"Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth."---Jeremiah 33:6 (NKJV)
"A lot of people say they want to get out of pain, and I'm sure that's true, but they aren't willing to make healing a high priority. They aren't willing to look inside to see the source of their pain in order to deal with it."--- Lindsay Wagner
So, what's the word for the week? "Open" right? Well, if you ever needed an open mind, it would be for a message like this. If you look at the signatures for my emails this week, you will see that the top one says, ""Everybody is or should be recovering from something." I'm sure Rev. Gordon Scheible, the author of the quote, could confidently say that due to the fact that the Word says it, too:
"But God has a way to make people right with him without the law, and he has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all people are the same: Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard, and all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They need to be made free from sin through Jesus Christ."---Romans 3:21-24 (NCV)
And, being that sin brings forth death (Romans 6:23), then yeah, sin would definitely qualify as a sickness that WE ALL need to be healed from. (I John 1:10) However, sickness, recovery, even the consequences that come from being sick or having the need for recovery, can be a very painful process.
Recently, I read a piece that talked about the purpose of pain/sickness in the mind/body/soul. According to the author, one of the purposes of pain is to alert you to the fact that something, somewhere, is very wrong; that you wouldn't feel the pain if there wasn't something unhealthy going on in the first place.
The author is not alone in this theory. At the very least, my mother and millions of homeopaths around the world, agree. As a matter of fact, that is one of the reasons why traditional medicine is often frowned upon. Sometimes we can be so preoccupied with removing the pain (symptom) that we don't wait on a cure for the disease. (Philippians 4:6) In other words, far too often we are focused on doing whatever needs to be done for the relief of our senses but sometimes, many times, our senses are delusional. Just because, after finding some way to medicate your ailment, you "feel" OK, that doesn't necessarily mean that you are.
Maybe it's because my mother is a caregiver. Maybe it's because I've already seen more death in one lifetime than any human should. Or, maybe it's God's extreme grace and mercy that has been upon me when it comes to this subject matter, but I don't think I've ever seen sickness in the way that a lot of people around me do. It's interesting how when someone gets sick, the first thing we will pray is that they get well; but it's often "well" according to the way that we see it. (Isaiah 55:7-8) Case in point: If everyone claims to want to go to heaven, then why is it that so many people fear doing what's necessary to get there? (I John 4:18)
The Bible tells us that the benefit of living righteously is eternal life (Matthew 25:46) and that death is something most of us will experience before Christ's return (Ecclesiastes 9:5, Romans 5:12, I Thessalonians 4:16-17). So, while death is indeed something that we know of only because sin caused us to lose access to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22-23), and while it's understandable that our spirits will never fully get used to the loss of life in the physical sense (since in God's perfect will we were never created to die), if it's something that will ultimately restore us in our relationship with God, is it really something that we should pray against? After all, it's because of the sacrifice through death of his own son's life that we have been given the entryway to eternal life (Romans 6:8-10). That alone should remind us that death, in a righteous state, no matter how "painful", can be a very blessed thing.
No wonder Christ prayed not for his will, but God's will to be done (Luke 22:42). No wonder he instructed us to do the same (Matthew 6:10)
But see, that's just the thing. I don't know how many people look at "death" as an answer to healing. Perhaps it's because a lot of us have not really taken the time to understand what it means to be healed.
Heal: to restore to health or soundness; cure; to set right; repair; to restore (a person) to spiritual wholeness; to recover; to become well; free from ailment.
Synonyms: alleviate, convalesce, cure, free, mend, recover, recuperate, regenerate, rehabilitate, remedy, repair, restore, treat
Romans 8:6 says that to be carnally-minded is DEATH but to be spiritually-minded is LIFE and peace. Yes, when we think of carnal, we tend to think of lust for sex or money; people who are mean and greedy. But, look at the definition a little closer:
Carnal: pertaining to or characterized by the flesh or the body, its passions and appetites; sensual; not spiritual; merely human; temporal; worldly
According to James 4:2-3, many of us do not have because we do not ask. Oh, but what does the rest of that passage say? I like how the Amplified puts it:
"[Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures."
When someone is sick and you prepare to pray for them to be healed, first look again at the definition of "heal". Can death, at times, not be the answer to your prayer? Again, when Christ himself died, freedom, wholeness, restoration...the "setting right" of things---many of the words that define "heal" came...as a direct result of his death. Oh, but how many of us are "open" to receiving that spiritual, Word-based perspective?
I know when one of my surrogate mothers was dying of cancer, in the beginning, my prayer for healing had absolutely nothing to do with her spiritual state. I wanted her around longer. I didn't want to go through the sacrifice of losing her. I didn't think it was time. (Acts 1:7---Message) Oh, but more and more, I am seeing why the Word advises us to check our motives:
"Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]."---Philippians 2:3 (AMP)
In time, I learned to pray for God do whatever was best for her. I came to respect the sacredness and privacy of their relationship. I came to understand that salvation is always what's more important to God. Even if it means salvation by way of death.
Trust me, this message isn't meant to discourage you. It's just that we are living in a world where there is so much death; where so many people question the presence of God (Hebrews 13:5); where far too often we find ourselves wondering how he can claim to love us and those around us when it seems like he doesn't answer some our most intimate prayers. Don't let the Enemy lie to you. (John 8:44) Don't let him steal your peace of mind (John 10:10) In times like these, remember what the Word says:
"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."---I John 5:14-15 (NKJV)
If you prayed for healing, it was in his will (and healing is always in his will---Luke 9:11) and the person dies anyway, YOUR PRAYERS WERE STILL ANSWERED. God simply found it to be more "restorative" for them that they leave this earth than stay. After all, for everything there is a time and purpose (Ecclesiastes 3), right? Deeper yet, what does the Word refer to death as being a state of?
