Charisa Stories

Tag: healing

  • How Can We Apply Jesus’ Healing Promises In Our Lives Today?

    I love this story from the Gospel written by Mark.

    “A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed.”

    The suffering man approached Jesus in such an honest way. He begged Him to be healed. I can relate to that. How many times have I begged God for something without trusting His sovereignty in the process? The answer is too many times. I should respond more like this man who understood Jesus was able to heal but He had to be willing. Here is that exchange.

    “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.” (Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭40‬-‭42‬ ‭NLT)‬‬

    Jesus was moved by the sincere and trusting heart of the leper. Jesus responded with deep tenderness. The leper believed Jesus had the power to heal. But he also believed he himself did not have the power to demand that Jesus heal him. He showed faith, revealed his heart, and trusted the results to Jesus.

    When our request is not answered does it mean Jesus isn’t willing? Part of understanding these moments is putting them in context with other Scripture. What is Jesus willing to do in other ways? A few examples…

    • Jesus is always Willing to Forgive our sins
    • Jesus is always Willing to Love us
    • Jesus is always Willing to be our Advocate
    • Jesus is always Willing to be present in us through the power of the Holy Spirit
    • Jesus is always Willing to show us the way to grow in faithfulness and love

    Perhaps the most incredible thing Jesus was willing to do was take our sin upon Himself to the Cross. He was willing to suffer and die for us. That gave us the resurrection and forgiveness of our sins. But Jesus had to make the biggest willingness decision ever.

    “He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭39‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

    Jesus wished there were other options but He was willing to endure the pain of crucifixion for you and for me. His willingness to love us is undeniable. So I am learning to trust God when my prayers are not answered in the way I hoped for. Jesus loves us. God is sovereign. We won’t know why things happen until we are together with Jesus. I heard a preacher say this and I have not forgotten it.

    ”I believe I will spend the first 10,000 years in Heaven saying now I understand why that happened. Oh, I see why that occurred. That makes sense now.”

    I have lost friends way too early in my opinion. But then I see the impact of how they were a light to those around them even in those dark valleys. Their example made an eternal difference as God used their testimony for His glory.

    One of my great spiritual epiphanies came while ­listening to a Garth Brooks song. I know. Garth may not be a go-to theologian but his song called “Unanswered Prayers” resonated with my heart. He sings about things that he fervently begged for God to provide. Now, years later, he can see how much better things are because those prayers were unanswered. I have shared the same experience many times. I would suggest that unanswered is an answer, but I guess that would not make a catchy lyric.

    I remember praying for a particular job that would give me prestige and allow me to climb the ladder in the broadcast world. It looked like the offer was about to come, and then it did not. I was disappointed. Confused. What happened?

    In retrospect, I believe that God moved in that situation and firmly slammed the door shut. I can see now that it was not even close to being a good fit for me. It was a ­high- pressure position where performance was often more important than people. Instead, God put me in a place where my relational gifts could be used to not only direct good sports telecasts but also to invest in the lives of those I work with every day. Today I thank God that He said no to my prayer.

    Jesus is willing. I trust that means things will be redeemed for eternity even when the short term results aren’t what we desire.

  • Jesus Will Meet You There

    Jesus Will Meet You There

    Being in community with others means you share in their joys and their sorrows. Sometimes the sorrows come in tsunami waves and all you can do is care, pray, and be present. Good and decent people deal with financial, emotional, and physical suffering all around us and it is easy to lose heart. The news seems to be only tragedy and heartbreaking sadness. What can be redeemed of all of this suffering?

    A song called “The Hurt and the Healer” by MercyMe resonated when I first heard it but now that same song touches my heart even more. The lyrics ask the question we all struggle with.

    Why?
    The question that is never far away
    The healing doesn’t come from the explained
    Jesus please don’t let this go in vain

    I can’t explain why things happen. Sometimes it is sin. Sometimes it is simply life. I have learned in my years of following Jesus that He does not let suffering go in vain. I have seen over and over how God redeems sadness and tragedy. He does bring beauty out of ashes. When I cannot see how any good can come out of a trial I trust my Abba Father in faith. Believe me I don’t “feel” that but I can move forward in faith. God has never let me down. And I believe He never will.

