“…thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.” -Psalm 23:5b
About ten years ago, the doctors found a strange spot on my mom’s lung. Never a smoker, this cancerous looking spot was very out of place and unwelcome. The doctors were puzzled, but after a host of tests, their best guess was that she had lung cancer.
Mom has always been the heartbeat of our lives, so this news sent us spiraling. As she faced her pending surgery to remove a portion of her lung, she was surrounded with prayers and love from our church family like never before. Oh, the blessing of having a family of faith!
The days ahead held uncertainty, and some of the nights were very dark. But my mom said often that she saw God more clearly on those dark nights than any other time in her life. God met her in the darkness like a soothing balm to her soul.
With surgery just a few days away, Phil approached my mom with small bottles of anointing oil that he brought home from the Holy Lands 8 years prior. He offered these to my father, a minister, to have him anoint my mom and to pray for healing.
The next day, the four of us, along with a few other faithful members of our church, stood together in a small chapel and watched as my mom was anointed with oil. We prayed for healing and wholeness, and gave God thanks for life.
The news from the doctors following the surgery was music to our ears! The spots found were not cancerous and were easily removed.
God’s healing comes in many forms, sometimes physical and sometimes not. But His healing power is alive and at work, even when we don’t fully understand it. Anointing oil is a healing balm to the skin, just as God is a healing balm to our entire being. As our Shepherd, God takes care of our wounds and binds them up to heal us and make us whole.
Are you in need of some kind of healing today? If you are in a dark place, ask God to meet you there. He is not afraid of the dark and He carries His anointing oil with Him wherever He goes.
Stephanie Greenwald, Director of Worship
