He Gave His Best

I had a fitful rest last night as I kept waking up with a strong cough.  I guess the last of this cold bug that I have been fighting off was trying to rear its ugly head!  After another coughing spell at around 5:30, I laid back down in bed and just sat there for a moment so I could calm down enough to go back to sleep. Within a few moments the words from John 3:16 combined with those from Romans 10:13 began to roll over and over again in my mind. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (KJV)

As that combined statement of faith revolved through my thoughts like an endless loop, two points emerged.  The first being that God gave His best and secondly that whoever calls on the name of His best, (JESUS!) shall be saved!  I also quickly discerned that God was talking in particular here about my health and not the salvation of my soul.  He reminded me that the word translated “saved” comes from the Greek work “sozo” which not only covers the healing of our spirit, but also includes the physical wholeness of our entire being.  Strong’s states that the word means “to heal, preserve, save, to do well, and to make whole.”  Thayer gets a little more specific and defines its meaning as “to save a suffering one (from perishing), ie; one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, (and) restore to health.”

Within a few moments I noticed that a restful peace had come over me.  My body was totally relaxed, the urge to cough had disappeared, the pounding in my head stopped and I slowly slipped off into a deep sleep.  When I awoke for the day a few hours later, that scripture combination was still in the forefront of my thoughts.  As I swung my legs out of bed I realized that God had given me His best just when I needed it the most!

God loves you and me so much that He gave the best that He had.  He gave us His only begotten Son, so that we could call on His name (the name that is above any other name – See Philippians 2:9-10) in order to overcome any obstacle that the enemy of our souls may place in our way.  Our Heavenly Father is just as concerned about our physical well being on this earth as He is with our spiritual well being in eternity.  Just as He cared enough to stop that antagonizing cough this morning, as I called upon the name of Jesus, He will do the same for you, in any situation, as you call upon THE name of the Lord.

Have a restful Martin Luther King Day today.  Keep your attention on THE ONE that gave him the strength to do what he did in the face of overwhelming persecution, and stay tuned and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”