Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
MARK 1:41
The Lord can make you clean from your seemingly incurable illness and desease if He so will it. He can wash away your stains and heal your wounds and pains. By His grace and mercy, He can forgive your faults and renew your heart and thoughts. If you confess and repent, He can restore your joy and give you peace and hope.
Offer for your cleansing what is prescribed according to your means and ability. Do not withhold from the Lord, what is His due. Bring it to the priest, who will make atonement for your sin and guilt, and grant you forgiveness. The priest will offer them, as a pleasing aroma
40 A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”42 The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. 43 Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. 44 Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”45 The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:40-45)
The Lord allows defeat for a purpose. It is His way to humble us and show us our need to rely on His grace and not on our own strength or deed. A way to discipline us and correct our ways, to prune us and refine our faith and make us more like Him each day. He allows us to suffer defeat so that He may reveal His power and glory to turn our sorrow into joy and overturn our defeat into victory.
Take courage and be manly. Do not fear or be dismayed for the Lord is with you always and He will guide you and sustain you. The Lord has called you for a purpose, He will equip you and use you. You may think that you have experienced defeat but in reality, it may be a blessing in disguise. At the end of the day and at the end of every road, it is always the victory of the Lord that prevails.
1 The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel. Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel. After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3 When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent men to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God. 5 When the ark of the Lord arrived in the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded. 6 The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked, “What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” On learning that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, 7 the Philistines were frightened. They said, “Gods have come to their camp.” They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with various plagues and with pestilence. 9 Take courage and be manly, Philistines; otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were your slaves. So fight manfully!” 10 The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated; every man fled to his own tent. It was a disastrous defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead. (1 Samuel 4:1-11)
Your loss in the world is your gain in the Lord. He will fill your emptiness with his abundance, turn your mourning into dancing, and give you beauty for ashes. He will lift your burden with His grace, turn your weakness into strength and give you peace for trouble. He will satisfy your hunger with his bread, turn your thirst into joy and will give you life for death.
God will overturn your disgrace into grace. He will wipe away your tears and heal your wounds. He will turn your shame into honor and will give you a crown for your cross. The Lord will restore your brokenness and mend your heart, turning your sorrow into gladness. He will redeem your past and renew your future, turn your darkness into light and give you a hope for your despair.
10 Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace, and you go not forth with our armies. 11 You have let us be driven back by our foes; those who hated us plundered us at will. 14 You made us the reproach of our neighbors, the mockery and the scorn of those around us. 15 You made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. 24 Why do you hide your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression? 25 For our souls are bowed down to the dust, our bodies are pressed to the earth. (Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25)
Lord Jesus, You can make me clean if You so will it. Wash away my stains and heal my wounds and pains. By Your grace and mercy, forgive my faults and renew my heart and thoughts. Thank You so much for always giving me victory over my daily battles and challenges in life. At times, I may think that I have experienced defeat but in reality, it is a blessing in disguise. You allow defeat as a way to humble us and show me my need to rely on Your grace and not on my own strength or deed. Be praised and glorified O Lord for overturning my disgrace into grace. You have redeemed me from my past and renew my future, turning my darkness into light and gave me hope for my despair. Amen.
Pericope:
II: The Mystery of Jesus
THE CLEANSING OF A LEPER
Mark 1:40-45
I: History of the Last Judges, Eli and Samuel
DEFEAT OF THE ISRAELITES / LOSS OF THE ARK
1 Samuel 4:1-3 / 4-11
Second Book : Psalms 42-72
GOD'S PAST FAVOR AND ISRAEL'S PRESENT NEED
Psalm 44:1-27
Reflection Source:
Copilot with Bing Chat
