Tag: healing

Children of the Heavenly Father

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Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22

I love hymns. Do you? They speak such powerful truth in their short verses.

This Swedish hymn is a favorite of our family. I can still hear my grandmother singing it with us.

Children of the heavenly Father safely in his bosom gather; nestling bird nor star in heaven such a refuge e’er was given.

We, as God’s children, are safely settled into His giant arms.

Nothing on earth dares to compare to the safety we experience as His children when gathered up in His arms.

God his own shall tend and nourish; in his holy courts they flourish. From all evil powers he spares them; in his mighty arms he bears them.

God takes care of us, His own. We flourish and grow mightily in His presence.

He shields us from all evil. All evil. Even when surrounded by death and destruction, we are safe. His strong arms hold us. Yes, we may suffer, but God stands with us.

Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord his children sever; for to them his grace revealing, he turns sorrow into healing.

Nothing in life or death will ever separate us from God. We will abide with Him now and forever.

His grace provides healing for our every sorrow.

God has given, he has taken, but his children ne’er forsaken; his the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy.

God is in control. He gives and He takes away, but He will never leave us alone.

His ways are higher than ours and purpose to only keep us pure and holy.

When we trust God as our Father, He lovingly cares for us – His beloved children.

Forever and ever. Amen.

Hymn writer: Caroline W. Sandell Berg 1832-1903 (Swedish)

Photos by Gianluca Carenza, Derek Thomson,  Priscilla Du Preez, & Natasha Ivanchikhina on Unsplash

Running Free

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But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Malachi 4:2

Are you running into the freedom God has for you?

Running from the lies you have believed?

Running from the temptations that once held you captive?

Running from the ill reactions you normally exhibit?

Malachi reminds us that when you fear God’s name, when you are His beloved child, He will respond with healing.

Healing your mind.

Healing your will.

Healing your emotions.

When you ask Him to change you, freeing you from nasty ingrained responses, He will.

He promises you will not only be free, but you will run like a wild animal.

Uncontrollably free.

Decide to trust Him.

Read His word, worship, and pray.

And run as you are free.

Smile because you are loved.

Rejoice because you are His.

There is no turning back.

Every time you are tempted to return to the pit, align yourself with God and run free towards Him instead.

Run forward with God, never looking back.

Photos by Malik Skydsgaard, sporlab, & lucas Favre on Unsplash

God-breathed

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The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Job 33:4

Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. Isaiah 42:5

God breathed and life erupted.

His life filled what He breathed upon.

Creation.

The apostle’s baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Can you imagine anything better than the creation of life or the indwelling of God’s spirit within you?

When God breathes on something, life erupts. Multiplies. Becomes alive.

While at worship last week, I had a picture of God breathing on the ugly parts of life.

The sections of our hearts or lives that contain ugly, messy cobwebs.

With one word, God breathes and darkness disappears, clearing away the cobwebs.

Whoosh. God says, “I am breathing on all of your cobwebs. Cleaning them all away. Forever gone.”

What areas of your life do you desperately need God to breathe?

With His breath, you’ll replace death with life. Destruction with living. Selfishness with godliness.

Ask Him to breathe on your heart. Ask Him to clear away your cobwebs.

Cobwebs connecting to family members. Gone.

Cobwebs connecting to destructive habits. Gone.

Cobwebs connecting to ugly past sins, guilt, or shame. Gone.

Cobwebs convincing you God truly deems you unworthy of Him. Gone.

When you allow God to fill you with His breath, He will make all things new.

Breathe Him in and receive His healing. His power. His peace.

Breathe Him out and become His hands and feet. His witness. His proof.

All glory returns to God for creating us in His image, allowing us to experience the freedom, forgiveness, and purpose He has for us. Spread the word. To God be all glory.

Photos by Saad Chaudhry, Aaron Burden, & Hugo Fergusson on Unsplash

Obedience to God

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You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess. Deuteronomy 5:33

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When we obey God, His power rushes through us to others.

Why?

Because “behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God”.

