Twenty-five years ago, I was a teacher in an adult Sunday school class. The name given to the class was the Hebrew word Rapha, which means “to slacken, abate, cease, consume, fail, be faint, be feeble, idle, be weak.” But then the definition continues. . .”to mend by stitching; to cure, cause to heal, physician, repair thoroughly, make whole.” The people who attended didn’t feel like they fit in anywhere else. Lost sheep looking for the Shepherd. Failures needing Hope. The weak looking for strength. Sinners searching for acceptance and Love. The restless, needing peace.
“They that perceive themselves as whole need not a Physician, but they that are sick.”
They that are sick. Morally bad. Diseased. Miserable. Depressed. Sore in heart. Depraved. Feeling worthless. Wicked. The blind and the lame. The deaf and dumb. The lepers and the paralytics. The lost and undone. The poor and needy. Sinners. People looking to The Great Physician, most often as a last resort. Sheep dangling by a thread, dying with an open wound and needing the Surgeon to stitch them up and hold their head in His arms and feed them the only Medicine that can heal their broken hearts. . .and make them whole. The Father’s Prescription to heal them. . . His Son Jesus.
“I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the Name of the Lord, Jesus . . .and they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” Zephaniah 3:12-13
Afflicted. In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, it means: “depressed in mind or circumstances; looked down on; laboring mentally and emotionally; and as a result of being afflicted. . .humble, lowly, meek, gentle, saintly.”
Poor. It means: dangling (like an arm or leg that is almost severed; or holding on to life by a thread and being blown to and fro by the winds of trouble); helpless, weak, thin, lean, needy, feeble, oppressed; be emptied, be impoverished; and as a result of being poor. . .Rich in Faith, Hope and Love.”
“Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead in spirit are raised up. . .and the poor and afflicted are made whole.” Matthew 11:5
Poor and afflicted, Lord are Thine; among the great, unfit to shine. But though the world may think it strange, they would not with the world exchange.
Poor and afflicted, yet they trust in God the Gracious, Wise and Just; for them he deigns this lot to choose, nor would they dare His will refuse.
Poor and afflicted, often they are sorely oppressed with want and care; yet He who saves them by His blood, makes every sorrow yield them good.
Poor and afflicted. . .yet they sing for Christ their glorious, conquering King; through sufferings perfect, reigns on High and does every need supply.
Poor and afflicted. . .yer ere long, they’ll join the bright celestial throng; and all their sufferings then shall close and Heaven afford them sweet repose.
A Good Moment 