    Breathe
    Sometimes I feel it’s all that I can do
    Pain so deep that I can hardly move
    Just keep my eyes completely fixed on You
    Lord take hold and pull me through

    Most of us have been there at some point. If not, you will be someday. Peter talked about the inevitability of suffering in this life in a passage that we usually leave out of the brochure when we tell others about our faith. All of us who follow Jesus are going to suffer.

    Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. (1 Peter 4, NLT)

    Count me among the brethren who tried to dance around this truth for as long as I could. Be very glad? Seriously? But when you have nowhere else to turn but to Christ you find out that you should have turned to Him first all along.

    So here I am
    What’s left of me
    Where glory meets my suffering

    I’m alive
    Even though a part of me has died
    You take my heart and breathe it back to life
    I’ve fallen into your arms open wide
    When the hurt and the healer collide

    Jesus meets you there and not in theory. He suffered. He agonized with God the Father. He knows the human condition. He has already been where you are. When the hurt and the Healer collide something amazing happens. The pain may not immediately go away but peace and hope begin to slowly heal the pain. Peter did not end his writing on suffering with the buzz kill of Chapter 4. He wrapped it in a bow of incredible hope in the next chapter.

    In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. (1 Peter 5, NLT)

    That is a promise that we can hold on to in times of sorrow and suffering. I am trusting that promise this week for myself and my friends who are hurting.

  • Weekend Wildcard : Where Does Healing Begin?

    Weekend Wildcard : Where Does Healing Begin?

    I interact with a lot of wounded people. My books and a big hunk of my writing have been directed toward those who are beaten up by life, religion and too often by other people in the church. There is a better way. A song titled “Where The Healing Begins” by one of my favorite groups, Tenth Avenue North, describes that way.

    So you thought you had to keep this up
    All the work that you do
    So we think that you’re good
    And you can’t believe it’s not enough
    All the walls you built up
    Are just glass on the outside

    All of those years of working hard (and then harder) to be Godly and I found out to my great sadness that it wasn’t enough.  Not only was self-effort not enough it was counterproductive to my desire to experience God’s presence and love. The walls so carefully constructed were, in fact, see-through to those who really knew me well. I picture that in my sadness and tiredness God smiled. He didn’t smile because I was suffering or sad. He smiled because I was finally ready for grace. At the point of brokenness I was ready for the healing to begin.

    So let ’em fall down
    There’s freedom waiting in the sound
    When you let your walls fall to the ground
    We’re here now

    This is where the healing starts
    When you come to where you’re broken within
    The light meets the dark

    Coming to the point where I was broken and realizing my own inability to walk this journey of faith is where the healing began for me. Letting the walls down and trusting God and others with who I really am is where the healing continued. Understanding and trusting that I am completely forgiven and my past is completely forgotten is where the healing became real. Knowing that Jesus loves me desperately on my worst day is where the healing began to translate to the daily walk.

    Afraid to let your secrets out
    Everything that you hide
    Can come crashing through the door now
    But too scared to face all your fear
    So you hide but you find
    That the shame won’t disappear

    For too many years I danced that awkward and ugly dance of hiddenness and shame.  For so many anguished years I thought that if I was a better Christian this wouldn’t, this couldn’t, be happening. If I prayed/studied/fasted/read/attended more church events I would be more Godly. I was depending on the wrong source.

    When you come to where you’re broken within
    The light meets the dark
    Sparks will fly as grace collides
    With the dark inside of us
    So please don’t fight
    This coming light
    Let this blood come cover us
    His blood can cover us

    This is where the healing begins

    healing

    I love the image of grace invading the darkness and sparks of healing flying as the truth about me was set free. I am a child of God who is deeply loved. For decades I lived with a God who I suspected had a contractual obligation to love me because of Jesus but who was generally disgusted with me. I fought grace because it seemed too easy. Not spiritual. Not enough sacrifice. Not enough obedience. Not enough…me. Paul wrote this to the Church at Ephesus.

    God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.   Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2, NLT)

    My fear of punishment led to strained and inconsistent compliance with a law I couldn’t possibly keep. Grace and forgiveness have led to joyful obedience nourished by gratitude and love. That is the product of the healing power of grace and I second my brother from Taursus. I can take NO credit for this.