| Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash
Luke 5: 12-13; “In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. Be healed.” And instantly, leprosy disappeared.”
What a wonderful Jesus! Who is filled with compassion for all people, no matter where we have come from, what we have done, and how many times we failed the Lord?
Jesus travels to a village, and we see a man that has battled with leprosy for many years. We read that it has now advanced, and he has no options but Jesus. This man was a leper, unclean, and not to be around anyone, but Jesus was coming, and this was his only option.
We see that he approaches Jesus with faith and confidence! This sick man says, “Lord if you are willing, you CAN HEAL me and MAKE ME CLEAN.” We must come to the Lord with faith and confidence if we need a spiritual, physical, and emotional miracle.” We read in the book of Hebrews: “Without faith, it is impossible to please God, anyone that comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” If you are on the journey of needing something for Jesus, then you need to come with faith and confidence!
We see that he approaches Jesus with humility! He says, “If YOU ARE WILLING, you can heal me and make me clean.” He came and bowed down and humbled himself before Jesus. Today, we need to realize that humility is a sign of surrender. “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Today, we need to come to Jesus with an attitude of humility!
How did Jesus respond? Jesus reached out and touched him. Jesus touched a leper! Think about that for a moment, no one was even to be close to a leper, and Jesus touches a leper!
When we come to Jesus, Jesus reaches out to touch us. If I approach Jesus, Jesus will reach out and touch me today! No matter how sinful, messed up, addicted, or sick.
Jesus responds, saying, I am willing, and He heals the leper and cleans Him! Jesus is the only one that can heal, restore, save, rescue, and change us on the inside!
What a wonderful Jesus that He is still willing to touch us and save us today! But I must make the journey to approach Him! Jesus is waiting. Are you willing to take the journey to Him?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the Lead Senior Pastor of the International Christian Church (ICC) at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is getting rave reviews. His devotional appears daily in this publication.
