Balm in Gilead

Jeremiah 8:21-22 
For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?

There Is a Balm in Gilead WOV 737

Refrain
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.

1    Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my work’s in vain,
      but then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again.  Refrain

2    If you cannot preach like Peter, if you cannot pray like Paul,
      you can tell the love of Jesus and say, “He died for all.”  Refrain

3    Don’t ever be discouraged, for Jesus is your friend;
      and if you lack for knowledge he’ll ne’er refuse to lend.  Refrain

      Text: African American spiritual

      The story in Genesis relates that when Joseph’s brothers beat him up and threw him in a pit, a caravan carrying spices, myrrh and balm, was on its way from Gilead to Egypt.  Gilead was an area just to the east of the Jordan River near Galilee.  When Jeremiah cried out for the healing of his own people, he looked for a balm from Gilead, but there was none to be found.  The sickness that afflicted Israel was one no human cure could resolve.  The people were rebellious, hateful, stubborn and blind to the will of God; just like us.  We still suffer from a “sin-sick” soul…

      Fortunately, this old African American spiritual provides an answer to Jeremiah’s poignant question; is there no balm in Gilead?  Yes, there is a balm for that which ails us, but it is not found in Gilead, rather it is found in the truth that Christ died for our sin; He alone, can, and will, cure our sin-sick souls!

 Prayer:  Dearest Jesus, we cry out to you to ease our illness, to assuage our hurt, to give us a cure for that which seeks to take away our lives.  Come to us, we pray, in our brokenness, that we might know the healing touch of your wounded hands.  Heal us; make us whole!  Amen.