healing

On Sunday, we were blessed to hear Terry Mortenson, PhD, MDiv from Answers in Genesis speak on the topic “Creation vs. Evolution: Why it Matters”.  I wanted to share something he said that was a healing salve to my soul ~ and I pray it will be the same for you.

To understand the healing, I think we need to uncover the hurt first.  I want to share these details of my struggle in the hopes that it may help you to see your own feelings more clearly and allow you to receive healing too.

When Seth was first born, he was given a diagnosis that terrified me.  He would have multiple open-heart surgeries leaving him with 1/2 a functioning heart.  My soul cried against it and my mouth argued with the doctors who insisted on giving it!  It didn’t sit well with me because it did not fit with my desires for my son or with who I believed God to be – a good, loving, healing God.  It wasn’t right.

Two realities were clashing inside and around me – the reality of the medical world and my reality of my God and what should happen in His world.  As the years went on and this battle of two worlds continued, I was often very confused.  In fact, it caused me to feel that I had to be doing something wrong.  Maybe I wasn’t accepting God’s will and He was angry.  Maybe I wasn’t praying/believing/thinking right.  That began a journey on “The Road to Self-Destruction”.  (Those of you who were part of my teleseminar “The Messy Motives of a Worried Mom” will recognize that phrase.  Those you who weren’t there will be able to read more about it in the e-book of the same name that I’m currently writing.)  I’d use the Bible to beat myself up.  After all, if I was a good Christian and really had faith, wouldn’t I be OK, peaceful even, with whatever might happen?

This is what Dr. Mortenson shared yesterday.  He asked, if we are animals and death is natural, why do we cry when our four month old dies?  Why do we cry when someone when love dies?  This is a rough quote, but what he said next both healed my old hurt and brought peace.  He said, “We should cry because it isn’t right.  Our soul knows it.”

According to Genesis, God created His world to be good.  Sickness and death are not good, but they entered our world with the original sin.  God never intended for children (or anyone) to get sick and die.  That sin opened the flood gates of Hell and separated us from God.  Thank God, that through Christ, we can be fully reconciled to Him, and the enemy has no real power over us or our eternal souls.  The fact remains, though, that sin and the enemy run rampet over the earth and we still suffer their consequences.  The Holy Spirit in us cries to the Father, in pain, “This isn’t right!  This isn’t what we wanted the world to be like!”

“This isn’t right! This isn’t what we wanted the world to be like!”

So, now I have peace.  My spirit fought against Seth’s diagnosis because it isn’t right for a child of God.  I’m so grateful for a Father who will walk us each down the road of our unique journeys.  To some, He will give peace to accept a diagnosis; others will be stirred up against it.  Praise God that He doesn’t leave us to suffer the consequences of sin on our own. 

So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.

And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose,

Romans 8:26-28
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Thank God for the Holy Spirit who also guides us to Him.  Not only that, the Spirit urges us to pray and even prays for us.  He is certainly our Helper (John 14:16).  May the truth that the Helper is with you always and that God is working for your good give you hope, Dear One.  I pray you will also find peace knowing that the illness your child suffers does not please the LORD, it is not right to Him either, and He will not let you face it alone.

In His Love,

Kimberly

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This is the last journal entry I’ll be sharing and it’s from 2 days before Seth’s surgery.

Deuteronomy 4:4  But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, everyone of you.

4:7 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.  And teach them to your children and to your grandchildren.

It’s hard now, with the surgery date 2 days away, but I will hold fast to the Lord.  I have to remember all that He’s done for us, not let my family forget and pass it on.  I have to tell what He’s done!

What’s funny to me is the last line, “I have to tell what He’s done!”  God had already done so much to heal Seth, but I had no idea what He had in store for us through the surgery.

The thing that was hard for me was still praying and hoping God would close the holes in Seth’s heart Himself and we could avoid surgery altogether.  Those holes seemed so small compared to the defects He had healed! 

I would never tell people, “Seth’s surgery will be July 22.”  Saying that felt like I was closing the door to the possibility of God healing Seth.  I’d say instead, “His surgery is scheduled for July 22.”  Praying for healing, but preparing physically for surgery (getting packed and the pre-operation doctor visits) just didn’t go together.  It was especially hard when Seth asked me if I’d given up hope.  I worried what this was doing to his faith.  I had to trust God with all of Seth – his physical and spiritual beings both.   If you listened to Seth’s interview, I think you can see the health of his faith.  Did you miss it?  Go to http://kimberlyehlers.com/?p=2150 , it’s a short 25 minute interview that will bless you beyond measure!

