The Great Physician

I’ve never been a real big fan of going to hospitals or doctors because most of the time it means someone is hurting.  I have learned, though, to go to one of the greatest physicians of all times and His name is Jesus!  Sometimes we don’t realize the depth of our hurts until we allow a doctor to examine us.  As I have learned to open up more of my heart to the Lord, He has been able to heal areas of hurt that continued to resurface.  When faced with certain situations, often times a button would get triggered that produced undesirable reactions from me.  While being here in Africa, God has revealed to me a small seed of bitterness that was starting to grow within my heart.  As I acknowledged this bitterness and laid my hurts down at His feet, He washed away that bitterness and began sowing seeds of sweetness in its place.  Just as He turned bitter water into wine, He also took my bitterness and turned it into His sweet grace.  Romans 12:15 states that it is unhealthy to allow roots of bitterness to spring up because it will cause much trouble and defile many.  When we fail to extend the grace of God to others, this is how the embryo of bitterness begins to develop.  As I gaze more into His eyes, He continues to heal my heart and free me of the unnecessary burdens I have been carrying.  In these same situations my coping mechanisms are changing as the Lord continues to humble me, and I am more freely able to extend grace and forgiveness and even a simple, “I’m sorry,” even if it means swallowing my pride of “being right”.  Being right isn’t as important as protecting one’s relationship with someone you love and care for, a lesson that at times was a challenge for me because of unfruitful seeds I was carrying.  The Holy Spirit is teaching me that “in my head knowledge” I may theoretically be right, but He often asks me to examine my heart.  Faith, hope, love…the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).  My lifelong question - in my actions and heart, am I choosing to love above all else?  It isn’t always easy to swallow our pride and prefer someone over ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4).  It isn’t always easy to love those that are challenging to love (Matthew 5:43-48).  It isn’t always easy to resist the urge to retaliate or seek revenge when someone hurts us (Romans 12:17), but it is the right thing to do because that’s what Jesus did!  Many people fear seeking this kind of healing, because in all honesty the process of being transparent and “weeding” our lives can hurt, but the end result is FREEDOM and there is nothing more beautiful than that.  Here in Africa we’ve worshipped to these lyrics, “You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of dust.”  In Genesis 2:7 it teaches how God made the first man, Adam, from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils.  Throughout life, and maybe even now, some of you might feel like dust, dirt or ashes on the ground.  However, there is a lifelong lesson spoken in this verse – you can trade in your ashes in exchange for beauty because He loves you so much!!  He can make something out of nothing!!  He sees you as beautiful!!  Take a moment to ask Him how He sees you.  Write down what comes to mind.  Let Him write you a love letter.

Many times we try to fix ourselves and produce our own fruits, but in the end those fruits begin to die when we are not connected to the true vine which is Jesus (John 15).  Apart from Jesus we can do nothing.  He is the ultimate heart surgeon and will give you the best transplant you could ever receive in life.  As the lyrics in this song states, “Open up your heart and let me in.” "Come Away"  Some of you know about Jesus/God but you do not know Jesus/God on a personal (relationship) level.  If that is you and you are ready for the next step of receiving the Lord into your heart, take a moment now to do so.  Acknowledge that God sent His son, Jesus, to die for you on the cross so that you might have life.  Acknowledge that He has washed away your sins on the cross.  Receive Him as your personal Savior and give Him complete control over your life.  This is the most important decision you will ever make in your life and you won’t regret it!  God gave me a picture in the clouds of two hearts becoming one.  There is more to this story, but the message God gave to me was this: as we adjust our lenses to focus more on Him, our heart will become one with His.  He is after our hearts.  Let your heart hunger for more of Him and expect the greatest transplant of your life!!