God wants us to be Healed, Whole, and Delivered

I saw a commercial the other day for some kind of medicine. I’m not sure what kind it was, maybe for arthritis, but what I noticed was that the list of side effects was extensive and well, I think death was probably one of the side effects. I’m serious. I think it said something about heart failure, and well, we need our hearts to survive. I told my mom that I’d rather deal with the arthritis or whatever it was than face the side effects of the medicines. But then it hits me. We don’t HAVE to put up with anything. God wants us to be whole, healed, and delivered.

1 Peter 2:24 (ESV) states, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Notice the “you have been” part of that verse. That means we were already healed. That healing is ours for the taking. So why are we putting our faith in the medication that could cause heart failure?

It’s not easy, putting our very health in someone else’s hands completely. It’s not that we want to be sick, it’s just that “Well, it happened. What else can I do?” attitude that is keeping us in our current state of mind. Not only that, we put our faith in medications and other remedies to heal us when in fact, we only have to pray and receive for our healing.

This faith doesn’t even have to do solely with healing. What else do we need in our lives? Why don’t we have them? Are we not putting enough faith into our prayers? Do we even think that it’s worth praying for?

I can tell you that no matter how small your request is, God will answer it, and He will supply whatever need you have.

Don’t limit what God can do for you. He wants to help us succeed in our social, emotional, physical, and financial aspects of life. Most importantly, have the faith that NO MATTER WHAT, God will in fact hear your cries. He will heal you. He will deliver you.

Psalm 100 v.3 Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. v.5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Cry out to the Lord

 

Guys, sometimes it's hard to remember that no matter the storm we're traveling through, there is a light amidst the storm.  God will calm the storm and will bring us out of the things that distress us the most. 

Feeling Unworthy of Forgiveness

Last time, we covered feeling unworthy of love.  Today, I’d like to cover the feeling of unworthiness of forgiveness.

Maybe you can’t see your own worth because of the mistakes you’ve made in your life.  But let me tell you something – You are not perfect.  Once you accept this, you’ll see that it’s easier to move past your mistakes.

Notice I said easier.  It won’t be easy.  This I know, but eventually, the pain will end, and you’ll move past it.

No one is perfect.  Let’s look at this phrase a little closer.

We are only human.  There is no way we can be perfect.  Sure, we ought to strive for perfection, but we’re going to screw up.  It’s just us being human!

No matter how hard we try not to sin or mess up, chances are we’re going to at least once or a couple of times our life. 

Romans 3:23

 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God

That verse proves that God knows we’re all sinners.  We mess up at times.

Psalm 78: 38, 39

But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them.  Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.

See, God knows that we’re only human.  He is compassionate, and forgiveness is ours if we only ask for it.  But that hardest part about seeking forgiveness or feeling unworthy of forgiveness is the unwillingness to forgive ourselves.

Sometimes, we feel like we have screwed up our lives so much that we aren’t deserving of a good, happy life.  But that’s not true.  God has forgiven us when we repent of our sins.  Why can’t we forgive ourselves?

Psalm 103:12

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

That’s a good question.  One I struggled with for years.  I couldn’t see past the mistakes I’d made.  But, they happened.  I had to learn to accept that.    

Sheila Walsh in “Let Go” says

“To say that we don’t deserve to be forgiven is to make our sin more powerful than the blood of Christ. If God forgives us, then we must forgive ourselves…. Every sin was covered by the lifeblood of the Lamb.”

She also says, “…forgiveness means being comfortable with ourselves, the good and the bad.  We don’t have to be perfect.”

And she also says, “It’s vital, though, that we separate what we did from who we are.”

It’s hard to see our mistakes as a separate entity.  But that’s just what it is.  We made a mistake, but we don’t have to let it define us.  It’s separate from us.  We have to forgive ourselves to get peace of mind and healing from unforgiveness. 

Say this every day, “I’m not perfect.  I don’t have to be perfect.  If I mess up, I will ask for forgiveness, forgive myself, and live life.”

Learn to let go and forgive.  You are forgiven.  You are free from this unforgiveness trap.  Just accept it.

Just Let Me Forget!

Have you ever just said, “I want to erase the memories of those last few months” or something along those lines?  Do you just want to forget ever making those mistakes that haunt you or forgetting that boy or girl who broke your heart?  And you find yourself almost praying that God will let you forget.

But do we really need to forget those memories?  Sure, it would be a lot easier to forget, but those memories and our pasts will eventually make us stronger.  I know it’s hard to see now, but eventually living life with those memories will get easier.  But if you focus on something – sadly, my focus has been on being angry with the people who hurt me (I’m not saying that I don’t care for them or their souls.  I just feel like being angry helps me get past it.  And I don't suggest anger.  It's not healthy, and I'm working past that.) – it helps to deal with the past. 

