Day 3: I Am willing
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him (Luke 5:12-13).
Heavenly Father, we lift up to You David's psalm of praise, Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name (Psalm 63:3 - NKJV).
You hear with compassion the groans of creation as it labors under the weight of sin (Romans 8:22), and You look with mercy at the toll on humanity. In the activities and interactions of our Lord Jesus—Emmanuel—God with us, we see Your concern— certainly for our souls—and also for our bodies, minds, and spirits.
The gospel writer Matthew tells us, [Jesus] drove out… spirits with a word and healed all the sick. Matthew further explains, This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Matthew 8: 16-17; Isaiah 53:4).
Matthew shows us this particular man, coming to Jesus, covered with leprosy—recognizing God's power, and his own desperate need of cleansing. In a posture of great humility he begs for deliverance from his debilitation.
Lord, we too, know of Your power and Your grace. We know that even now, the Lord Jesus is our mediator at the right hand of the Father (1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 2:33), and that He is our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). Through Him, we are invited into the grace and mercy of God: Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
Yet, how often we do not take You at Your word! How often we do not apprehend the power, the greatness, the majesty, the influence, the authority, and the standing of Your beloved Son through whom we have access... to the Father (Ephesians 2:18)! How often we do not grasp the magnitude of the sacrifice that opened up this new and living way (Hebrews 10:20)!
Merciful God, we too, have great need of Your cleansing, healing, powerful touch on our lives. You see all that "covers" us—the oozing, the wounds, scars, the disfigurements, the impurities, the injuries—in body, soul, mind and spirit.
You tell us to come boldly—with confidence—to Your throne of grace. But we so often come hesitantly, tentatively, doubtingly—with our little faith and our "if-You-are-willing" uncertainties. Still, You receive us, and You remind us, Do you not know? Have You not heard? (Isaiah 40:28). And because You are a good God—a God of compassion and many kindnesses (Isaiah 63:7). You draw us into Your kindness, and You tell us, "I am willing."
We fall on our face before You today, Lord, acknowledging Your power and Your authority over our life, and our health, our strength and our ability. Thank You for Your cleansing power that speaks definitively into our lives, "Be clean!"
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