Psalm 103

Do you doubt the title of this blog? It’s straight out of Psalm 103: “Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (vs 2-5)

It’s not hard for us to “buy” all the other benefits God has listed here. We know He forgives our sins. We know He redeems us from the bad place we’ve been plunged into. We know He treats us with love and compassion. We know He satisfies us. But what about healing all our diseases? What about cancer? AIDS? Malaria? COVID-19?!

People die of diseases every day. So how can it be said that God heals every disease?

Well, I think the psalmist is talking about fatal diseases. And of that particular kind of disease, there is only one. That’s right. There is only one fatal disease. And there’s a cure for it.

Before we get to that, let’s examine two other pieces of the puzzle on death:

“After [Jesus] had said this, he went on to tell them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.’ His disciples replied, ‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’” (Jn 11:11-15)

“Jesus said to [Martha], ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (Jn 11:25-26)

Here’s the first thing to realize: Jesus did not treat the death we experience on this planet as fatal. That’s because, from God’s point of view, it’s not fatal. It’s not final. We can be woken up from that “sleep” just as easily as a mother wakes her sleeping child from a nap. But there is a disease that is fatal to God’s children:

“‘Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways,’ declares the Sovereign LORD. ‘Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel?’” (Ez 18:30-31)

Obviously, God was not referring to mortal death on this planet when He implored the Israelites to repent of their sin. He would not be asking them to steer clear of something they had no control over—something that would be impossible for them to avoid! None of us can avoid that death, that “sleep.”

But, because of God’s gracious cure, all of us can avoid the death that is caused by sin. This is the death Jesus demonstrated on the cross. It’s the death that results when a person completely hardens his heart and cuts himself off from his Creator. It’s the death that the wicked will experience, the death that can’t be undone or reversed, the death that God doesn’t want to lose any of His children to.

This is the only fatal disease. But there is a cure for it! God has provided a way for us to see and understand that our problem is not with Him, but with sin. He has forgiven us and wants to heal us, and if we let Him, He will cure our sin problem. If we let Him, He will heal our disease.

There’s a reason why “healing our every disease” is listed in this psalm along with forgiving sins, redeeming our lives, and treating us with love. Those are all part and parcel of the salvation process, the cure.

Yes, there’s only one fatal disease.

And there’s only one cure.