LUKE 5:12-13 – While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
THEME OF THE DAY. THE WILLING HEART OF GOD. Perhaps the greatest area of attack the devil goes after in the life of God’s children is against the love of the Lord for us. Nothing hinders a Christian more in living a joyful walk with the Lord than to be under a dark cloud of doubt of His love. When we begin to question the Lord’s willingness to answer prayer, help us in time of need, and provide for us in trying times, we just took the first step toward spiritual misery and spiritual defeat. And the devil knows a doubting Christian will be a fearful Christian, an ineffective Christian, a discouraged Christian, and a Christian painting a poor image of the Lord Jesus before a watching world.
So, how does the devil attack the Christian in this area? It is illustrated in today’s scripture. We encounter a man full of leprosy. Humanly speaking, his disease is incurable. There is no help for him in and of himself or others. He is hopeless, helpless, and desperate. His physical leprosy is a great illustration of us in our “spiritual leprosy” – the disease of sin. Having this disease, we are hopeless, helpless, and desperate. Back to the leper . . .
Finding no hope or help from man, the leper sees Jesus and inwardly, a ray of hope is birthed. Immediately, he displays an attitude of reverence and worship – And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face. From worship to pleading, the leper, now on his knees, stares into the face of Jesus and cries, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” Notice what the diseased man doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, “Lord, if you are able, you can make me clean.” This humble and helpless leper never questions the Lord’s power to heal him. He is struggling with the Lord’s willingness to heal him Now don’t be too hard on him. Are there not trying times in our lives when we seek the Lord for help, and a whisper comes, “He won’t answer your prayers. Look at you. Look at your life. Look at your inconsistencies in your profession of faith. Look at your sinning, failings, and neglect of the Lord. He won’t hear you. In fact, do you really think He cares for you?” This is the work of the devil. These are the painful whispers of the evil one. He is too smart to tempt us to question God’s power. No, he wants us to question God’s love or His willingness to be our help in time of need.
As the leper reveals the warfare within our hearts of doubt, he also illustrates the way to victory over them. He does two things. First, he is brutally honest before Jesus. He confesses this inward battle of unbelief. He holds nothing back before the Lord. If we are going to overcome fears, doubts, and unbelief, victory begins with transparency and being real with the Lord. Take everything, especially our struggles to Him. He welcomes such open and desperate people.
The next thing the leper does is abandon himself to Jesus – “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” He displays confidence in God’s power, and as a result, he casts himself upon the Lord to do with him as He sees fit. This is always the safe place to go; the feet of Jesus and give every care, every fear, every doubt, and every struggle to Him without holding back. And remember, the leper didn’t know if Jesus would heal him or not, but he wasn’t going anywhere. It was Jesus or nothing. The same is for us every day of our lives; Jesus or nothing. May God help us to learn the lessons from the leper and trust not only God’s power toward us, but His loving willingness toward us as well.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me for the times I doubt Your love by listening to the lies of the devil.”
QUOTE: “God’s willingness to be our God, our Father, our Savior, and our Friend is woven throughout the Bible.”