El Shaddai – the Powerful strong one or the God who suffices. When God says something it’s as good as done.
Yhwh Yirah – The LORD who will provide. The God who calls you to walk in holiness will provide what you need so you are able to walk in holiness. The God who calls you to not give in to temptation will always provide a way out of every temptation. The God who calls you to forgive will provide what you need so you are able to forgive.
Yet, you may say, “but you don’t understand I’ve been hurt too badly I just can’t forgive that person” or “the wounds I have go too deep, God can’t expect those things from me. I am a wounded and broken person. You have no clue how deeply I have suffered.” And that may be true. But let me introduce you to the LORD who heals – in the Hebrew Yhwh Rapha. This name is found in Ex 15.
Yes, I do believe in physical healing. I believe that we serve the same God who healed miraculously throughout the pages of Scripture. However, I don’t believe God always has to heal physically nor do I believe God always chooses to heal physically. Praise God when He does say yes and praise God when He says “not right now.”
But to be honest, it seems like the deeper more painful wounds aren’t the physical ones anyway. Any ER doc worth their salt can set a broken bone ( 🙂 ) but only God can set a broken heart. How many of us are walking around with wounds people can’t see in places so deep we’re not even sure we know how deep it really goes? How many of us can’t see farther than our own failures, fears, and hurts? How many of us have been on all the meds, seen all the doctors, talked to every counselor there is, tried every trick in the book and still feel just as frustrated, anxious, confused and afraid as ever? Let me ask you – have you really met the LORD who heals you?
Yes, healing can take time and yes, God works in His own time schedule not ours. But you may still be asking – how can I be sure, how can I know He can or will heal me? That He’s able to heal my wounds? Remember who God is? The powerful strong one who guarantees His word, and He’s the LORD who will provide what you need when you need it. If He is those two things then when He calls Himself “The LORD who heals you” there are no other possibilities then He is the God who heals.