Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

I rarely get sick. There are times when I can feel something try to come on me, but at those times, I stand on the promise of what Jesus did for us in Matthew 8:17 “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself (Jesus) took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”

A couple of years ago, I was attacked with a cold multiple times—truly an anomaly for me since I have seldom had a cold in the last 25 years. They were a major inconvenience to my busy life and of course, they made me feel lousy. When you are coming out of something like that and you’re at that in-between stage of the sickness—where it is ending and where you start to feel good again, life begins to pour back into you. It’s at that stage you can see just how demonic sickness and disease are. And it is just that—demonic! By that I mean that it’s part of Satan’s work in the earth.

Jesus often cast out demons and diseases at the same time. We see this in Matthew 8:16 (NLT) “That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick.”  Satan often worked to possess people; when he couldn’t, he’d try to hurt or take their lives through sickness and disease. As Jesus said in John 10:10 (NKJV) “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

When we’ve been attacked with sickness or disease, Satan’s goal is to create weakness—to weaken our state of mind and body with the overall attempt of trying to steal our life. We all know not every sickness and disease ends up in death, but they all do create a weakened state of mind and body. That’s how I felt at the peak of those colds. It’s in those times, especially when you are hurting, that Satan facilitates doubts and questions as a secondary attack. You’ve all heard the thoughts in your head. “Why is this happening to me?” “Aren’t I living righteously enough for God because if I was, this wouldn’t have happened.” Or, “Remember what you did to so and so? God is punishing you with sickness. It’s payback because God is mad at you.” Or, “If God loves you so much why aren’t you getting healed like the people in the Bible?” “God doesn’t heal today so why do you believe that mumbo jumbo? If you believe in healing you’re crazy.”

If you’ve ever heard thoughts like that, you are in good company, including Jesus. When Jesus went to fast in the desert for forty days, (Luke chapter 4) He was in a weakened state. It was precisely at that time, that Satan came to Him and said, “If you are the son of God, command this stone to be bread.” Satan was actually tempting Jesus to question whether he was the Son of God. Doesn’t that seem ridiculous? But, that is what he does to you and me in our weakened state. He says, “God doesn’t care about you.” “Why would God do anything for you? Look at all the times you are disobedient to Him.” “How can you even call yourself a Christian and pretend as though God loves you.” “You a child of God? – Ha!”

In Matthew 8:17, it says, “Himself (Jesus) took our infirmities….” The Greek word for infirmities means weak, feeble, or frail from sickness or disease. The promise of God’s Word is that Jesus took our weakness—those times in life when the devil attacks us and tries to discourage us. He took them so we don’t have to put up with the lies of Satan. Hebrews 13:5-6 (RSV) says, “…I will never fail you nor forsake you.”  Hence we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?”  What we should be saying in that weakened state is precisely that. “The Lord is my helper so I will not fear what man (or devil) shall do unto me! He never leaves or forsakes me! No Satan, I come boldly to the throne of our gracious God to receive His mercy, and I will find grace to help me now – in Jesus’ name! (Hebrews 4:16)

Satan does not want us to have that perspective. Consequently, he attacks our lives to weaken our minds, emotions, and physical being, and undermine our faith.

In Matthew 8:17, Jesus declares that as He is healing people, He is fulfilling what Isaiah foretold the Messiah to come would one day do, by saying, “He (Jesus) bare our sicknesses.” He went to the cross, not just to take the punishment that we deserved for our sins and not just to forgive us of our sins, but to TAKE our infirmities and our sicknesses upon His body that Satan would attack us with throughout life. 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He (Jesus) personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds, you are healed.”  If you saw the movie, The Passion of the Christ, then you saw the whippings and stripes left on Jesus’ body that He took for you and me. He paid a high price for us to be healed. “…by whose stripes you were healed.”

When you are in a weakened state because of sicknesses, it can be hard to be in remembrance of this truth. In those times, pray, grab your Bible, and read these truths yourself. Begin to meditate on and thank the Lord for what He did for you. He did what He did knowing we would come to times of weakness from being attacked. He took that too! “He took our infirmities—our weaknesses.” Jesus took our weaknesses and the temptation to believe less when we are hurting. Jesus is our Healer today! He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith! Glory to His Name!

Matthew 4:24 (NLT) “News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon-possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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