An incredible preacher, Oswald Chambers penned that phrase in the last century.

The thought is so profound, I’ve spent days thinking of it.

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When we love others with His love, we affect eternity.

When we become the hands and feet of Jesus, His love touches others through us.

When we obey God, His power is unleashed.

His love is let out.

His healing is released.

His peace is felt.

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Think you’re insignificant?

Focus on this: your obedience can allow others to see God.

God.

God?

Yes, God.

Oh my.

Photos by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

It’s OK to be Sad

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And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Luke 7:13

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Really?

Yep, it’s ok.

Sadness is an emotion.

Just like happiness or anger or irritation.

Jesus was sad.

He was grieved for his people.

Do you think He was filled with joy in the Garden of Gethsemane before He was betrayed?

Not at all.

His spirit was greatly troubled (Matthew 26:37).

Sadness, deep sorrow is a real emotion.

God made us and created all of our emotions.

They are for a purpose.

A reason.

When your life crumbles, you need to grieve.

Your heart needs to heal, and that takes time.

How much time depends upon you and your needs.

Major life upheavals require a season of grief.

A winter of sorts where you rest.

If you choose to rest in the arms of Jesus, your recovery may be shorter.

A person can also become a bit sad for little reasons.

You might have an expected bill.

Your child doesn’t give you a hug before bed.

Gasp, your children ate the last of your favorite ice cream.

These are moments.

They pass almost as quickly as they come.

Dwelling on these little moments of sadness never really enters your mind.

The bigger moments, however, dig into your core and sadness can easily overtake you.

It can become your focus when a loved one dies, during a divorce, a job that evaporates, or an intense godly desire that never seems to materialize.

It’s in those moments that you have a choice to make…

Dwell on sorrow or experience the real emotion for a time, and purpose to move on.

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You must grieve.

It’s an honest emotion.

It’s healthy.

But only for a season.

Don’t allow your mind to become stuck.

Resist the temptation to keep hitting the replay button for months and years.

You will take away years and the grief will become an idol.

Your identity will be wrapped up in grief.

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Allow yourself a season of rest.

Of sadness.

Grieve.

Please.

But during that time, place your burdens and sorrow into the arms of Jesus.

He will fill your void, dry your tears, and give you little bursts of hope.

And when your season is over, a new day will dawn and your joy will return.

Just ask Him to help.

And I promise He will.

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Photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash

Rising From the Dead

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I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Not literally rising from the dead.

I’m talking about spirit crushed, gut wrenching grief.

When you are overcome with grief from the very depths of your soul and you cry until you cannot cry anymore.

That kind of dead.

Times like those are when you feel like dying yourself.

Life really doesn’t matter anymore.

What’s the point of living when life is so gut wrenchingly painful?

Or maybe you’re dead in other ways: spiritually, emotionally, selfishly, or you’ve become callous towards life.

What’s a person to do to gain freedom from these prisons?

Turn to Jesus for healing.

Restoration.

Sounds simple enough.

But here’s the catch: you must reach out to Him.

He gives us free choice.

We can choose Him or not.

God wants to free us from a life or season of pain, but we have to reach out our hand to His forgiveness and love.

His healing touch.

Remember the man in the Bible with the withered up hand?

Jesus healed him.

But first the man had to stretch out his hand.

The man had to take the initiative.

He had to choose to obey.

Jesus said, “Stretch out your hand”.

As soon as the man did that, Jesus healed him.

Set him free.

So we have a choice.

Do we want to rise from the dead things in our life or not?

Do you want Jesus to fling wide the doors of your prison walls?

Just ask.

Be willing to do the work of whatever He asks of you.

And He will be faithful to heal all of your wounds.

How fast?

Not sure.

But I can promise you God will be faithful to you.

He’s done that with me over and over.

Sometimes I walk right back into those prisons.

Willingly.

Stupidly.

But every time I ask, every time…God shows up and frees me.

Every time.

Photos by Eric Ward, James Cousins, & Floreser on Unsplash