The Ultimate Healer

I've struggled with calling God "The Healer" because sometimes people don't get healed. They don't recover from horrible diseases and illnesses. Some people struggle with whatever is ailing their body for the rest of their lives.  So, if God is the Ultimate Healer, why then does He heal some and not all?

This week I was just dealing with the mind games that are so often played in my head, even against my better judgment. I kept thinking about my past mistakes and even though I know I'm forgiven from them, to live in that forgiveness is a whole different thing. I thought about how my past choices will effect the life of my future husband and the lives of my future children.  Will they have to pay or suffer for any stupid decisions I made when I was younger?  I thought about how day to day I will never be good enough or perfect enough or even close enough to being the "perfect Christian" (If anyone knows what that looks like or how to attain it, please let me know). 
So.. where is the light at the end of this dark and self-destructive tunnel?  Its found in 1 peter 2:24-25. It says" He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;  by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

I love the part in verse 24 where it specifically states "by His wounds you have been healed" AMEN! all of the past choices I've made, all of the mistakes I've made, all of the stress that I've allowed to eat away at me, all of the thoughts or opinions of others that I've allowed to tear me up.... those things don't matter anymore because I am forever healed due to Jesus' wounds. It wasn't on my part or by any effort that I've made because lets get real, I will NEVER be so amazing or awesome that I can heal myself from the things that deteriorate my soul.

I believe that the actual act of sinning isn't what is horrible for you, but its the choice to live in sin. I don't mean to keep on sinning, but to actually live in your past sins.  For SOO long I lived in a home that was solely made up of all the past mistakes and sins that I committed. Here's the worse part, I built that home. I put up the walls and installed every facet of the house. I beat myself up over my my past mistakes, I layed in bed at night with my sins so angry at the thought of me, making those choices. I spent day and night with my sins. So consumed by them. It was one of the worst relationships I've ever been in.  I knew I was forgiven, but I was so overwhelmed with the knowledge of what I'd done that I never really let myself live in forgiveness. We have two options: Live in your sin (whether past, present, or future) or to live in forgiveness (past, present, and future). Believe me when I say that to live in forgiveness is a way better lifestyle.

Maybe you're thinking to yourself, "well now Isha that's great and all, but how do mistakes and sins count as illness or even compare to something such as cancer or HIV or any other disease that kills off thousands?"  Here's the deal people: Living in your past or present choices/mistakes/sins (call em' what you may) is so horrible for your body. It eats away at you and the stress that it can cause will make you physically ill. You may lay awake at night, losing sleep over it. Or perhaps you are constantly thinking about how you're not good enough to achieve a goal. Or maybe God won't bless you because you just sinned 2 minutes ago.  Here's the truth: God LOVES you so much that He wants to bless you. His love and forgiveness covers a multitude of sins.  God sent Jesus so that we may be healed of our sins. No longer do we have to live life as if we're lepers- that our sins make us too unclean or unholy enough to be loved by others or by the One. Sin and living in it, will eat away at your soul. That is not the intent or the goal of God. He so desperately desires for you to be healed and to walk in that freedom.

If someone were to be sick for an extreme amount of time, and finally they were told they were better, it would be insane for them to keep going back to the hospital, putting on the gown, laying in a bed, and acting as if they were sick. No one would do that! Who wants to live in a hospital when there's freedom to live outside of it? The same goes for you and me.  Let's take off our hospital gowns, unplug the I.V. and walk out the doors of the hospital because we know that we are 100% healed. Let us not walk back in that place ever again. You are FOREVER healed!

Blessings!

Quick update

Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged, but the past few weeks have been INSANE! I've been working the usual hours ( a few added on here and there) but I've also been traveling and hanging out with friends more (YAY!) I went to NYC this past weekend to meet up with a new friend who is amazing and I love spending time with them. I also have been involved with my young adults group at church which is such an answer to prayers. Life is improving everyday here and I can't thank you guys enough for all of your prayers and kind words!  The next blog will be on the true healing power of Christ.  I'm currently about to run out the door to go hang out with some of my lovely new friends!  Wish me luck as I venture out on St. Patty's Day here in lovely NJ!

That is all for now. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to right a longer blog!

Blessings!!

