be quite mild.

 

But on the third dip, how the water tried him,

A burning flame to tame his leprous skin!

“Oh, what have I gotten myself into?”

Asked Naaman with his face full of chagrin.

 

II. Let’s God’s Word Go Deep

 

Set aside your own agenda, dear commander, and obey.

Immerse yourself within it. There’s healing in this Word.

It must sink deep within you to remove the icy berg.

 

It is the berg of unbelief. We see it on the surface.

It’s floating on your skin. To shame you is its purpose.

Beneath it lies a mountain that can tumble the Titanic.

Only the Man of perfect faith can tread on that Atlantic.

 

Your berg of doubt would block the faith that God seeks to impart.

You must let Him dissolve the rock of pride that’s in your heart.

One dip is not enough to penetrate such stubborn soil.

You can’t get rid of it with fervent sweat or fearful toil.

 

No river of Damascus can remove your ingrown sin,

But bathing in the flow of God’s good news gives peace within.

Transgression may rise up, but much more does God’s grace abound,

With drastic change that places your feet back on solid ground.

 

You do not need a man to wave his hand over the spot.

Just take the word, believe it, exercise the faith you’ve got

By soaking in the scriptures. Drink His truth in, undiluted,

For which no earthly medicine can well be substituted.

 

Behold the stones that testify to Christ’s amazing power

To make God’s flood of judgment part that you might now cross over,

receiving sweet for bitter, mercy streams to end all strife,

For all who do believe in Him have passed from death to life.

 

 

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A Lump For a Bump: Hezekiah’s Pain

Hezekiah had an oily bump, the kind they call a boil,

But he wouldn’t let the boil throw him in turmoil.

He heard the mean Assyrian king who kept on threatening

To take his people from the land, a woeful song to sing.

 

Sennacherib was the king’s name and he played a cruel game.

He said, “I’ll cart you to my country where the fruit’s the same

As what you eat in your land.” But Judah’s king did not a agree.

He knew that God was greater and refused to bow the knee.

 

The evil message that he heard was obviously a trick,

Though knowing that did not keep Hezekiah from getting sick.

The king, he had a boil you see, and it was quite a bump.

To nuke that horrible mean bump He had to have a lump

 

Of something greater than the poison ringing in his ear,

For the enemy’s toxic words were more than he could stand to hear.

They threw doubt on him. Then Isaiah told him he would die.

The prophet’s ominous prediction caused the king to cry.

 

He didn’t cry for medicine, but God sent it to him.

To get that medicine did not require a holy hymn.

To nuke the bump, he didn’t have to have some special oil,

Nor did he have to sweat like Adam, toiling in the soil.

 

He simply looked to God to meet his need and fry the bump,

After which came the prophetic word, the sign and then the lump

Of figs that came straight from a tree God never had to curse

But which contained a medicine whose power could reverse

 

The bitter sickness that had caused the man such loathsome pain.

Reminds me of the fruit of righteousness, which brings great gain.

Such righteousness is something we do not sweat to obtain,

 

“But freely come and buy! Without money you may eat

From the tree of life that makes the foulest water sweet.

The foulest hurts you’ve suffered it has power to defeat.

 

Scripture references: Isaiah chapters 37, 38, and 55; Exodus 15:23-26; Galatians 3:13