I wondered as I refreshed my memory on the prophet Jeremiah, why he’d been marked with the identity of the “weeping prophet”.

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

His call was to restore the people he loved to a relationship with God the creator rather than pursuit of other gods and things.

He wasn’t very successful. His success was committed obedience regardless.

Jeremiah asks, “Is there no physician there? Is there no balm in Gilead…why then has the health of my people not been restored?” (Jeremiah 8:18-22)

On Tuesday morning, God woke me with a promise, “there is a balm in Gilead”.

A lingering cough and congestion with no other symptoms caused me to decide I’m getting older and I just don’t bounce back as quickly. Still, it was strange to wake with that very first thought.

Clearly, my heart was in need as well as my body.

Still, strange if it’s difficult to believe what you can’t see…that Jesus lives within us, the Holy Spirit…the comforter.

So, to be told, “Lisa, there is a balm in Gilead.” (just that clearly) was to remind me of the Healer of all my wounds, those already well and those in the process of true wellness.

I had no idea. I understand balm as sort of a salve like Neosporin but no clue about Gilead.

I discovered there’s no verse with this promise, only one that questioned why wasn’t there, why was there no balm?

And old hymn came from this same wondering of someone long ago…

“There Is A Balm In Gilead”

Traditional Spiritual

There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole, there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.
Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my work’s in vain, but then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again.
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole, there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.
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.”

So, I sketched a wounded and contemplative woman in the margin, the words alongside her…There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole.

She’s thoughtful, a wonderer.

That’s a beautiful promise.

Listen

Lord, I was near enough to your heart to hear this the other morning. Draw me nearer, I pray. Help me to be a seeker.

Jeremiah penned the verses adorning well wishing cards at graduation, the ones that proclaim we all have a purpose and I wonder; actually, I believe he questioned his purpose when it didn’t pan out, when it seemed it nor he made a difference in his calling.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There’s not always a straight path, life circumvents what we hoped would be our future or at least would give us hope.

Jeremiah wondered why there was no healing, no physician, no balm in Gilead and centuries later, someone penned the words to a hymn that promised healing, one that said, there wasn’t a balm then; but, then came Jesus.

And Jesus woke with me the words to that very song.

Strange? Not at all.

A wounded seeker He knew was in need.

Continue and believe.

You are so very loved.