Jeremiah 8
Maybe it’s because, as a musician, I’m so familiar with that great old hymn, There is a Balm in Gilead, but I nearly did a double-take when I read the ending of this chapter: “Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” (vs 21-22)
What do you mean, is there no balm in Gilead? Of course there is! What do you mean, is there no physician there? Of course there is! And not just any physician, either. The Great Physician. Then why is there no healing to be had for the people of Israel?
Photo © Unsplash/Brian Patrick Tagalog
Many years ago, I followed a blog of some friends who were medical missionaries in Chad, Africa. Many of their stories have stayed with me through the years, including this post, discussing the rampant problem of child malnutrition in the country:
Malnutrition. It is everywhere. What obesity is to US children, malnutrition is to Chadian children. It’s just more acutely lethal. It starts at birth. I’m sure you’ve read before on our blogs that it’s the norm for families to give their new baby boy or girl water instead of breast milk or formula. Even if the mom doesn’t want to, she is a nobody. If the mother-in-law says to give it, it’s done. Sealed. The kid doesn’t have a chance to get away from malnutrition from day one… There IS NO FAMINE HERE. But still, we have malnutrition.
At the time, my heart went out to them, and it still goes out to whoever is living and working there today! How frustrating it must be to live in a place where the overwhelming, almost-impossible-to-do-anything-about challenges are compounded by problems that are totally unnecessary and avoidable.
Why should children starve when there is plenty of food?!
Why should God’s people die spiritually when the Great Physician is standing by?!
Photo © Unsplash/Priscilla Du Preez
The sad truth is, God can’t always heal us. He can’t always heal us because He must have our consent in the healing process. Just like those doctors in Africa can’t force mothers to feed their babies properly, God can’t and won’t force us to submit to Him. If we insist on nursing our spiritual sickness, His cure is rendered useless.
The balm in Gilead isn’t a bomb. God doesn’t detonate His healing and force it on people who don’t want it. The Great Physician can cure every ailment—except the one that resides in the patient who won’t yield. In those cases, no wonder He says, “Since my people are crushed, I am crushed!”