When God Humbles Us

I thank you that you humble and help me. Psalm 118:21, (free translation from the German).

God cannot help anybody unless he first humbles him. Therefore David says, “I thank you that you humble and help me.” How can we expect any help from God, any special attention, any kind of healing, if our hearts are proud, if we have not allowed him to take us under his wings as poor sinners – knowing ourselves to be insignificant and needy?

Be Cleansed, Be Healed

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan.

What Truly Counts

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

We should rejoice whenever someone gets well, especially after we have prayed for him. But our joy should not be because the person got well. There are many who must suffer sickness until the end of their lives, so why not this one? Rather, we should rejoice because we see that the Savior has done something for a particular person, that this person’s heart has changed and is awakened with new longing.

Our Deepest Need

Later Jesus found [the man he had healed] at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” John 5:14

Every person who suffers longs to be helped, but how many of us long for a new life? Our human needs must not blind us to the Savior; they must not rob us of seeing the great, new reality that God gives in Christ.