Yeah, you read that right. I had leprosy.
In Luke 17, Jesus met 10 lepers on the way to Jerusalem. They called to Him from afar to have mercy on them. He told them to show themselves to the priests. In verse 10, it says they were healed on the way to the priests. Did you catch that? They were cleansed ON THE WAY to the priests. Not before, but WHILE they were walking in faith, they experienced what they were hoping for.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
I also had leprosy. My leprosy was unforgiveness and roots of judgment. I went through a spiritual exercise called “Soul Care” last weekend. I was asked to find a time in my life that I felt God and I were intimately connected, like 5 bars on a cell phone signal. It was a completely safe place where I could talk about anything the Holy Spirit brought up. As this exercise progressed, God took me to a time in my life that I felt the judgments started – judgments put on me by others that I eventually adopted as my own.
As I realized the roots of judgments and unforgiveness, the Spirit was leading me to take steps of forgiveness toward people in my life that have placed judgments on me. He was also leading me to ask forgiveness for the ways I have judged others and held them to standards they could never attain.
As I sat, realizing my desperate need to forgive and let go of these burdens, I became afraid. Jesus met me in that fear.
Me: “I’m afraid that if you take this away, there’ll be nothing left. I’ve held on to so much that if I let you take it, I’ll be empty.”
Jesus: “But if you let me take it, there will be so much more. I can give you something better.”
So, I let Him take it. I committed to forgiveness and turned away from judgment. It felt like a HUGE piece of Velcro being pulled off my back.
In Luke 17, when he realized that he was healed, one leper turned around to praise Jesus for this healing. He no longer had leprosy.
Leprosy not only disfigures body parts, it eats away at nerve endings, causing sufferers to be unaware of injury. This disease was devastating in so many ways. And just like a leper, I had no idea how much injury I had suffered by my unforgiveness. I held bitterness, resentment, and feelings of unworthiness/inadequacy because of these judgments. My unforgiveness impacted not just those direct relationships, but leaked in all of the other ones I’m blessed with.
But Jesus did not just heal me…
In Luke 17:19 (KJV), Jesus tells the newly-healed leper that his faith has made him WHOLE. It literally says “WHOLE” in the Scripture. I believe Jesus restored and made new all of the nerve endings and body parts that were disfigured. And I fully believe that my faith, in Jesus’ name, made me healed AND whole.
There is healing in Jesus’ name. There’s wholeness too. It’s not a secret or something you have to strive for. It’s all in Jesus’ name.
Will you accept that healing and wholeness for your life? If you let Jesus take it, He will give you so much more. He’ll give you something even better.
