Sometimes we need a heavenly nudge. It may come in many ways, including forced rests.
Before the Israelites were allowed to move on from Marah, the Lord gave them a little talk. Already they seemed to be forgetting the lessons of Egypt, so it was time for a refresher—the first of many. We read: “There He tested them, and said, ‘If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you’” (Ex 15:25-26). Say, that should have caused their hearts to skip a beat! Why should they presume that the plagues that had fallen on Egypt could not also afflict them? But God made with them “a statute and an ordinance” (v 25). If they heeded the Lord in the spiritual realm, they would have health physically. This isn’t just an Old Testament principle. While we should never assume that other’s physical sickness is related to spiritual sickness, both Paul and James tell us that sometimes this is the case. Paul warns, “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor 11:30). And James explains, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up” (Jas 5:14-15). I repeat. It was not the elders who assumed this to be the case. Laying down often makes us look up, and the sick person, convicted of something that needed to be set right, was to ask for help. The oil is not the healing agent; it is a picture of restored fellowship with the Spirit. The prayer of faith links us with the Lord who is the One who raises us up. Remember, He’s still Jehovah-ropheka, “the Lord who heals you.”