Today, I heard some very sad news. A cute, little girl; daughter of amazing parents, found out that she has a terrible disease. Although, from what I heard, the survival rate is pretty good, it is still a terrible disease. My heart hurts deeply for this little child...no child should ever have to face or experience the things that the children of this age do (war, poverty, affluence, disease, abandonment). I cannot even begin to imagine the pain, confusion, and sadness that her parents are going through...this blog isn't for them, it's for us who claim to support them.
Some of these things, this generation of adults needs to take resposibility for because they are our faults, or we have the generational influence and power to change them. Others, such as disease, are the result of a broken humanity, and it is no one persons or generations fault.
But that doesn't mean we can't do anything about it...
Personally, I've been wrestling with the idea of healing recently, and while I'm sure I will continue to learn some things, I have uncovered some mindsets that seem to be at large in the Body in America. Mindsets, that until realized and changed, will let little children like the ones I know more than likely go through needless pain.
I believe that God can instantly heal people. I also believe that God has given us intelligence to help find cures for our diseases. Furthermore, I greatly believe that God can use a greater intelligence (a theo-logic-al intelligence) to instantly heal people through the physical deeds of other people.
From what I've seen these days, we accept and believe the first two, but only a few of us, the third. Even with that said, what is our first reaction when we are hurt or get a disease? Doctor. What do we believe is really real? What is our reality? It's whatever our actions display, because a person's reality dictates their actions.
I think we know deep down that God can and wants to use us to heal people, but we are scared. I have been scared...I was scared when I began wrestling through all of this. I thought things like "What if it doesn't work?", "What will that make me look like?", "What will that make God look like?", "That will give people the grounds to make accurate claims that God either doesn't exist or isn't good.", etc. And then I realized something, God showed me something in my heart; I was more fearful than faithful, and more self-image concerned, than selfless.
Today, I heard some very sad news. A cute, little girl; daughter of amazing parents, found out that she has a terrible disease. My heart hurts deeply for this little child...no child should ever have to face or experience the things that the children of this age do. Some of these things, this generation needs to take responsibility for...
We want God to take care of our mess. We do. Be real honest with yourself, listen to yourself (I'm talking to myself right now as well) when you pray and ask for forgiveness, strength, or courage to face a trial or temptation. It's almost always, "God will you give me...", "God will you do this...". And we taken Psalms and other verses and twisted to fit this mold. God will not get us out of the mess we've created!
..........alone.
Nor can we get out of it by ourselves. It must be us, together.
So I ask us this question, I call all of us to really dig deep and begin to eat of real food, not that of a child: what do you really mean when you tell someone you'll pray for them?
I believe there are two things required for healing to take place. One, the healer must believe (be-live, be willing to live or act it) that God can actually heal through their words and hands. Two, the person who will be healed must genuinely believe that they can be healed. What did Jesus or the disciples usually ask someone before they would heal them: "Do you believe that I (or God) can accomplish this?" It was a challenge to see if they truly believed what they asked for would and could happen.
I would say there are three things required, and that the third thing is this: "Where two or more are gathered in my name and agree on something, it will be done for them"(pretty sure I'm combining two verses, but the verses have very strong parallel meanings). But what I've figured out is that, there doesn't necissarily have to be two or more healers agreeing (although that isn't a bad thing), if the healer believes and the healee (?) believes, there are your two people.
While I do believe that God may allow a tragedy to happen in a person's life for a reason, so that he may orchestrate good into it, I feel like we've ruled out that the good he wants to orchestrate is the healing of the person!!!! "No, it can't be that, there must be some "deeper" reason, something they are holding onto that they need to let go of." NO!!! How dare we judge a person like that! Truly, if our actions could speak and we would listen, I believe that is what they would be saying, even if we don't realize it or want to admit it. We've lost a balance in this, and have leaned towards letting God use this to "correct" or "enlighten" a person about themselves.
I know a child (in fact I know many), to whom the "faith" we live these days is not powerful enough for the life they are experiencing. No wonder there are so many youth leaving the church! Our "seeker-friendly, relevancy" has completely watered down the power of the Gospel of Jesus as well as limited the power of the Holy Spirit in our dripping-with-potential lives!
What if our children grew up in places where they saw the real power of the Holy Spirit working as if it was something normal! What if this precious, little daughter of the King saw those she looked up to or people she didn't even know, say "screw the doctors" for once, and actually sacrifice themselves in belief and then prayer (walk and then talk) and she grew up knowing first hand the healing power of God!? What if?!
Are we ready to come together for the sake of the children? Are we ready to be honest with ourselves and then take steps to become the "most powerful agent of change in our community" and the world?
I know a little girl who has a terrible disease, and I know a God who wants to use some people to heal her, and love on her family like they've never known...and I mean that. Now, who will join with me on a challenge of really digging in and fighting this thing down for the sake of a beautiful child? God's redemption is for real ready, it is waiting.
It is waiting for us.
I am ready, even if I'm not completely sure how to walk...I will walk.
Who will come with me?
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