Jeremiah 17:14 — Heal Me or Hold Me

Heal Me or Hold Me

"Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise."
— Jeremiah 17:14 (NIV)

Reflection

Illness exposes what comfort hides. You learn how fragile strength can be and how quickly the body betrays you. Jeremiah's cry is honest: Heal me, Lord. Yet he follows it with surrender: You are the one I praise. He asks, but he does not command. He trusts God to decide the form that healing will take.

Some people find that this verse gives them courage to keep praying for a cure. Others find it frees them to stop demanding one. Both responses can be faithful, because both rest on who God is, not on the outcome. You can ask for healing without treating a cure as the measure of God's care. You can still praise Him if the illness remains.

It may help to separate two truths. The first: God can heal. The second: God may not. He sometimes chooses to glorify Himself through endurance rather than recovery. That choice is His right, not your rejection. Faith means staying close even when He seems silent, believing that His will is better than your plan, even when the cost is high.

When you reach the point where you can pray, “Heal me or hold me—whichever serves your purpose," peace begins to take root. That peace does not come from denial. It comes from trust that your life has not slipped out of God's hands. He holds you when medicine fails, when strength fails, and when hope flickers low. Healing may come in this life or the next, but either way, you will be whole in Him.

Biblical Insight

Jeremiah prayed these words while surrounded by rebellion, corruption, and threat. His nation was sick in spirit, yet his personal plea rises from within that national decay. The Hebrew verb for "heal" covers both physical and spiritual restoration. Jeremiah's confidence lay not in recovery but in the character of God. The prophet knew that salvation and healing are acts of the same mercy—God setting right what sin and decay have broken.

In Application

• Ask boldly for healing, but hold the answer with open hands.
• Measure God's faithfulness by His presence, not your prognosis.
• Let praise replace fear when you cannot change your condition.
• Pray: “Lord, whether You heal me or not, I will thank You."

Practical Journaling

• What fears surface when you imagine not recovering?
• What would it mean for you to praise God even if the illness remains?
• Which aspects of God's character comfort you most when healing delays?
• How can you show gratitude today, regardless of your condition?

Take as much time as you need with this exercise, and if writing feels too difficult today, simply holding these questions in prayer is enough.

The Faith Recovery Journal explores this topic further in Week 2 of Month 3.