More Than Meets the Eye

Friend, your sins are forgiven you…….He said to the paralytic ~ I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home. Luke 5:20,24b (New American Standard Bible)

Jesus’ deity, power, and intervention were shown in a paralyzed man’s internal world as well as his external world. Both the forgiveness of sins and the healing of the body are miraculous works that only God can perform. Of the two, it was the physical healing that amazed the crowd that day. Like them, we often put more stock into things we can see, smell, hear, taste, and touch. But we must realize there is a world of amazing things going on IN us every day.

I have never seen a physical healing of a disease. I cannot imagine the impact it would have on a person to see someone who is paralyzed get up and carry what use to carry him. Or to see any number of healings Jesus performed while here on earth…..blindness, deafness, leprosy, demon possession, deformities, and even death. Life threatening, life altering, and life taking situations all transformed before my eyes. The impossible not only made possible but visible. How long would it take for me to stop saying, “Wow!”

May I be just as amazed at the internal things God does every day within me and others. Each time I confess my sins to God (whether they have to do with things I said, thought, or did) He graciously speaks the same words to me as He did in this passage of Scripture…..”Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” Those words mean instant reconciliation and restored fellowship with God. May I never take that lightly. Or the many times I come to Him emotionally spent over heart issues and He calms the storm in my mind just as profoundly as He calmed the storms at sea with His disciples. Or the experience I have on a daily basis of opening Scripture and seeing truth in a way I have never seen before. Words that were penned thousands of years ago becoming personal for me today! Having lived for decades without that experience, I now stand amazed each time it happens.

I challenge each of us to find areas where God touches our internal world each day. He intersects our world in so many precious ways and when we begin to see that, we are forever changed.

Father, for too long I missed the numerous things You were doing in my life. Today, may I see the inner workings and be in awe of You! Amen.

What Sin? By Morgan Cryar
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qaMIeOKQVDs&feature=related

Mutual Relationships

That is, that we may be mutually strengthened and encouraged and comforted by each other's faith, both yours and mine. Romans 1:12 (Amplified Bible)

I find that relationships come in three forms. There are individuals in my life for whom I am used of God to minister to. There are also individuals in my life who minister to me in profound ways. And then there are the relationships like Paul is describing whereby the strengthening, encouragement, and comfort are mutual. It runs both ways and what a blessing when it does! I am at a point in my life where that is happening more and more with the people I am crossing paths with and I am thrilled to have it that way.

Is it always easy? No. There are times I find myself feeling foolish for expressing needs or wanting to talk. There are times the unavailability of the other person can fill me with a sense of embarrassment and shame. Those are the risks that can cause me to want to retreat into a safe hole and pretend I don’t need anyone or wish I didn’t. Those are the times I can try to convince myself it would be better to live a solo existence. But more importantly, those are the times God reveals aspects about my own heart that need a touch from Him.

He knows there are reasons behind my relational issues and He wants to bring them to the light for healing and wholeness. He also knows that although relationships entail risk, they thrive on trust, respect, honesty, openness, vulnerability, and acceptance. I praise Him for the ones who provide a safe place with whom I can experience that. They have enriched my life and have allowed me to enrich theirs.

At a time when I struggled the most with the awareness of my own emotional dependency issues, I believed the answer was to live without close relationships. But my own transformation began when I became open to that very thing. As I allowed individuals to see the real me, I saw that they didn’t walk away in disgust after all. They know I have a long way to go and they are such precious cheerleaders along the way. They (more than anyone) have been the heart and hands of Jesus to me.

Do I still second guess myself, feel like a basket case, hesitate to ask for help, cringe at my own “phobias”, and long to be a different person inside and out? Absolutely! But mutual relationships are helping to lessen those moments and growth is coming slowly but surely. They remain the precious jewels in my treasure chest of life and I value them highly.

Father, thank you for all the relationships I enjoy. May each one please and glorify
You! Amen.

Kathy Troccoli sings "My Life Is In Your Hands"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlmYxZAgrGI