Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:26
God heals all wounds for those who will surrender themselves fully unto Him. This is truth. But how much of this healing comes in the here and now, vs. when we are made fully whole in heaven? A deep question which each wounded individual must take before the throne and wrestle out with God. All humans know wounding of one sort or another, and to one degree or another. I could delve into the theology of humankind's triune nature: body, soul, and spirit, and the greek word sozo which describes how we simultaneously are saved, are being saved, and will in future be saved. But I'm not in the mood to delve into the facts and the speculations of such deep theological considerations.
I do want to comment, though, on the healing of the here and now. I am pensive after reading a friend's post about healing, and how healing will always come, the wound will heal, whatever that wound may be. Do I agree with this assertion? Well yes, yes I do. In light of eternity, all children of God will be made whole in the hereafter. But what about here, and now? Do I think all wounds will be healed?
As I say, I am pensive. On the one hand, there's the sad reality that we don't have the reliable track record of physical healings they were seeing in the book of Acts. This is worthy of grief, and perhaps of fasting and prayer and generally contending for, if God gives grace for it. On the other hand, I do believe we see emotional healings happening pretty reliably in this day and age, just as much as they were in the book of Acts. It just takes more work now-a-days... or so it seems. There was probably a lot of "the renewing of the mind" and whatnot that happened behind the scenes in the New Testament.
Don't get me wrong, I see loads of people going about their lives lacking the emotional healing that I know is available to them if they would fully surrender to God AND walk through the process of making God their highest priority, going through deliverance, and renewing of the mind, and cutting off old baggage, and all that good stuff. If I get a good pulse on a person's spiritual and emotional values, it's not hard to see the trajectory their journey of healing is on.
And what right have I to speak of such things? Am I not an individual in great pain myself? Yes, yes I am. And yet I would point to a whole host of soul ailments a younger Jamie grappled with as being a very different sort of pain. As a 20-ish-year old, I gained victory over: Depression. Anxiety. Fear. Shame. Insecurity. Self-Rejection. Self-Hatred. Mental Torment. Loneliness. The blood of the lamb is a powerful tool, the Authority of Christ is powerful and effective and truly practical!!!
Having walked through the process necessary to co-labor with Christ and enforce the victory He won on the cross, I can now enjoy sweet rest in my soul free of all these ailments. I rest secure in my identity as a daughter of Christ, made in the image of God and loved unconditionally. I am a woman of peace. I take joy in the little things. I am clean and holy. I am secure and loved. I am loved by God, by others, and by myself. I am a woman of peace. I am a human and I have a whole variety of human emotions, but no negative emotion has a grip on me, as they once did in my youth. I am free. I am healed.
This doesn't mean that life doesn't still hurt. Tragedy hurts, and the little things of life can hurt. People let you down, and it hurts. Things don't work out, and it hurts. Long tedious days happen sometimes, and it hurts. Limbs get amputated and the wound heals, but life is forever different, and it hurts. Pieces of one's heart are severed off and not always restored, the wound must be cauterized and healed without the missing piece; the wound is healed, but life is different, and it hurts. Healing doesn't mean we lose the ability to feel pain.
But healing does open us up to feel joy and pleasure and peace. Birds sing in the pre-dawn darkness as one is bustling off to a long day at work, and the music is beautiful. The warm embrace of a loved one fills the love cup. A nourishing meal is satisfying to body and soul. A good book can be absorbed with pleasure. There's nothing quite like a hot bath after a long day. Dirt under one's fingernails in the garden is wholesome. Choosing to look forward to little things doubles the delight. Living life with an awareness of the manifest presence of God and constantly seeking Him and his richness that may flood one's soul at any moment with utter perfection and rest... there's nothing like it.
God is our healer. He calls us to co-labor with Him to enforce the victories He won on the cross. The ability to feel pain is part of being human, but there's no need to live life plagued by the grip of chronic soul ailments. He has come to impart abundant life.
Blessings to you all.
