As I continue in my healing journey to rid this body of ALL disease, not just the heart failure issues that have been wonderfully put under the blood of Christ, I have had a real challenge with the grace of God. I know the typical definitions of the word grace, but it's head knowledge. Getting head knowledge into the heart where it can be used by the spirit is the real challenge.
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| © Donna L. Watkins - Fawn In Our Front Yard |
Now by that grace we are free from the ravages of sin as long as we rest in it. Accepting God's grace doesn't mean we can sin as much as we want because our sins are forgiven through Christ. It means knowing God on a personal level and never wanting to sin again. When you love somebody so much, you never want to do anything that will hurt them.
When we can get a grasp of how much God loves us, we begin to realize that sin is almost impossible because we don't want to break that fellowship, or open the door to the devil to mess with our lives. Many times we accuse God of allowing the bad circumstances of our lives to happen when in reality, it was simply our actions/sin that gave the devil his rights to mess with us. We have free will. We get to choose and when we don't choose what's GOOD, EVIL steps in.
Jesus paid the price not only for our sins, but for our healing. If you look up the word for "salvation" in Greek (the New Testament language), it's "sozo" and if you study what that word means you will see that mental and physical healing were included in the package. Sozo is also translated "made whole" in reference to physical healing in Matthew 9:22, Mark 5:34, and Luke 8:48.
James 5:15 says, "the prayer of faith shall save (sozo) the sick." Many scriptures mention the healing of our bodies in conjunction with the forgiveness of our sins. Healing is a part of our salvation, just as much as the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus healed ALL and Jesus said that He could do nothing of Himself, but only what He saw the Father do (Jn. 5:19 and 8:28-29), His actions are proof enough that it is always God's will to heal. I have left a lot on the table that Jesus paid for me to have.
So you have prayed and prayed and had others pray and you're still not healed. I know what you mean. When I Peter 2:24 says, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed," it was done in the spiritual realm. Our sins were forgiven when Christ died on the Cross, but that doesn't mean everybody has accepted it. By faith there came a time when we chose to give Jesus our life and apply salvation. God says that He wants all to be saved in I Timothy 2:4, but obviously all are not.
We must choose to believe. Have you noticed how many times Jesus said, "Only believe." It sounds so simple because we think believing is with our head, but it must be with our hearts and without doubt for we won't receive anything if we are tossed about as a wave of the sea (James 1:6-7).
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| © Donna L. Watkins - Fawn In Our Front Yard |
Man is so used to relying on the five senses to assess how things are going. If we don't see it, we don't believe it. Remember the disciple Thomas? We have to see, touch, taste, hear, feel or smell it. God is spirit and He works in the spiritual realm. We are body, soul and spirit and sadly have been ruled by the soul rather than the spirit for a long time. The body will do whatever your soul or spirit wants, whichever one is in charge. That's why Scripture says, "as a man thinketh in his heart so is he" (Prov. 23:7). We must get to where our mind/soul thinks only on the Truth of the Word and not on anything else.
Most of us were brought up in a performance-based society. If you sit still and don't touch anything you're a good child. If you get good grades everybody praises you. If you wreck the car you get punished and shamed. If you do good at work you'll get a bonus on your paycheck. It all speaks to our minds that we get good things by our own efforts.
So, how do we apply grace for healing when we have our minds churning over what else we must do to manifest the healing that Jesus gave us? It's rough. I've actually heard myself say to the Lord, "What else can I do to make this happen quicker?" Of course I barely get the words out before hearing, "Trust Me! Rest in My work on the Cross."
Trust You? That's a bit hard. How many people have I trusted and been disappointed for doing so? [But they are only people, I am God.] Proverbs 3:5-8:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones."
Rest? But, Lord, my mind bombards me with ideas of things I need to do.
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| © Donna L. Watkins Mama Deer & Fawn In Our Front Yard |
As long as we're trying to DO something for our healing, we are saying that what Christ has DONE is not enough. We try to add to what He suffered for us on the Cross. Actually some denominations teach that we must suffer because Christ suffered. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
Would you call punishing yourself as having life to the fullest? And we do punish ourselves if we've been under this kind of teaching, but that's another topic. Feeling worthy enough to accept your healing is a big factor of why it does not manifest.
Another reason is that we have been taught that God approves everything that happens to us, so we may be sick and diseased because it will make us a better person. God will use it for good. Yes, God will use it for good as He will anything we go through, but that doesn't mean it was His choice for us. If we believe that disease is from God, then why would anybody who is sick go to the doctor or hospital? If it's God's will for you to have this disease, wouldn't it be sin to try to get it to go away?
Every time I wonder off the "straight path" with my own works, I have to remind myself that my part is to plant the Word in my heart. The Word is a seed. Study the beginning of Luke 8 where Jesus teaches on the parable of the seed. The devil will try to steal away the Word before it gets root in your life/heart. We must meditate day and night on the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit shows us. This can be "work" also depending on how we look at it. If we think WE are working to get healed, we are not resting in the grace that gave us the healing.
We can work and meditate on the Word. Don't we worry and work at the same time? Worry is a form of meditating, but not the one God wants us to use. I put Scriptures on cards or in notebooks. I even made a journal solely of Scriptures that people sent me on healing while I was at my worst state, so during the night when I would wake up 9-10 times, I could grab the journal and be right in the Truth within seconds because the devil jumps in before your mind is fully awake.
Trust Me and rest. My biggest challenge while God reveals Himself to me and while I change my mind from the old tapes that said disease comes from God and can be good for you. What an awful thought! Can you imagine as a parent striking your child with a disease to make him a better person? What kind of loving parent would do that!? The story of the Prodigal Son shows us the real nature of The Father (Luke 15).
Jesus came to show us the Father. I can hear Him saying to us as He did to Philip:
"I have been with you for a long time. So you should know Me. The person that has seen Me has seen the Father too. So why do you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you truly believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The things I have told you don't come from Me. The Father lives in Me, and He is doing His own work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Or believe because of the miracles I have done."
You cannot separate the Father and Jesus. Many people can't think of God as Father but they can love Jesus. We have to realize that they are both one and the same. Reconciling the Old Testament vs. the New Testament will help you understand this better by studying about the true nature of God. As Scripture is revealed to our hearts, it will begin to tear down things that we have wrongly believed.
Resources:
True Nature Of God - Article
True Nature of God - Audio
True Nature of God - Video
Reigning In Life - Conference Videos or Audios
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