If you or a loved one are challenged by a mental illness you may want to visit this site at HopeandHealing.org for a listing of Christian resources on the topic.
“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 30:17
When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Matthew 9:10-12
This morning I visited a friend who is in the hospital the day after his surgery to remove his prostate. Mike and I were involved in a Bible study a few years ago. He was aware of my bout with prostate cancer over the the last few years so he called me several weeks ago when he learned about his positive biopsy and decision to have a da Vinci Prostatectomy. As was the case with me, early detection made all the difference in the world ensuring that his cancer was caught early on and had not spread to other organs. See these American Cancer Society guidelines.
Mike is doing well post surgery – praise God! This morning, he and I talked about the road that he’ll have ahead of him over the next few months. My prayer is that his next PSA test will be zero – an indication that there is no more cancer of that type – and that he will be spared the side effects of incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Although none of us wants to go through really tough times and health challenges in our life, the fact is that life will brings us those types of challenges. It’s neat to be able to come out the other side and to be able to support someone who is facing the same challenges that you’d experienced and weathered.
Over the year plus that I was in my battle, I posted many blog entries about prostate cancer so others might benefit. If you’ve got a friend or you yourself have learned that you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, perhaps what I shared here over that year may be of help. Mike told me today that reading my posts were helpful for him.
I thought I’d also share again a short article I wrote about how my faith was an anchor in my battle with the cancer in hopes it might be encouraging to some.
Our life on this earth is short. Live yours to the fullest in a God-honoring way!
Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we can enjoy health, healing and salvation.
Long before it happened, the prophet Isaiah wrote that Jesus would be beaten and whipped so that we may be healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
In Matthew 27:26 we read that at the end of the trial that Jesus had with Pilate, Jesus was ordered to be flogged, or scourged, by the Roman soldiers. This verse in the New Living Translation says that the flogging occurred with a lead-tipped whip.
Yes, Jesus experienced horrific pain and suffering so that you and I can be healed. It is only by the stripes that He received during this terrible beating that we are able to experience any degree of true inner healing and, on occasion, physical healing.
This is one major way that God demonstrates His deep love for each of us. He knew that His Son would have to experience this type of death so that we could experience the resulting life of health and healing.
Thank you so much Jesus, for experiencing the death that you did so that I might have true life.
Read more about the crucifixion of Jesus.
Read more about God’s love.
Read one of my short articles – ” God Wants You Whole.“
I recently completed the reading of Making Your Church a House of Healing by Michael Gemignani, M.S., PhD, JD. (Judson Press) Our church, Harrison United Methodist Church, is looking at ways that we can be more intentional about bringing about greater healing to members of our congregation. In that regard, reading this book has been timely.
The author does an excellent job of making a case that the local church should play a major role in bringing about healing of its members. I found that this book was laid out in a helpful manner as it addressed the role that an individual plays, the role that the church community plays, and the role that the leaders of the church play in the healing of individuals. The author is not only talks about physical healing but emotional and especially spiritual healing that all of us must experience to be able to live the complete and full life that God wants us to live.
One statement that the author writes as he makes the case for the church being a house of healing resonated with me. “If we find ourselves being healed, than our most ardent desire is that others be healed as well.” Similarly, another statement is so true – “We pray that the whole world will be aflame with the love of God.”
Leaders of churches who are considering going deeper to make healing more available to their congregation would find reading this book to be helpful.
In this scripture, Luke tells us of a woman who had been crippled for 18 years. Satan had been keeping her in “bondage” and because of this, she had been unable to stand up straight. But Jesus freed her… He healed her.
Perhaps this woman had held on to deep resentment and bitterness towards someone for a long, long time. Satan could have been telling her over the years that she should not forgive someone that hurt her. He could have told her that she was fully justified to have this mindset.
Medicine shows that when a person carries deep anger inside, it can actually eat away at our body. For some people this poison, in the form of unhealthy chemicals and acids, can attack their digestive system. Problems with the GI system can prevail. For others it can attack their joints and cause major joint problems, even severe arthritis. I suspect that most people don’t make the connection between this unresolved, deep inner stress and their health problems. Often, in an attempt to alleviate the problem, some turn to taking medications or elect surgery to correct the condition.
The Bible tells us of another way, through forgiveness. It’s not surprising that Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:23 that we should forgive others not seven times, but seventy times seven. He knows that if we carry a spirit of bitterness for a period of time that we will be adversely affected, to include in our bodies.
Do you have a health condition, perhaps like the woman in this week’s scripture, that might be affected by harboring some deep negative emotion? Search your heart. Ask God to help you go deep. If you do become aware of something, prayerfully ask Jesus to take it from you and to replace that anger with His love.
Jesus is still in the healing business. It can take many forms. Sometimes, all we have to do is believe in His healing power, and cry out to Him in the most genuine way possible. Then he’ll heal your hurting spirit and your body.
Have a great week!
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This is an excerpt from Joel Osteen’s book, Your Best Life Now that speaks to this week’s scripture with an example:
When I was growing up, we had a former Methodist Minister in our church. His hands were so crippled with arthritis, he could hardly use them. They looked as though thy had shriveled up and were deformed. He couldn’t open a car door. He couldn’t shake hands or anything like that. For as long as I’d known him, his hands had been that way.
But one day, he went to my Dad (the church minister) and showed him his hands – they were perfectly normal! He could move them like any of us, almost as though he had received a new set of hands.
My Dad was surprised, but so happy for him. He said, “Man, what in the world happened to you?” – “Well, it’s an Interesting story, the former minister said. “Several months ago, when you were talking about unforgiveness. You were speaking on how it keeps God’s power from operating in our lives, and how it Keeps our prayers from being answered. As I listened, I began to ask God to show me if I had any areas of unforgiveness and resentment in my life. And God began to deal with me. He brought to light several situations that had happened to me down through the years in which people had done me great wrong. I didn’t even know it, but I still had anger and resentment in my heart toward those people.
That’s the odd part – I didn’t realize I was carrying it around. But as soon as I saw it, I made a decision to forgive them and totally let it go. And then the most amazing thing began to happen. One by one, my fingers started straightening out. One week went by and this finger would get healed. The next week this finger. As I continued to search my heart and eliminate all that bitterness and resentment, God brought complete healing to me, and now look at my hands! I’m perfectly normal!”
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