Things are happening. God is moving. You don’t have to go far to notice, and you don’t have to go simply to the Bible to hear stories of God’s activities in this world. He is near, and He is active. Last week I spoke with a friend who was having marriage problems. He and his wife submitted to God and his marriage is being healed. Another friend of mine had two deaths in his immediate family back to back. He is slowly learning to let God shoulder the pain of that loss, and he is healing also. Both of my friends are healing because at the very core of who God is, we find a healer.
Have you noticed the innumerable references to healing in Scripture? Jesus healed blind men (Matt. 9:27), lepers (Mark 1), the lame (Mark 2), and even those snatched away by death (Luke 8). But his healing touch wasn’t limited to those with physical problems. He also healed greed (Luke 19), regret (John 4), and doubt (Mark 9). He heals everything he touches. It’s in his nature because he is a healer.
His mission to heal didn’t stop when Jesus ascended. In fact, if I had been there the day he ascended to the Father, I can almost guarantee that I could have heard Jesus’ laughter as he rose, and the simple statement, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Jesus continues to heal. He heals not just those who are sick, and not just those who are hurting. He heals the most broken thing of all: the human heart. If you perk up your ears, you can hear it happening all around you. My two friends are the tip of the iceberg!
Even the non-human, created world (which is just as out of sync with God as the human heart) is participating in this healing process. Romans 8 talks about this healing:
“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” (vv. 20-23, NIV)
Did you catch that? Everything, and I mean everything is longing for the healing that only God can bring. And he is bringing it! God is waking up people all around us and he is healing them. It is happening right now at Singing Oaks. Have you seen how many God provides for through the food pantry? Have you met those that have experienced healing in Celebrate Recovery? How can we ignore the fact that God is attempting to wake us up, and to liberate us from that which imprisons us?! Share the stories you have of God’s activity in your life, because I know He has been active! Thank you for letting me share in your stories and to be part of your story. I love to see how God is healing us! May we all surrender to this healing process in the coming months and speak with amazement as God continues the healing work he has begun in us.