In His Love,

Kimberly

 

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P.S.   Are you having trouble holding fast to the LORD?  Are you feeling separated from Him or are you carrying guilt that keeps you away from Him?  Please join me for The Messy Motives of a Worried Mom teleseminar.  You are not alone and you do not have to stary separated from the Father who loves you.  Go to http://kimberlyehlers.com/?p=2170 and register today!

P.S.S   Stay tuned for information on the BIG sale coming this Friday, July 22!  It’s a day we love to celebrate, and we want to celebrate with you!

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Fear is such a huge thing in our lives.  When your child has a serious illness, there seems to be an endless supply of things to worry about  and outcomes to fear.

Fear drains us of energy, robs us of joy, and leaves us living defeated lives. 

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and find out what goodness God wants for you and the 7 steps you need to take to battle fear.

In His Love,

Kimberly

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To download: click "7 Steps to Battling Fear"

 

 

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Does God Still Heal Today? Part 2 by Beth Jones

by Kimberly on March 23, 2011

Visit Beth at www.bethjones.net

But will God heal?  Specifically, will God heal you or your loved one?  Ultimately, we don’t know what God is going to do. He’s in control. That’s the crux of the issue. We have to let go and trust Him. We have to give it to God.

That is the hardest part. Because deep down inside, we know that He may not heal. And if He doesn’t heal, that causes us to face an even more important question: Is God good?

If God chooses not to heal, doesn’t that mean He’s not good? Why would God decide not to heal someone?

Ann Voskamp’s little toddler sister was hit by a truck and killed right in front of the view of her mother, who was washing dishes at the kitchen sink and looking out the window. She was running across the road after a cat. Ann raises this question about God’s goodness in her book, One Thousand Gifts:

“Can there be a good God? A God who graces with good gifts when a crib lies empty through long nights, and bugs burrow through coffins? Where is God really? How can He be good when babies die, and marriages implode, and dreams blow away, dust in the wind?” (p. 12)

“That which seems evil only seems so because of perspective…But what perspective sees good in dead farm boys, good in a little girl crushed under tires of a truck right in front of her mother’s eyes, good in a brother-in-law who buries his first two sons in the space of nineteen months-and all the heinous crimes and all the weeping agony and all the scalding burn of this world?” (pp.88-89)

Ann’s conclusion after much thought, study, and prayer is this: “Out of the darkness of the cross, the world transfigures into new life. And there is no other way…It is suffering that has the realest possibility to bear down and deliver grace. And grace that chooses to bear the cross of suffering overcomes that suffering.” (p. 97)

In suffering, in sickness, in injury, in need, we are taught about God’s grace. The cross, the suffering, transfigures us into the likeness of Jesus.

That doesn’t mean for a moment that I believe we’re supposed to give up and accept whatever is happening. We need to take authority over satan and continue to pray, pushing through all fear and doubt, pushing through the crowds and all obstacles, whatever is in our way, to be able to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment – to cry out like Jairus did, falling at His feet, “Please come and lay Your hands on my daughter, so she will get well and live.” (Mark 5:23, NASB)

In my book Walking With God, my former pastor Lawrence Wilson said that it is God’s decision whether He will heal someone. But it is our job and our responsibility to believe in faith and to continue to pray for healing – until the very end. As we’re praying, we’re also giving the final outcome to God – whatever He chooses. To trust Him. To know that no matter, He is still good and He loves us with an everlasting love. He will use all things for His glory.

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.” (John 9:1-4, NLT)

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Did you enjoy this article? You can learn more about prayer and healing through Beth’s ebook, Walking With God, at http://www.bethjones.net/my-products/walking-with-god-ebook-now-available/ and through her 7-audios, quiet time series at http://www.bethjones.net/my-products/quiet-time-audio-set/.

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Does God Still Heal Today? Part 1 by Beth Jones

by Kimberly on March 22, 2011

 

Every ounce of my soul responds with a resounding, “YES!” to that. I have personally witnessed God’s miraculous healing in my life, my family’s life, and many others:

* God healed me emotionally from severe depression and panic attacks, the result of childhood sexual and physical abuse.
* God healed my father when he had a brain aneurysm and a stroke in his 30′s
* God miraculously healed my daughter Heather from a brain injury followed by brain surgery – she’s perfectly fine today
* God miraculously healed me of an eye infection that an eye doctor said was the worst he’d ever seen and could cause blindness
* God healed my husband of a huge kidney stone that doctors thought would require surgery to remove
* God miraculously healed our daughter Leah of seizures, minor leaks in her heart, and a defective aorta – she’s been seizure free 3 years and no longer has to see a cardiologist or neurologist
* God miraculously healed my friend Reena’s daughter Marcy when she was in a terrible car wreck and doctors all thought she would die

I could tell you testimony after testimony like this. Some of you may be wondering about your own child or loved one. Can God heal him or her? Will He?

That is a question which has filled hundreds of volumes of books and has been debated by people, especially theologians, for centuries. I believe with all my heart that God can heal – through miracles like Jesus performed, through a change in diet and exercise, through medicine, through surgery, through counseling, through rehab, through laughter, through a number of other ways.

God also chooses sometimes not to heal, such as in the case with my friend Anita Gail in my book on prayer, Walking With God. Anita Gail was believing with strong faith for her healing of uterine cancer, along with many other people – and yet God took her home to be with Him in heaven.

We all asked, “Why?” We don’t understand these things. Anita Gail had finally given her life over to Christ, after a traumatic childhood where her mother horribly verbally abused her, she had gone through a series of unhealthy relationships with men, and she had become addicted to meth and cocaine. After Anita Gail got saved, she met the man she loved – a great man of God, a Mennonite farmer in Wisconsin named Kenny. She’d been praying for years with tears streaming down her face to find a godly husband and to get married – someone who would look beyond her nearly 300 pounds and just love her for who she was. God gave her the desires of her heart through Kenny.

They were very happy. She wrote me letters, pouring out her gratitude for God’s goodness. Then she died!  It doesn’t seem right or fair. Why would God snatch away hers -  and Kenny’s – happiness? Or so it seems. The Bible says God’s ways and thoughts are not like ours; they are higher. (Isaiah 55:9)  We may not understand when we or someone we love is sick or injured. We cry out, “Why?”

We pray, we doubt, we beg, we fast, we plead, we try to bribe God, we even get angry at God and shake our fists at Him. Sometimes there’s silence in response. Sometimes God speaks His peace to our troubled hearts in the midst of the storm.

Sometimes He helps us to find joy in the midst of the darkness, like the morning after Leah had another seizure in the middle of the night and I walked around outside, crying. The sun was shining, the sky was a beautiful blue with cotton-white clouds, and birds sang their praises to God. I felt His sweet presence, His Love for me and Leah. In the midst of my anguished, despairing heart and relentless tears, I felt a moment of assurance and joy that no matter what, He was with me and He felt my pain. She would be healed, He told me. And she is healed today by the stripes of Jesus! I give Jesus Christ all the glory for her healing. “Weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

God can and does heal – yes, today. The Bible proves that through Jesus’ miracles, as well as our own lives. The woman who was bleeding for 18 years who had gone to so many doctors. The blind man who cried out, “Son of God, have mercy on me!” The man who was lame, who couldn’t get to the stirring of the waters at the pool of Bethesda.

These people were healed, and multitudes more because of Jesus’ compassion and love. God wants to heal people. Jesus went around healing people, not giving them sickness. Jesus came to set the captives free.(Isaiah 61: 1-4)

Some people say you have to have faith to be healed and rebuke others who “just don’t have enough faith.” But the man whose son had epilepsy said to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9: 24) Even if your faith is small, you can move mountains with it and God can still do His great deeds for His glory! (Matthew 17:20)

Yes, dear friend, God can and does heal.  There are just too many miraculous testimonies to believe otherwise. 

But will God heal?  Specifically, will God heal you or your loved one? 

From Kimberly – Oh, haven’t we all asked those same questions?  It all comes down to really wanting to know those 2 things doesn’t it?  Join us tomorrow as Beth dives into these 2 huge questions. 
In the meantime, you can visit Beth at www.bethjones.net.  Make sure to sign up for her ezine!

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The Words a Mommy Never Wants to Hear – Something is Wrong with Your Baby

February 23, 2011

As many of you know,  my husband and I have one child, a boy, now 12.  There are a couple of reasons I remember his birth like it was yesterday.  First, it was the most incredible life changing experience I’ve ever had.  Yes, even bigger than getting married.  After all, I knew the man I was [...]

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A Peak at WHY – Kimberly’s Blog

February 22, 2011

Hi, everyone!      I have to confess, I’m using you today.  This weekend God let my husband and I see something that has left me overwhelmed, in awe, and still processing what it means.  So, I’m using you to help me process, but I do pray that our experience will be an encouragement to you [...]

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