Jeremiah asked this famous rhetorical question “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?” (Jer. 8:22.)
The dire conditions of the people that caused them to need balm was given in the verse previous. “For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.” Jeremiah was dismayed, and maybe even disgusted, that the condition of the people have gotten so bad.
There is an old song that starts out by stating “there’s something wrong with the world today”, and how true that is, is there no balm in Gilead? (Gilead means hill of testimony or mound of witness, and a balm of course is an aromatic, medicinal substance derived from plants.) Is there no healing for the wounded souls?
We gladly believe that the answer to that question is a wholehearted yes, there is indeed a balm, a healing in witnessing, and witnessing that Jesus is alive.
This is what Gilead Rising is all about; witness rising from lives which are sanctified, set apart for the Lord, and from this commitment to intimacy rising a witness of worship from which flows healing for the wounded soul; all with the solemn goal of reconciling man with God.
We believe that reconciliation with God can be compared to building bridges. A good bridge builder has a strong foundation on his own side and then builds a strong foundation on the other side.
We use our musical talents submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit to layer in the materials with which this bridge is built: for the presence of God to move and for the spirit of man to be uplifted.
This then brings healing and love that only Christ can bring to those who are lost and hurting. It allows all of us to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8) and the anointing will break every yoke of bondage, and His presence shall serve as a witness for them to know that Jesus is alive, to reconcile with God.