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Healing Happens
Are you hurting? Do you need a healing touch from God? Many of us have some kind of past pain that grips us into the bondage of shame. Experiences from youth can shackle us with guilt, fear, and anger. Or maybe your pain is inflicted by someone you know and love. You need a relationship healed and restored. Or you may be in physical pain longing for the healing power of God?

Whatever your pain, whatever your circumstance know that you are loved by God. He has not forgotten about you. He is with you. God says in Joshua 1:9, Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for I am with you wherever you go." God is by your side right now wherever you are. You may be reading this at work, in your home, or in a coffee shop. Wherever you are God is by your side and wants you to know that he loves you.

Jesus wants you to have rest and healing for your soul. He says in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." He has plans to heal your wounds and give you the peace that you long for. You need to go to him. Turn to Jesus for your healing. He died that you might be healed and saved from eternal suffering if you will believe. 

In the Bible the prophet Isaiah prophesized seven hundred years before Christ came, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)

Then after seeing Jesus perform many miracles, die a brutal undeserved death on a cross, and resurrect from the dead Peter writes, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." (1Peter 2:24) 

Jesus is in the business of healing. Can I promise that you will walk if you're bound by a wheelchair. With all my heart I wish I could make that promise to you, but sometimes the wheelchair is where God can use us to minister to others as He does with Joni Eareckson Tada. She describes how her complete physical healing will one day happen in heaven. For some, God chooses to do a miraculous physical healing here on earth, so that He can be glorified. Either way He can be glorified through our suffering and our healing if we surrender to God's will. We must cling to Jesus.

You may not be bound by a wheelchair but bound by your brokenness. Chains of guilt, shame, and consequences of past sin can be holding you back from all that you can be. Jesus healed the sick, lame, blind and broken hearted two thousand years ago. He forgives us and cleanses us from the chains that bind us today. He died and rose from the dead. He's alive.

I have seen God heal my son from cancer, my brokenness from date rape and abortion, and my marriage when we were on the verge of separation. 

Here are ten steps that I found helpful to my healing:

1.    Know that God loves you. The Bible says in John 3:16, "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him will not parish but have everlasting life." Jesus loves you. He went to the cross to take your sin upon himself so that we no longer have to pay the consequence of all our wrong doings. He promises, I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you, but to give you hope and a future, (Jeremiah 29:11).
 
2.   Love Jesus for what he did on the cross for you and what he is doing in your life today. In Mark 12:30, Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and will all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this; Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." When we invite Jesus into our heart and begin to love him for dying on the cross our lives change. Every day tell Him, I love you Jesus. Watch to see what God does in your life.

3.    Know God's promises and read God's Word. He will speak to you through His Word. Seek Him with all of your heart and ask Him to guide you as you read the Bible. On Christmas day when my son was in complete isolation at the hospital after a bone marrow transplant I opened my Bible and read in John chapter four, "You may go your son will live." He gave me this promise. We left the hospital thirteen days later, sooner than any child had left after transplant.

4.    Sacrifice all selfish desires. Philippians 2:3-4 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." I realized with Connor's leukemia that I must surrender to God's will, not my selfish desires. I understood that God might want to use me to help others suffering from the loss of a child.    

5.    Surrender to God's will for your life.  Humbly go to your knees as Jesus did in the Garden before going to the cross. In Luke 22:40-43, "He...knelt down and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. I was unsure if God would heal my son here on earth or in heaven. I put Connor at the foot of the cross asking for his healing, but surrendering my son to God's plan. God loves my son and he loves me. God knows what is best for each of us.

6.    Have a grateful heart. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Do you want to be healed? Ask with a spirit of thanksgiving for all that he has done, is doing, and will do in your life. We can even be thankful for our past pain knowing God can build our character and mold us into the wonderful individuals we are today. We are in the process of being shaped and refined to be Christlike.

7.    Trust God. Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." In Acts 3:16 it is written, "By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him."  I trusted that God had the best plan for my life. I knew that if God chose to heal Connor He would be glorified, because the chances of survival were slim.

8.    We suffer for a purpose.
When I am suffering I call out to Jesus. I draw close to God. He wants an intimate relationship with us all. I thank God for my past suffering because I know Jesus is personal. He has given me comfort, strength, encouragement, healing and hope.

This life is not about me. I have suffered to help others who are suffering in the same way. I have more compassion than I ever had before my suffering. Praise God that I am able to offer hope to those with cancer, who suffer from date rape, abortion, struggling marriages, and teenage issues. 

9.    Know Jesus is with you. You need not be afraid. Joshua 1:9 says, "Have I not commanded you, says the Lord, be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for I am with you wherever you go." He says in verse five, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  One day as I felt discouraged and fearful God spoke to me. I had to be still to know God was talking to me.

10.    Praise God for all things.
When we praise him for all circumstances, trusting him, he is glorified through our lives. Sometimes we can get discouraged about our circumstances, our past pain, and our current suffering. We focus on the problem instead of looking up. Jesus wants to take us out of the pit and lift us up out of our present suffering. We must keep our eyes on Jesus. In the Bible Peter walked on water as he looked to Jesus but he began to sink into the depths of the water when he took his eyes of Jesus to focus on his unthinkable circumstances.

The Bible tells us to rejoice in all circumstances, to focus on what is good, and to praise God. In Philippians 4:8 it is written, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."