"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt."---Daniel 12: 2 (NKJV)
"And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many."---Matthew 27:50-53 (NKJV)
Even tonight, as you get in your bed, you will go to sleep to restore what was lost throughout the day. In the spiritual sense, to those who die in Christ, death provides the same purpose: to restore what was lost in this life. Have you ever gone to bed and woke up feeling like a new person? For many, in the spiritual sense, rising from the dead will bring about the same result:
"Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."---I Corinthians 15:51-53 (NKJV)
But you know, "death in healing" doesn't just apply to a physical death. One of the things I asked God to do for me in this year was to heal me from my past heartaches and wounds. He's all for that, too:
"The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name."---Psalm 147:2-4 (NKJV)
Oh, but please believe that as he is healing, even in an emotional, relational or professional or financial sense, sometimes that requires a death, too. Sometimes there needs to be a period of "sleep" for things to be restored. When I asked God to heal me, please believe, I wasn't prepared to lose some of the things that I have, but I am coming to see that if you are open, if you are obedient, loss always serves a purpose.
When my spiritual partners sent me words of affirmation last week, one of the ones I got was "eagle". What a confirmation:
"All that I am, praise the Lord; everything in me, praise his holy name. My whole being, praise the Lord and do not forget all his kindnesses. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He saves my life from the grave and loads me with love and mercy. He satisfies me with good things and makes me young again, like the eagle."---Psalm 103:1-5 (NCV)
Do you know what a "disease" is?
Disease: a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment; any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society.
For many years, I prayed for "healing" from the things that were harming me emotionally, but I realize now that I didn't really want to be "healed"; I wanted to be medicated of the pain that those attacks were causing me. As Lindsey Wagner said in the intro quote, I didn't want to look inside to see the source of my pain. I didn't want to accept the fact that certain habits were aiding in my discomfort and that what I was feeling was signaling me to make some real changes, real sacrifices in my life. I didn't want to be HONEST WITH MY SELF and admit that to really be cured, some things had to die.
I wanted my heart to stop getting broken, but I wanted to remain in sexual relationships outside of covenant.
I wanted to stop having financial problems, but I wanted to keep spending like crazy.
I wanted to stop feeling inadequate, but I wanted to stay around some of the people, places, things and ideas that were keeping me insecure.
But, that was foolishness to God. (I Corinthians 3:19) In time, as I listened (Proverbs 28:9---Message), he revealed to me that if I really wanted restoration, if I really wanted to be "brought back to a state of health, soundness and vigor", if I really wanted to "get new life or energy", then I had to be renewed:
"...if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."---Ephesians 4:21-24 (NKJV)
For a new man to come, the old one has to die. So many of us quote Joel 2:25, so many want what the locusts have eaten to be restored, but how many people want to pay the price for that kind of restoration? For that kind of healing? How many of us want to really buckle down and accept the fact that the way we've been doing what we're doing is not working. How do we know? Because it causes us pain and again, pain is a signal that something is wrong.
I don't think that it's a coincidence in the least that David once said, "Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins." (Psalm 25:18) Pain and sin are, more times than not, married to one another. Even the fact that a woman goes through pain in labor (Isaiah 26:17) is a direct result of what? Right. It's a consequence of sin. (Genesis 3:16)
Family, none of us can get to a place of healing if we don't want to accept the fact that the pain that we are experiencing is due to something in our lives that is out of order; that pain is merely a symptom of a greater disease. YOU have the power to medicate it, but only GOD has the power to heal it, and if you truly want to be healed, you have to let God handle your situation however he thinks is best---even if it's unto death. Accepting that takes great faith, but let the Gentile woman be a reminder that faith is your direct access to your healing (Matthew 15:21-28)
Even now, as I am healing from, so many things, I have to let faith lead. I have to trust that what God puts to death eternally is for my best. And I have to be open to accepting that, in time, according to his Word and previous examples in the Bible and the lives of those around me, there may be moments when things can/will be resurrected. Either way, ALL DEATH SERVES A PURPOSE.
Family, we must have faith (Hebrews 11:6) that since Christ came to give us abundant life (John 10:10) and since he is the RESURRECTION and the LIFE (John 11:25) that whatever he puts to sleep is for our best, whatever he rises up is for our best and the timing of all is in his hands (and that's always best).
This week, as you pray for either physical or some other kind of healing for yourself or those around you, I encourage you to really focus on what you're asking God for. Then, I encourage you to trust him to move as he sees fit. However he wants to "cure"; however he wants to "set right"; however he wants to "free"; however he wants to "treat" or "repair", he knows what he's doing. Let him.
For me, even when I don't understand, I take peace in knowing that I am a follower of someone who came to give LIFE (John 6:33) and that his father, our father sacrificed him so that I could have eternal LIFE (John 3:16). This means that they, in this sense, are very "PRO-LIFE". If it takes death to get the kind of life they have promised me, I am healed enough to accept that.
Faith has made it a painless process, which means something in my life is finally right and that feels great! J
©Shellie R. Warren/2008
|
|
|
More by Shellie R. Warren |
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 2