“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 30:17 ESV

A few years ago, there was an outbreak of a virus called Chikungunya that affected many people in the area where we lived. It caused severe joint pain, and as the name of the virus suggests, many people’s posture was affected—they appeared bent over. There was no immediate cure. We had to wait for time to bring healing, to restore health, and to help us stand upright again.

In the same way, the people of God were once spiritually and emotionally bent low. Because of their unfaithfulness, they were taken into exile and treated as outcasts. They were humiliated and looked down upon. They were wounded in their hearts. They were “bowed down,” not just in body, but in spirit.

Yet our God disciplines His people as a father disciplines his children, and at the same time, He is deeply compassionate. He does not delight in seeing His children wounded and humiliated. He corrects, but He also restores.

In Jeremiah 30:17, when God says He will “restore” health, the Hebrew phrase ’a‘ăleh ’ăruḵāh literally means, “I will cause healing to arise upon you.” This is not a temporary relief. It is healing that grows, healing that ascends, healing that completely covers. It is the closing of the gap between God and His people.

This is a great encouragement for anyone who has been called an outcast or treated as if no one cares. Even the healthiest person outwardly can be emotionally drained and brought low by the words and actions of others. Words can wound. Rejection can bend the soul.

When there is a physical wound, we can place a bandage over it until it heals. But there is no human bandage for the wounds of the heart. There is no medicine invented to instantly remove emotional pain.

But thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood reaches where no bandage can reach. His sacrifice heals the wounds of the soul and restores our inner health. He lifts us from despair and causes us to stand upright again.

God is fully aware of what has been spoken about you—the way you were treated, misjudged, misunderstood, misinterpreted, betrayed, or bullied. He sees it all. Do not allow the enemy to use hurt like a virus to stoop you down. Instead, believe in the work of the Holy Spirit, who restores what was lost and strengthens what was broken.

He restores. He heals. He raises you up.

Prayer:

Father, thank You that You are the God who restores and heals. Heal every wound in my heart and lift me from every place of humiliation and despair. Do not let hurt bow me down, but let Your Spirit raise me up and make me whole again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.