There is a Balm

"And their father Israel said unto them, if it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds."  Genesis 43:11

Ten years ago last week, I spent the better part of the week in North Conway, NH, for the annual spring Atlantic Union Conference Office of Education Administrators' Council. It was a productive time; it also was a restful time. Each spring, one the six conferences in the Atlantic Union take turns hosting these meetings and the conference educational personnel go out of their way to make them worth the trip and the time. The spring of 2010, Northern New England Conference hosted and we met at a hotel nestled in the shadow of the Presidential mountain range of the White Mountains. The views from the conference room where we met, while foggy and rainy, and even snowy, were still breath-taking.

One of the traditions of these spring meetings is that the host conference provides each team member with a gift bag full of items representative of the host conference and, more specifically, state. That year's bag was full of comfort items—including kettle corn, maple taffy, and a tin of soothing balm for either sleep, muscle soreness, or healing. In addition, the superintendent of education and her secretary made beautiful welcome cards with a lovely fringed gentian along with the above text (Genesis 43:11) on the cover and the wonderful negro spiritual "There is a Balm in Gilead" on the inside.  Trudy (the superintendent) read the lyrics out loud to us as part of her welcome, expressing her hope that our time together would be a balm in the midst of our Gileads.

As I listened to the words of that hymn, I felt overwhelmed with the power and comfort of its message:

There is a balm in Gilead

To make the wounded whole.

There is a balm in Gilead

To heal the sin-sick soul.

Sometimes I feel discouraged

And I feel my work's in vain.

But then the Holy Spirit

Revives my soul again.

There is a balm in Gilead...

My friends attending and facilitating the week’s meetings little realized how much I needed that reminder, and I didn’t enlighten them at the time.  It was enough that something (a few things, actually) broke the tension that had been threatening to break me if I didn’t catch my breath somehow.  The kind words, the thoughtful, soothing gifts, and the healing words of an old hymn sufficed.

Sometimes that’s all it takes to bring healing to a hurting heart.  Sometimes we don’t even need all that.  Maybe it just takes a note, a text letting someone know we are thinking of them, that we are there for them if they need us.  At the end of each of my online classes, I always tell the students to reach out to me if they need anything.  “I’m here all day long,” I tell them. I’ve been on the receiving end of a few notes thanking me for that, commenting that even if they don’t need help with school, it helps knowing someone is there, ready to sooth and comfort if needed. 

There is another in our lives who is a balm in the Gilead of our trials and tribulations.  That other, Jesus Christ, is always there for us, and not just in the daylight hours.  There are no limits to His time or His presence.  Isaiah 43:2-3 New Century Version describes it this way:

² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
    When you cross rivers, you will not drown.
When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,
    nor will the flames hurt you.
³ This is because I, the Lord, am your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

We are all in need of the soothing balm that can only come through a relationship with Jesus. May I recommend Him to you?  He will revive your soul today.