restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

A Balm in Gilead

 David Alan Black 

A small boy heard a soloist sing, “There Is a Balm in Gilead.” At dinner he reported to his parents that the soloist had sung about a “bomb” in some place called “Gilead.”

We live in an age of bombs and destruction. And things are getting worse, not better. But there is a balm in Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22). In this world we shall have tribulation, but God can keep us in perfect peace. The key is not to fear those who kill the body but to fear God.

We need to return to the absolute sovereignty of God in our lives. The secret of the early church is simply that it was God-focused and Spirit-filled. Believers had power to do things they would otherwise have been frightened to death even to contemplate. They had courage that was contagious. They lived in utter dependence upon God for their every need. They enjoyed freedom from fear and worry and a host of evils that otherwise would have enslaved them. They could do this because they looked to God for every need of body, soul, and spirit.

We need to be guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. He takes no orders from any man. He is not a flunky of the political top brass. He is our Guide, our Rock, our Comforter.

There is, today, a balm in Gilead.  

Refrain

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin sick soul.

Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.

Refrain

If you can’t preach like Peter,
If you can’t pray like Paul,
Just tell the love of Jesus,
And say He died for all.

Refrain

December 15, 2004

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. He is the author of Why I Stopped Listening to Rush and numerous other books.

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