Balm in Gilead

Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? (Old Testament Jeremiah 8:22)

Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured. (Old Testament Jeremiah 46:11)

The last few days have been an interesting blend of pain, struggles, fun, excitement and spiritual connection.

Sometimes, the chaos of my life drives me to my knees in ways that are hard to recover from without a healing balm that comes from God. Reading my scriptures and hearing the beautiful and saving words found in the hymns goes a long way in restoring the peace that is stripped away by the subtle dealings of the Devil in my life, mind and spirit.

I have been counseled many times to reach for the scriptures and my music to help heal the troubled waters in my life.

During our choir journey this fall, we are learning a beautiful and sacred hymn for Stake Conference. "Balm in Gilead" was a Negro spiritual that has been given a different setting by composer/arranger Benjamin Harlan. The words to the hymn are a message of the struggle that we each face in our own personal and unique ways.

The arrangement of the versing for men's and women's voicings is so very tender that it heals with a feather-light touch.

When I looked up the scriptures that attended this song, something else happened. I began to see that what people were searching for in the days of the prophet Jeremiah were no different than the thing they search for now - peace. Peace of heart, peace of soul and peace of conscience.

We all want to be accepted and acceptable. Even in the wildest rebellion of my life, I secretly wanted to be enfolded by the Good Shepherd and loved for who I was, not just for who I could become.

John Gottman, a noted family therapist, once said, "One of the great paradoxes in therapy is that people don't change unless they feel accepted as they are."

The same can be said for our relationship to the sacred.

I WANT to have the supernal peace and understanding that comes to the sheep of the fold, but that ever present struggle to know how to obey the shepherd and still be counted as a distinct member of the flock is a hard fought struggle. It brings anguish of soul to know that sometimes I have fled from the very protection I seek.

In Webster's Dictionary, the word balm is defined as being an agency that soothes, relieves, or heals.

In Jeremiah's day, the question was the same as the one we as in ours. Is there a balm in Gilead, or anywhere else, that can soothe, relieve and heal?

The answer is a definative yes!

Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that healing balm is made available to all through the price of His blood.

Boyd K. Packer once said, "There is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the Atonement of Christ."

We are not perfect beings. We are striving to LEARN how to become perfected in and through Jesus Christ. To know that His sacred Atonement provides for those times when we are troubled by life and can be healed through the Holy Spirit is a balm indeed.

Then there are the times when we may be simply weighed down by the very act of just surviving mortality for one more day.

The healing and comforting balm is there even on those times, at the very moment when we need it the most.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (New Testament Matthew 11:28 - 30)

Nowhere in there does Christ tell the sheep to forget their individuality. He simply invites us to come and learn of Him and find rest to our souls.

The Psalmist wrote, "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." (Old Testament Psalms 55:22)

Because of the understanding I have, however simplistic it is to the mind of another, I believe there IS a balm in Gilead, a refuge and a haven to be found in the Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no other source to which we can reliably turn to receive the comfort for our pains that can be found in the loving arms of our Savior.

While the trials and torments of life come to us all, the healing balm of the Son of God is always available to us to lift and bless us in times of our greatest need.

There IS a balm in Gilead and His name is Jesus Christ.