Author: Jack Flacco

You will hear, “Be afraid, for the end is near. We will suffer and no one will be there to rescue us.” Do not believe it, for if there were no God the evil one would destroy the very elect; but we have salvation through Jesus. He is our shield. He is our strength.

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”

(Luke 12:4-5)

Illness may threaten us and cast doubt on our lives. Our hope, though, is in Jesus. He will provide us the encouragement to look toward a future filled with joy and happiness. If we believe He is the Son of God, we will live and will not fear of what will happen to us.

All joy is in God the Father and Christ the Son. Floodwaters may surround us, winds may toss us to and fro, but the love of our Lord and Savior will remain firm. He will never surrender us to evil. He will always protect us in the face of adversity.

Disease, be gone, for our Lord is greater. Illness, turn away, for our God is stronger. No power on earth can overcome us. No evil in this world can overtake us. We are Christ’s. We are His.

Brothers and sisters, do not fear.

Christ Jesus has risen. The Spirit has fallen onto God’s people. We are God’s people, and we have life through the Spirit. Rivers of living water flow through us as the Holy Spirit lives in us, giving us hope in the resurrection.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'”

(John 4:13-14)

The good news of the gospel is that we have salvation through Christ’s sacrifice. His life made atonement for our sins. We no longer live with a penalty over our heads for the sins we have committed, for God has poured into us His Spirit, and we are now free.

God lives in us through the Holy Spirit, guiding us throughout our walk with Christ. He provides us the courage to give when we do not have, to bless when we are not well, and to show love toward those who hate us. As His Spirit flows through us, we are His.

How wonderful God is to have given His Helper to us, the Holy Spirit, as a way to change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. How great is our God to have sacrificed His life so that we might live. How generous is He to have poured into us water that wells up to eternal life.

There is no darkness in you, O Lord. There is no fear. For you uphold the righteous; you give honor to the humble and you love those who seek your ways. How blessed is the one who looks to you for guidance and strength.

“O LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.”

(Isaiah 25:1)

Lord God, you give me rest. Whatever ails me, you comfort me. Whatever threatens me, you protect me. You are my shield. You are my sail. I do not worry when you are by my side. I do not fear. You are a fortress to my life and a bulwark to my heart. There is no one like you, O God.

I rejoice knowing Jesus gave His life for me. He suffered in my stead. He bore my sins and died for me on a cross meant for me. He is my savior, my king and I will always remember what He did for me. I can never forget how He loved me.

You give me peace in a time of turmoil. You provide me strength in a moment of weakness. You are kind, you are gentle and you are loving toward me.

O LORD, you are my God.

Living through these difficult days, we have assurance of one thing: we have salvation through Christ. For as disease might threaten us and calamity might surround us, God will hold true to His promise that all those who believe Jesus is the Christ will be saved.

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”

(2 Timothy 2:8-10)

God so loved us while we were yet sinners that He surrendered eternity to live among us and die among us for our stead. Even more so, for as all who are in Adam shall die, so all who are in Christ shall live, since He died on our cross and through no other shall we live.

Knowing Jesus gave Himself for us, we are now to rejoice, to give thanks and to praise God for His gracious gift. For He has blessed us with hope, joy and peace, redeeming us to Him, through Christ, which no one can set aside.

Our hope is in God’s grace, and through God’s grace, Christ is our salvation.

Amen.

God will not allow us to perish in vain. His purpose is to sustain us through trial, weariness and disease. He will bless those who look after the poor, take care of the weak and protect the faint of heart. He will restore us from calamity.

“Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
those who plunder you shall be plundered,
and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
For I will restore health to you,
and your wounds I will heal,
declares the LORD,
because they have called you an outcast:
‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!'”

(Jeremiah 30:16-17)

Through the death of His Son, the risen Christ Jesus, God saved us. We no longer are prisoners to sin, but free to live a life filled with joy, brimful and running over. God will deliver us from illness. His promises are sure, firm and right. He will not abandon us.

There will be times we may feel alone, cut off and forgotten. Be not anxious, for our God, our Great God will prevail. When the darkest night sets, that is when the stream of light will appear to provide us with the hope for which we so long.

Give God praise. Bless Him in all things. He will surely deliver us from evil. He will look after us in our time of need. No disease is too great for Him to conquer. Set out to worship Him, for the Lord will restore us.

All glory belongs to God for He is good. No disease shall overcome us; no pestilence shall overtake us, for the Lord is our shield and our strength. He will protect us in all things. Let us take refuge in Him.

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

(Deuteronomy 4:29)

Let us raise our hands to God and rejoice. He saves us from the perils of this world. He gives us comfort and hope in our hour of need. He pours His love into our hearts and shelters us from harm. His mercy never fails. He guards our way every moment, every day.

Pray and give thanks to the Lord our God, for He provides for our every need. He will not allow us to go hungry. He will restore us in all things. His power is stronger than the most fearsome hurricane. His kindness is as infinite as the deepest ocean. And His love is wider than the great expanse of the universe.

Bless the Lord in our time of trial. Bless His holy name. Give Him praise for all His works. He will not abandon us. He will not forsake us. He will continually strengthen us when we are weak. He will deliver us from evil. Seek after God.

There is no illness so powerful that the Lord cannot heal. He commands the heavens, He rules the earth; nothing can surpass His willingness to bring healing to the one who surrenders the heart to Him.

“One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.”

(John 5:5-9)

God is faithful in all things. His mercy falls on all who believe. He will not ask us to bear suffering beyond our means. He will not allow misery to fill our hearts. His grace through the shed blood of Christ will save us.

We are His church, and we are those who know joy, for the knowledge of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins fills our hearts with joy. How wonderful God is to have saved us and heal us of our infirmities.

The Lord is our healer.