he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
Isaiah 43:1 (ESV)
God beholds thee individually, whoever thou art. "He calls thee by thy
name." He sees thee, and understands thee. He knows what is in thee, all
thy own peculiar feelings and thoughts, thy dispositions and likings, thy
strength and thy weakness. He views thee in thy day of rejoicing and thy
day of sorrow. He sympathizes in thy hopes and in thy temptations; He
interests himself in all thy anxieties and thy remembrances, in all the
risings and fallings of thy spirit. He compasses thee round, and bears
thee in His arms; He takes thee up and sets thee down. Thou dost not love
thyself better than He loves thee. Thou canst not shrink from pain more
than He dislikes thy bearing it, and if He puts it on thee, it is as thou
wilt put it on thyself, if thou art wise, for a greater good afterwards.*
J.H. Newman
God is personal. God is the god of individuals. Yes, He created the universe, but He also "knitted me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13 (ESV)
God watches over nations, but He cares for individuals. When Jesus was hanging on the cross after having been mocked, beaten, and had spikes driven through His hand and feet, with the balance of salvation hanging on His shoulders, He saw and reached out for an individual person, his mother. John 19:25-27 (ESV)
Even when pressed in upon by crowds, Jesus' focus was on the individual needs of those surrounding Him. One woman, one need. In Mark 5:25-34, Jesus had been summoned to the home of a local ruler. A great crowd was following Him has He started toward the ruler's house.
One woman with one need fights her way through the crowd. Pushing. Jostling. Hoping. She stretches out her hand, fingers extended.
There, barely. Just enough.
Index finger merely brushing the coarse material of Jesus' cloak. But out of the dozens of people surrounding Him, Jesus senses a need. A longing for healing. A desperate cry for help.
He stops and turns. "Who reached out to me?" Recognizing the individual. Responding to a singular need.
Immediately the woman was healed from her disease. IMMEDIATELY. Right then and there. Jesus' focus was on one person. He had created her. He had "knitted her together in her mother's womb." Now He healed her.
Immediately the woman was healed from her disease. IMMEDIATELY. Right then and there. Jesus' focus was on one person. He had created her. He had "knitted her together in her mother's womb." Now He healed her.
There is a danger in misinterpreting this passage. Not all who come to God for physical healing will walk away with a clean bill of health. Disease, deformity, and death are all a part of this imperfect world. But 100% of all who reach out to Jesus for spiritual salvation and healing will be given that. We only have to believe in Him to become coheirs with Him in heaven.
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