When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
Matthew 8:1-3
I lead a song this past weekend at church called “Refiner”. It’s on the Maverick City Music album, Volume 2. It’s incredibly convicting.
Here is a snippet of the chorus:
“I wanna be tried by fire, purified
You take whatever You desire,
Lord, here’s my life.”
And here’s a snippet of the bridge:
“Clean my hands, Purify my heart
I wanna burn for you, Only for You”
As I meditated on these words this week, I asked myself: When I ask the Lord to “take whatever You desire”…what does He take?
This week, as I continually prayed this prayer through song, the Lord took my perspective. He took my limited understanding of His grace and power and brought me up to His higher ways. His higher thoughts replaced mine.
I saw my situation in a new way.
Picture this with me for a moment: Imagine you are standing up straight, facing one direction, when someone comes from behind you and puts their hands around your face and neck. They gently swivel your head to the right, so that your head now runs perpendicular to the rest of your body.
What is left to do? Surely, you cannot stay in this contradictory position. In order to move forward, you must align your body with your new perspective.
That’s what God does.
When we answers our prayers for wisdom, He gently turns our heads on a swivel to be able to see our situation the way He sees it. This leaves us with no other choice but to align all other aspects of our life to match His heavenly perspective.
How did my perspective shift this week? Well, let’s look at the scripture mentioned above.
The leper traveled a long and painful road to get to Jesus. Once he arrived, notice what he did not say.
He did not say, “If You are able, You can make me clean.”
He said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
The leper came with full confidence in God’s ability to heal. He just wanted to know if the Lord was willing.
Let’s take it a step further.
Some read this line as, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean,” as if the leper is giving the Lord permission to heal his body and his soul.
I prefer to see this as a declarative statement of sound theology.
“Lord, If You are willing, You can make me clean.” That’s what God can do.
He can make us clean. Period.
And that’s the perspective shift we need. When we come to Jesus in confidence, we must come knowing that He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly all that we can ask, think, or imagine. He sees that faith – and He responds in kind.
Hear the Lord say to you today:
“I am willing – be clean.”