God’s Healing Grace

God’s Healing Grace

Psalm 147:3

If there’s one truism I have learned in my 64 years is that no one goes through this life without pain, hurt, and sorrow. Everyone has problems, hurts, and hidden wounds, emotions scars that we allow no one else to see.

One of these hurts, wounds, and scars is called rejection. At one time or another we’ve all been rejected. We’ve experienced rejection from our parents, peers, co-workers, and friends. In fact, we remember words spoken to us 10, 20, 30, 40, even 50 years ago, words that hurt just as much and just as deeply today as when they were first spoken. And not only do they dictate how we live, but the way we live.

Today I’d like to look at God’s healing grace, and how God heals these hurts and wounds.

Take a moment and look at God’s promised healing.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3 NKJV)

I can probably speak for everyone here in saying we all need a healing in our lives.

The question, though, is “How does God do it?”

One of the ways is by changing the way we think. It’s how we see God, how we view pain and suffering, and how we see ourselves.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2 NKJV)

It is this transformational grace we looked at last week, and the same aspect of healing grace is found within it, that is, if we want God’s healing grace we need to change the way we think.

Solomon said that the way a person thinks deep down inside is going to be the way they are going to react to life.

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7a NKJV)

As Christians we must think by faith, not by fear. We have to think in terms that God can, not that He can’t.

The Apostle Paul said,

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

Paul said, “I can,” not because he wills it into existence, but because he counted upon the Lord’s power, mercy, and grace. And Paul is someone who clearly has a grasp on this as he pleaded with the Lord for a healing, knowing then of God’s sustaining grace in his healing.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV)

If our thinking is somehow attached to our healing, then how’s our thinking?

If we think we’re failures, then we’re setting ourselves up to fail, and we’ll be afraid to step out, which is what having faith is all about. If we don’t see ourselves as anything special, then we’ll find ourselves shying away from the wondrous beauty and giftedness God has placed inside of us.

In simplest of terms, it is our beliefs that determine and dictate our behaviors. So when we begin to see ourselves as a child of God, and inheritor of God’s kingdom, as someone in whom the Holy Spirit dwells within, then we’ll begin to live a victorious Christian life instead of a defeated one.

Consider the inhabitants of Nazareth in the time of Jesus. Here Jesus enters into his own hometown after doing great and marvelous healings throughout the entire region. But in Nazareth He finds He can’t do a lot because of their doubt. They didn’t believe He could heal; therefore, because of their unbelief Jesus couldn’t heal many. It was their belief that dictated God’s healing grace.

This brings up something important. There exist within many people a problem with what they believe. Many of their beliefs are false, wrong, or grossly misinformed and mistaken.

Growing up we pick up all kinds of beliefs because our friends, family, or religious leaders said it, and since they should know, we have accepted them as fact. Unfortunately, many of them are not true.

Remember the traveling carnivals. They invariably have a “Fun House” that was filled with all these warped mirrors. When we’d look into them we’d see a distorted image of ourselves. For some our heads were too big, while in others our heads are the size of a pea. But other mirrors would show us in all these weird ways.

This brings out the truth that distorted mirrors gives distorted images.

Growing up, there were people in our lives that acted like these mirrors, and we accepted whatever they said as truth, that is, we accepted their image of who we are and not how God sees us.

These mirrors are what others have spoken into our lives. They may be parents, teachers, peers, or even friends. They say, “Are you stupid.” “You’ll never amount to anything.” “You’re no good.” “You can’t do anything right.” They say we’re fat, ugly, or weird. They call us geeks, fatso, pencil neck, or loser. These are all distorted images.