All Things

Two of my favorite scriptures are these:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.- Romans 8:28
I can do all this through him who gives me strength- Philippians 4:13

What do I love most about these scriptures? The two key words: ALL THINGS! 

Sunday's section in my devotion this week (a book called The Dare-totally amazing) was about Lordship and what it means to be lord as well as what it means for Jesus to be lord of our lives/my life.  So at the end of the section there was a question. "In your own words, what's the difference between believing in Jesus and making Him LORD of your life?"   It took me a little bit to answer this because I've been taught for years that it's important to have Christ as your Lord and how to go about that, but never was I taught or even told what is the difference is and how it looks.  So after moments of thinking I came up with this answer.

" Everyone believes in Jesus. To say that he didn't exist is to be crazy. Some see him as a prophet, a good man, or even a crazy man, but they still believe. To make someone lord is to no longer have control in everything. It means going before the person with ALL requests-seeking approval or permission before making up your mind or making a decision. It means that everything you own belongs to the lord and you no longer have rights to it. It is an utter and complete surrender of EVERYTHING and ALL THINGS."

So then I thought WAIT A MINUTE! (the thought literally was that loud. I'm pretty sure any mind reader would need ear plugs to drown out the sound of that thought) (P.S. I may ramble in this so just go with)  Of course ALL THINGS would work together for my good because I've already surrendered ALL THINGS to the Lord of my life. And I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens me because I've already given lordship over those things. In fact they should have never been in my ownership but God is so nice that He allows me to try and dictate what I have ownership over)"

Now don't go getting all weird on me thinking that this isn't going to make any sense. Just relax and go with it for a second.  Think about it:  Doesn't life seem to be a bit easier or maybe less stressful when you surrender ALL THINGS.  Like "Lord, NONE of this makes any sense and I don't get it, but its yours" and let's be honest that usually isn't said until after you do EVERYTHING in your power to try to make things work and finally you're like "alright alright God I guess you can have it now"  After you say it, you automatically start to feel better. Things may not turn out the way you had hoped or intended but you know in your heart that its going to be okay. Why? Because your Lord has control of it. You've given up the steering wheel and are now allowing him to be in control. You're giving up ALL THINGS that make you comfortable and feel like you know what your doing so that He can make ALL THINGS work together for you good.  Isn't that so cool?

Sometimes we try to take lordship back but really is that ever quite possible? MAYBE but it doesn't go without a lot of struggles. Imagine someone going to the palace and saying, "Queen, its been a great ride but I just feel like I'd be better at deciding things in my life than you are. Don't get me wrong, I think you're a great woman, but um I just don't think you should dictate what goes on anymore. Thanks for everything, but I'm taking over now"    And after a few years of them screwing up in life and making their own choices they waltz back into the palace but this time with their head held not so high they say (and quite sheepishly) "Queen, I'm sorry. I tried to make all the decisions that you do and well... it just didn't work out the way I thought. Can I come back?"   I can't imagine it going the same way that it does with God when we try to give lordship to Him then take it back and the moment we realize how stupid that was we go back to him and ask Him to be Lord again. 

I'm not saying that God won't bless those that don't give him total lordship because God loves us so much that its ridiculous, but I do believe that the relationship that comes from giving Jesus Lordship is worth so much more than the freedom of being my own lord. 

I'm not quite done with this point because I'm still growing in the section in my life, but I just felt like I needed to share my thoughts.  So for tonight, that's it!

Blessings

Have you ever taken a road trip with more than just one person? I love road trips, especially when there are more than just two people in the car, however; I've come to notice that each person plays a certain role in the car ride to wherever the destination may be.

 

First you have the driver: They're in control and even though they have directions they can make any turn they want. The original destination may be San Diego, but if the driver desides that you're going to San Francisco all you can do is enjoy the ride .

 

Second you have the passenger. Now this person plays a pretty large role. They are to keep the driver entertained, hold conversationThey get the best seat on the road trip because they can see everything, but don't have to stay focused on the roadand if they want, they can take a nap.

 

Thirdly you have the back seat driversorry.. back seat passenger usually the person who opts to sit in the back seat is pretty chill. Naps often, doesn't really participate in the driving experience other than keeping up some sort of conversation, but its not required.

however, there are the rare occasions where the back seat passenger thinks they are the driver and tries to give out directions which can be quite annoying.