I don’t think God wants us to forget our pasts because we’re human.  We learn from what has happened to us.  We grow, and we learn what not to do in our future to keep us happy. 

But how do we move on?  Pray.  Study your Bible.  Focus on God.  Sure, those memories will cross your minds from time to time, but if we keep our focus on God and what He wants from our life, we’ll be much happier.  Also, know that He has forgiven us of our sins if we've ever asked for that forgiveness.  He loves us more than we can ever comprehend.  

Everything happens for a reason.  We may never know the reason for what has happened to us in the past, but God does.  God knows what we need, and He knows where we’re going.  Just have hope.  Hope that it’ll all work out in the future.  Because without hope, how can we have faith?  Without hope and faith, life wouldn’t be worth living.

So, although it would be easier to forget, it wouldn’t be as helpful for our futures if we did.  I have to constantly remind myself of that.  I want to forget.  I want to forget my past relationships and mistakes I’ve made.  I wonder continuously why it even happened if it was only going to end in heartache.  All will be revealed in time.  I just have to wait which isn’t one of my virtues.  Patience is something I’m not good at, but then again, it’s something I’ll have to learn.    

Finding the Sun in the midst of the Storms

Thursday night, as I was headed to meet my best friend before we hit the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, I drove through some storm clouds.  It was around seven o’clock at night, and I had no expectations of seeing the sun again until the next morning.  But I was wrong.  I could see the sun, shining brightly ahead of me and a wall of black clouds directly behind me.

Since I was by myself and the songs on the radio were making me sad, I got to thinking about my current situation in life.  I don’t know where my life is going, and right now, I’m not sure I want to try and figure it out.  Because every time I try to plan out my life, it never goes according to MY plan, but that doesn’t matter.  My life is going according to GOD’S plan. 

This is the picture I took on Thursday. 

Seeing the sunshine ahead of me and the dark clouds behind me though, reminded me that no matter what I’m going through the storm clouds will eventually be on the other side, and the sun will be right ahead of me.  I may not see the sun until the next morning, but it’s there.  Always ready to come back up and shine.

God is like that.  We may be in the middle of a storm, but God is there waiting on us to show us the way, the light. 

I’m not saying whatever your storm cloud is will be easy to drive out of, and I’m not saying your storm will only last a night.  But what I do know is that God is there to help us during the storm and after the storm. 

This reminds me of a quote from Joyce Meyer’s book, The Battlefield of the Mind.  “It’s easy to quit; it takes faith to go through.”

How true is that statement?!  It’s so easy to give up, and the storms overtake us and toss us around.  We believe the lies the Devil is spreading, and we have no idea how on earth to find our way to the Son again.  We question the storms.  Why are they in our lives?  Why can’t we have what we want?  Why?  Why, God, Why?  I’ve been here.  Very recently in fact.  I had too much time to think last night while waiting for the movie to begin at midnight and driving to my best friend's house.  Why am I here?  Why am I facing the trials and storm clouds that I am?  I don’t know.  I don’t have the answers.  God does, and in time, He’ll reveal that to me I hope.  But until then, what I have to do is keep living my life for God, to keep having the faith that He has the storms in His hands, and He’ll deliver me from them.  And the sun is just on the other side of those thick, black storm clouds. 

I will leave you with these verses.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (NIV)

And here is the last half of Psalm 30:5 “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (KJV)

Your joy, your sun will come in the morning.  He didn’t say what morning, but He knows which morning.  And that’s all that matters.  Have the faith that God will bring you through these storms because in the end, all things come together how they were meant to be. 

Sometimes you just want to scream, "Screw You, World!"

I'm starting this blog for the sole purpose of helping those in need face the tough world ahead of them.  I recently have gone through something that hurts - really bad - and I needed a little more inspiration.  I have found inspiration from the Bible and from close friends, family and my pastor at church.  But that got me to thinking about what I had truly hoped to do through my writing.  I want to inspire others.  I want them to know that they aren't alone. 

Sometimes, novels can be just for entertainment purposes only.  And that's fine.  There's nothing wrong with that, but I wanted young adults to realize that they aren't alone when they go through heartaches, breakups, and anything that generally hurts their soul, spirit, and mind. 

As a writer, I wanted to help others.  This is my way of helping.

It's easy to get lost in the hurt.  To feel like there is no hope, but that's a lie straight from the devil.  The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:11, 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

And Isaiah 59:1 says, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:"

Nothing is too big; nor is it too hard for God.   All you have to do is ask.  He may not give you an answer like you want or an answer right away, but He'll give you what you NEED.  And that's hard to remember.  It really is, so if you need someone to talk to, I'm only an email away.  

emerald_barnes@yahoo.com