Bedridden and flat. The only way to reduce severe pain and eye-popping pressure, as my brain continues to heal. Tears of grief, feeling like I’d been given the game of Life’s “Move back 20 spaces,” missing many special times with people I love. Wondering how I could start over with neurological rehabilitation and PT work, in my newly weakened state. Will I ever get back to normal? Is this my new normal? How can I rally yet again and manage when I’m alone in the house?
My agonized prayers flooded like a storm. Disappointment. Unmet expectation. Shattered dreams.
In acceptance lieth peace. Content to let the world go by. Have thine own way, Lord. The rare jewel of Christian contentment. Choosing contentment?
I struggled with what to “do.” What are the words, Lord? Release? Surrender? Submit? Trust?
“What is Your Word to me in the midst?”
Jehovah Râphâh, our Great Physician
Peace still had not fully come into my grief…until early Sunday morning. A sweet sister sent me her friend’s declaration that I am healed. I know she and her friend were thinking about physical healing, for so many were joining me in asking God for my brain’s healing. I also knew that only God knows the timing, extent, and method of His healing work.
Our Jehovah Râphâh.
Thanking God for our little phones and my ability to read a bit again, I flipped open a Bible study app as I sought His healing shalom peace, searching the meaning of that word: healing.
My Great Physician heals the sick! He knew exactly what I needed.
His answer came in the word study.
The word “râphâh?” It’s the same word in Psalm 46! What is healing? It’s far greater than physical healing!
Jehovah Râphâh, the Lord of Armies… is with us
Be still. Let down. Rest. Relax. Let alone. Weaken. Do nothing. Be quiet. Refrain. Heal.
Looking up all the verses that use this word, He instantly calmed and quieted me, with His gentle reminder that He is with me and in me, through His Spirit, as one who is in Christ.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress (Ps. 46:11 ESV).
Being still, in His refuge, His fortress, His continual presence, His strength, His constant help in trouble…
it was His actual healing! I was healed because I am spiritually healed…in Christ!
Healing in His protective stillness, asking for His help to rest, be still, know
![God is our refuge and strength,
a very present[b] help in trouble (etc.) (Ps. 46:1-2 ESV).](https://i0.wp.com/laurihogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Ps.-46-1-2.png?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1)
In the midst of the storm, I am healed. Though storms may rage so permanently that the landscape has literally shifted, I am healed.
Rest in the Lord, O weary, heavy laden,
Look unto Him, your ever present guide;
Rest in the Lord, whose Word is truth eternal;
Leave all to Him, whatever may betide.
(“Rest in the Lord,” Crosby, F., p.d.)
Healing in Jehovah Râphâh’s making me glad in the midst, as I tell Him all my sorrow
Rest in the Lord, and tell Him all your sorrow;
Trust in His love, so boundless, full and free…
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns (Ps. 46:4-5 ESV).
He will not leave, nor will He e’er forsake you;
Rest in the Lord, and sweet your rest shall be.
Healing with hope, knowing His complete power and plan to accomplish all His glorious will
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire (Ps. 46:8-9 ESV).
Rest in the Lord, and when your toil is over,
When every storm and danger you have passed,
Lo! He has said, whose Word abideth ever,
You shall receive His “Welcome home” at last.
Healing in knowing that “bedridden” is His protective gift of rest
Years ago, His precious direction had been His protecting gift. It has resurfaced into a new layer of living with no other existing treatment for my incurable condition. While I pray for physical healing, my confident expectation, hope against hope, is that our Great Physician has His perfect prescription for each of us!
It is nothing we need to “do” except ask our Lord for help as we refuge in who He is. It is His work to bring rest, quietness, trust, contentment to our souls. Peace in His protective care, all His grace, His gift to us as His beloved in Christ.
A playlist to still our souls, in His healing rest
I made a playlist that morning. As part of Jehovah Râphâh’s healing work, He knows I must fill my thoughts with songs that echo His Word, His healing answers to my desperate prayers as I suffer.
This week’s playlist gift is one of His quieting rest, helping us to trust Him, in sung prayer. If it would bless you too in your own need for healing, sign up here, and it will come to your email, with love from this sister in Christ who understands.
To read more of Lauri’s writing, you can use her devotional Bible study lament prayer journals: Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering, or Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character as We Suffer, or Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering. In the Valleys of God’s Love is written for children aged 3-8, a perfect read for grandparents, parents, and children to share together, preparing them for suffering to come.
For Scripture devotionals, calming hymns, and encouragement from Lauri, click here for YouTube podcast
For those with chronic illness and pain, a music therapy-inspired podcast of Scriptures and hymns to help ease symptoms
