Everyday, on my journey to healing, I learn new and wonderful things - that??s one of the joys of growing. At a healing seminar held by the Family of God at Victory Park Parish recently we were challenged with the question, ???Do you really want to be healed???? If you went around
asking people complaining of distress and ill-health, ???Do you want to be healed???? they would all issue a resounding ???Of course!?? but often that isn??t really the case. The problem, it seems, is that we become comfortable with our disabilities and illnesses.? We know how to deal with, how to behave and how to survive them.? We tend to develop the ???martyr syndrome???. It??s easier to deal with what we know than take a leap of faith and embrace a journey that is not mapped out ?? a journey that does not promise instant healing or immediate growth. Just like the
little chicken breaking through its shell to get to the sunshine and warmth ?? we must struggle through the barriers we have created around our circumstances and ourselves.? For us it is even more painful, for we must look inward and work on ourselves. I have met so many people who claim to want to be healed, but who remain paralysed by their fear to change, including my own mother who was adamant that she could cope with it. Why should we merely cope? Merely survive from day to day with the wreckage of our lives whirling around us?? We don??t have to just survive ?? we can be victorious!? That??s the good news! Most
of us end up at doctor??s rooms because of our repressed fears and anxieties.? In his book ???A Guide to Confident Living??? Norman Vincent Peal tells of a doctor who prescribes not only medication, but also bible study and church going to his patients ?? and with amazing results.? How much better to start on the journey to healing? With all it??s pain and anguish there is at least light and growth to look forward to.? I have heard it said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. This is our challenge - to take that first step and admit that we are broken and need to be healed, then hold on to God??s message in 2 Timothy 1:7? ???I did not give you a spirit of fear???.?
How many of us think we can call just call ???Lord! Lord!??? and be healed.? If that were the case there wouldn??t be so many of us crying out to be healed ?? would there? In her book ???The Fragrance of Beauty???, Joyce Landorf tells the story of two women terminally ill with cancer.? The first complains bitterly of her plight, saying that in her fear, pain and anguish she has been to every church in the community praying for healing and none of her prayers has had any effect!? Her companion responds: "You didn't pray with faith. You've
got a terrible need in your life. Someone told you to go see the King and petition Him to help you. So without preparation or invitation, you barged into the King's throne room. You yelled, 'OK, King, I've got cancer, and You had better do something about it. You gave it to me, so You'd better take it back!' Then, because you were so sure He wouldn't help you, you stormed out of His palace without even waiting for a reply. You told your friends and relatives, 'See, I told you so! I went to the King, and He didn't hear me or help me!' "How different it would have been had you humbly gone before the King of all kings, Jesus, poured out your heart, confessed your sins, and then presented by faith your unbearable
needs, in faith asking Him to go with you through this valley, in faith confessing your need for strength to bear this cancer, and in faith believing that He would never leave or forsake you." As the first woman began cry, tears streaming down her face, the second woman ended with, "You think your essential problem is to get rid of cancer, but what you really need is Jesus." God promises us to be with us, guide us, help us and heal us, but He also demands our commitment to abide by His laws and follow his ways.? We need to read His word, pray and meditate everyday.? We need to live our faith.?
That is part of the challenge and part of the joy.? Facing life with the word of God as your reference changes things in many ways.? In this world of instant gratification and aggressive competition one of my greatest joys is facing life with optimism and faith.? It is super challenging but super rewarding as well. God bless you till next time. Celeste
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