Good morning…
I woke with one word on my mind. Balm. I can’t even remember the last time I used “balm” in a sentence. When have you thought “balm” recently?
When a weird word wakes me, I love treasure-hunting for the gift God may want to give. Here is what I found.
- A balm is a soothing substance with a consistency somewhere between solid and liquid, a fragrant ointment used to heal.
- A remedy for soothing an irritation, a comfort in trying times.
- When we refer to something as balm, we mean that it makes us feel better. “This place is balm to my soul,” one might say.
- Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally, mentioned in the Bible, named for the region of Gilead where it was produced. The expression “Balm of Gilead” has come to signify a universal cure.
- In 1779, John Newton’s song sung: “There is balm in Gilead, to make the wounded whole. There’s power enough in heaven, to cure a sin-sick soul.”
Soothing. Fragrant. Comfort in trying times. A balm makes us feel better. A universal cure. Wounds are made whole. Power from heaven cures our soul. God’s healing balm is needed now, as we sit in the experience of Jeremiah 8:20-22 (NLT): “The harvest is finished, and the summer is gone,” the people cry, “yet we are not saved!” I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief. Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?
Then the Spirit took me one giant step further, leading me to this moving YouTube video, which offers us the tangible experience of balm. When one person becomes balm to a person in need, God’s expansive balm is given voice.
Please, open the eyes of our heart, LORD.
…Sue…
P.S. Through this inviting image of Corinne Adams our hearts are melted by the expansive power of God.