 

How is our faith like that? 

 

Well, our often times in life we try to be the driver, but really who wants all that responsibility?

The people who opt for the driver position are control freaks, have to have everything their way and underneath all that lies fear. Fear of relinquishing everything to someone who they may not trust 100%

fear that something may happen that they're not totally comfortable with

These are the people that think they're experiencing God and life to the fullest, but are short sided. They may get to the ultimate destination, but they'll never know the true joy of enjoying a life driven by God.

Onto the back seat passenger

These people tend to be people in life and faith that don't really question anything. A lot of people in church are back seat passengers they're simply there for the enjoyment of being there

they sit in the seats, raise their hands when it seems right, say "Amen" when everyone else does.

When it comes to their personal relationship with God, well.... a lot of times they're asleep

They don't really know God and they may get to the destination, but will have no clue how they got there. They may have asked for salvation a long time ago (thats when they agreed to go on this road trip)

or maybe they made a commitment to ministry, but somewhere down the road they don't even know what happened or how it got to the point that it is

Now a side to this back seat passenger is the back seat driver

This person wants to control some of the decisions in life, not all of them but the ones that seem important or maybe they've gone down this road before and they think they know which turns to take

sometimes this person may come across bossy but really they're just concerned that the right decisions will be made at the right time

Lastly we have the passenger. They're along for the ride. They trust the driver with everything and know that its going to be okay. For me, I absolutely trust when my friend Jo'd drives. I know that she's going to get me there safe (wherever there may be) but how did we get to the point of trust? We've traveled together so many times that we know each other and what each other is going to need and want

Is your life like that with God?

Do you allow him to be the driver of the road trip in your life? Have you spent enough time letting him be in control that you know Him? That he knows you? Or do you jump in the driver seat trying to take control of every turn?  Or do you sit back and nap until you think that God is taking you down the wrong road and that's when you all of a sudden decide its a good time to talk to Him?

What position do you take in the road trip of life?

The Sweetest Things in Life come at a price

Today was a great day in terms of my relationship with the spunky and feisty 2 year old. Normally its a battle to get goodnight kisses and she likes to try and talk back to me or give me an attitude (more than normal lol). Well today, I had morning kisses, lots of thank yous and "I welcomes" plus enough "pease" to cast a Veggie Tales full length film (hahaha.. get it?)   Tonight at bath time a wave of emotion came over me. I was dealing with an illness and after 2 doctor's visits and 45 mins at the pharmacy I was finally set. I was so exhausted from being sick every week since being here that I think it all just hit me at once.  I started to tear up and the little girl asked "Eesha, You okay?.  You okay?"  It was the sweetest thing. Her little face turned from smiles to sadness and genuine concern. I told her that I was sick and didn't feel well. She got up and gave me a kiss then said "you okay" 

After wiping my tears I decided to put on worship music to lighten the mood, well more of my mood then hers. How Great is Our God came on and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. She stood up in the tub and started dancing. She began singing along with the song (even though she has no clue what the words are). In that moment, all of my worries and and concerns for the moment were gone. How could I be worried or stressed about anything when I have a gorgeous 2 year old singing worship songs in the tub?  In that moment I realized just how great I have it here and that my purpose here is so clear. I am to be a light into this young girls life. She's in love with Veggie Tales (which she calls "her potatoes") and LOVES worship music.

I may not be getting paid a lot and my spending limit is MUCH less than what I'm used to, but looking back at the days when I made way too much money for an 18 year old, I realize that at this point in my life money doesn't mean a thing. I look at Paul or any of the 12 disciples who gave up everything to follow the will of God. Its a scary thought to change your lifestyle and have faith that you're taking the right steps, but i'm confident in saying that the disciples probably shared the same faith boosters when they saw the impact that they were having in lives around them.

My challenge today:  What are you willing to sacrifice in your life to impact the lives around you (or maybe its just one life that God is calling you to impact)  For some it may be time, for others money, and for some it may be control of situations, while for others it may be the mindset that their opinion needs to be spoken at every moment of the day. Whether it's all, one, or none of these I pray that you would pray and search your heart to see what God is asking of you to lay aside. I promise you this: that the sweetest things in life come when you decide to sacrifice something of importance to you.


Blessings