Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.
Hebrews 12:11-13 (emphasis added)

The debate always rages: is the healing for believers in the bible physical or spiritual? Is the physical healing we see in the Book of Acts something that was for the establishment of the church or perhaps only for the Jewish nation to show them the reality of Messiah having come (something the Gentiles would not need pointed out)? Was it no longer needed once the bible was sealed? Or was it only a starting point to shed light on the SPIRITUAL healing we all need and long for? Personally, I think it is both. It is a sign for spiritual needs. It is a physical reality as well because healing is our RIGHT – we’re free from the curse in EVERY way (Galatians 3:13).

Today’s verse combines the two ideas. You can read EITHER interpretation into it. The writer of Hebrews could be talking about spiritual healing OR physical healing – especially since so much of our physical health is tied to our spiritual health (3 John 1:2). The audience of the book were Messianic Jews, hence the title. These were people who were Jews, well-versed in the Old Covenant who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. They were living and walking out the plan of salvation: first the Jew, then the Gentile, all of us brothers and sisters in Messiah Jesus. They understood physical healing and they understood spiritual healing. They could be taught something that applied to both.

The verse hinges on two things. The second is that we need to make sure we are not being a stumbling block for others (Romans 14:13). Lame people cannot go all the same places as an able-legged person. They have limitations. Yes, those limitations can often be overcome, but they will be prone to stumbling and/or falling. It is important that we pay attention to where we are walking (physically and spiritually) so that those who are following us do not stumble. We conduct our lives so that those who are weak can follow our example. This is what being a LIGHT is about.

“You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). We are VISIBLE. We might not WANT to be, but we ARE. Sometimes we are noticed simply because we are different. We don’t get angry. We don’t lash out. We help. We’re polite. We bless those around us. We’re helpful. We LOVE, in other words. We can also be visible because we share the Good News that sin isn’t an issue anymore. That Yahweh isn’t mad at us. The thing (sin) keeping us apart from Him is done away with in Messiah Jesus. That Jesus didn’t come to condemn ANYONE (John 3:17), but to give us a way to get close to Yahweh again. To get where we can once again commune (Ephesians 2:18). We are meant to be visible. To be people who are noticed. To be people who can SHOW what abundant life really is – spirit, soul, AND body.

That’s the focus of the first part of the verse. Correction. “Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). “And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment—concerning sin because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; and concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been condemned” (John 16:8-11). The Holy Spirit is the instrument the Father uses to correct us. We are called to TRUST Jesus. When we don’t, we get corrected. The only thing a believer is convicted about by Holy Spirit is us not trusting Jesus. Trust is the underpinning of the Kingdom. The air that we breathe. Do we trust Jesus enough to listen? Do we love Him enough to obey? Whenever we DON’T trust, we WILL be corrected. We are called to a righteous life. Trusting Adonai is counted as righteousness (Genesis 15:6; James 2:23). In Messiah Jesus is the only way for us to BE righteous. It is not OUR works, but HIS that atone, cleanse, and keep us in the right place before the Father. “Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory” (Romans 5:1-2).

When we accept the correction, when we choose to be humble and yield to it, we will receive the benefit from it (Isaiah 35:3-4). The correction is NOT automatic. This isn’t being picked up by the scruff of the neck and dragged behind the woodpile. This is a correction that we have to submit to. We can rebel. We can run away. We can say no, I’m sticking to MY way. But if we do that, we will NOT get the benefit of the correction. Correction from Adonai is not arbitrary. It isn’t on a whim. It is there ANY time that we get out from the righteous path that we are supposed to be on. We stay on the path ONLY but humbly submitting to Adonai’s point of view. “Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6).

If we are not listening to Holy Spirit ALL of the time, we are not going to be paying attention to His corrections. If we won’t hear the corrections, we can’t submit to them. If we don’t submit to them, we won’t get the benefit. If we aren’t getting the benefit of course correction, we are going to be a weak light instead of a strong light. Weak lights help people stumble. Strong lights help people follow confidently. If they are following confidently, they too will be able to avail themselves of the Blessing that comes from being humbly submitted to Yahweh. Part of that Blessing is being healed. Spirit, soul, AND body.

If we want to be a witness that will help people to acceptance of their healing, we need to be walking corrected steps. No one ENJOYS being corrected, but this isn’t about FEELINGS. This is about Adonai’s point of view and our acknowledgement that it is the RIGHT point of view on EVERY issue EVERY time. Period. Don’t be a stumbling block. Be a light. A strong light to the righteous path we find IN Jesus.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Psalm 38:20

“They repay me evil for the good I have done; though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me.” Messiah – as a representative of the Most High – would be GOOD. Goodness would be a part of His nature and doing good a natural expression of who He is. “with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil because God was with him” (Acts 10:38). Jesus was GOOD. He did GOOD. He was KNOWN for doing good wherever He went. It was part of who Jesus was and it remains part of who Jesus IS. Jesus IS the Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b