Day #87 - Superior Presence

The Presence - A Devotional for Living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” ‭Matthew‬ ‭8‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

Have you heard the term “fight fire with fire?”

To fight fire with fire means to use the same means your opponent is using to defeat them. Sometimes the best tactic to gain the upper hand is to overwhelm your adversary. Maybe its not always using the same means as your opponent but at least showing up with a superior power to gain victory.

In the Old Testament, God tells his people in the law not to go near someone with leprosy or they would be ceremonially unclean. This instruction also would help prevent the spread of leprosy, this skin disease, which was a life altering disease without a cure in the time of the Bible. Lepers had to stay away from the rest of civilization and could only live in leper colonies with other lepers.

A man with leprosy took a very bold risk in Matthew 8 and approached Jesus by kneeling before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make clean.” Well, Jesus reaches out his hand and touches the leper as he replied, “I am willing. Be clean!” He commands healing and immediately the man was healed.

I’ve heard Bill Johnson’s comments on this passage. He said, “Under the law, if you touch a leper you become unclean. But in the New Covenant when you touch a leper, the leper becomes clean.” This is what Jesus demonstrated, a superior presence.

How often do we live like we have to get right before we come to God? How often are we unwilling to come to him for healing or some type of need that we are ashamed of in our life? People even say once they deal with their problems, then they will measure up to come before God. This is not true. It is not the presence of our needs and our problems that hold us back, it’s the lack of the presence of Jesus that is our problem.

I want to live like this leper, where I would run so boldly to be near Jesus with no matter what my situation is. To be near Jesus is to be near the source to heal you and make you clean. Don’t let things hold you back from the presence of Jesus. So you have some sickness, sin or trauma in your life? You need to get in a superior presence, the presence of Jesus. You need to fight the fire of your pain with the superior fire of the presence of Christ.

Jesus, open my eyes to see you like you truly are. I run to you in my uncleanness, in my sin and in my pain. You are the healer and cleanser of my life. I will not be impressed with the things that are against me, I marvel at the superior power of your presence. One touch from you can change anything. I know you are willing to make me whole. In your powerful name, amen!