The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed

Psalms 41:3 A reminder that God heals the sick

Photo by Brittany Colette on Unsplash

“The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭41‬:‭3‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Today’s devotional is short; I’ve been battling a cough and congestion, occasional fever, and runny nose for a few days, which has forced me to sleep sitting up. I’m not getting good, restful sleep, which is causing some fatigue. But other than that, things seem to be getting better. I’m a bit concerned that I might nod off during my intercessory prayer today, which I hope the Lord understands!

This is one of the psalms of David, titled “The psalmist in sickness complains of enemies and false friends.” It begins “How blessed is he who considers the helpless; The Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble. The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, And he shall be called blessed upon the earth; And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies.” (Psalms 41:1-2)

David knows the extent of his personal generosity to the poor and helpless, and is pointing out the blessings that God bestows on the righteous man or woman. For David, one of the more significant signs of his righteousness was his generosity to the poor.

It’s apparent that David was quite sick at the time he wrote this; in fact, his enemies were probably hoping that he’d die from whatever disease was laying him low. But David knows with a deep faith that God, seeing him as righteous (thanks to his many contributions to the poor and helpless) will see him through the disease and bring him back to full health.

Under the Old Covenant, God bestowed blessings on those who were obedient to His laws and placed curses on those who were disobedient. David is counting on that agreement with God to heal his body and soul, and is confident of a positive outcome. While we are not bound under the Old Covenant, we can still pray for God’s mercy and healing, knowing that His mercy is infinite.

---

Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Lord, when I am sick in body and in spirit, I pray that Your mercy heals me and restores me to full health so that I may continue to do Your work. Remind me to pray for others who are ill, even those people I may not know very well. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.