Cancer shatters illusions, magnifies weaknesses, and strips me of the existence I once knew.
Somewhere along the way the lens through which I view each day changed.
Though it’s still murky and muddled, I can’t help but notice:
- Skills for discerning between the vital and non-essentials sharpened.
- Many everyday fears become laughable.
- Time well-spent ranks among my most valuable commodity.
The shedding of lesser priorities is ongoing. Scripture exfoliates my soul.
Today, I’ve been punched in the face with the healings of Jesus.
Jesus comes down from the mountainside only to have a leper come down (kneel) before him:
“Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” –Matthew 8:2
We discover Jesus is…
willing and able
willing and able
willing and able
willing and able
willing and able
willing and able.
Matthew can’t provide a tally of all who were restored.
The One who “took up our infirmities and bore our diseases" is a serial healer.
Never doubt that Jesus is willing and able.
Jesus reveals His power over disorder when He speaks calm over a chaotic sea.
Jesus exposes His heart to redeem when he approaches a rich but spiritually broke man with the words, “Follow me.”
Jesus shows his love for the exploiters and the exploited by feasting with them.
Jesus drips with healing, splashing the cool waters of the kingdom of God like a hydrant on a sizzling summer day. To those who will receive. To those who are willing. To those who are hungry and thirsty.
Until battling cancer, I never saw a pattern tucked into to this thread of healing stories. A few probe Jesus for their healing,
but most are brought to Jesus by their friends.
Look closely…
The Centurion petitions for his servant.
Though unspoken, Peter (likely) petitions Jesus for his mother-in-law.
Among the crowds, “many were brought to him” perhaps because they couldn’t bring themselves.
Two demon-possessed men came to meet Jesus. (Note that they came together).
Men bring a paralyzed man to Jesus.
Matthew invites his friends to a potluck with Jesus.
The Synagogue leader petitions for his daughter.
Two blind men petition for their healing. Again, note they didn’t come alone.
Throughout Matthew chapters 8 and 9, the only people who show up alone asking for their healing are the man with leprosy and the woman with hemophilia. Oh yeah, Jesus heals them, too.
Do you recognize the role friends play in bringing about healing?
Or rather…
Do you recognize the role you play in bringing healing to your friends?
You and I play a crucial role in the healing of our friends.
You and I have people, now, here, today, that we need to bring to Jesus for healing.
We bring them to Jesus through our prayers and petitions to God.
We bring them to Jesus when we courageously ask, “Would you mind if I pray for you right now?”
We bring them to Jesus by giving them the gift of our presence. By picking up the phone, writing the email, sending the text, boxing up a gift, and asking, “Tell me what you need.”
You, my friends, are the ones who have carried me through the last brutal few years of treatment. Your prayers. Your kindness. Your love. You’ve been my roof raising friends who have lifted me to Jesus.
On more days that I can remember, I’ve felt the power of your prayers. Some days, I was able to climb higher because of you. Some days, I didn’t sink as low because of you.
Indeed, you, my friend have helped bring healing.
And the battle isn’t over. I still need you to pray. I am still seeking God for healing from the chronic pain and complications that have arisen from treatment. I need you to keep bringing me to Jesus.
If you’ve read Fight Back With Joy, or been enjoying the 6-Session Fight Back With Joy DVD Bible Study, you know that this issue of breaking the silence and entering into people’s pain, loss, and affliction is so important to me.
Rarely in the church are we taught how to enter people’s pain in a way that does no harm and only brings healing. We don’t know what to say. We don’t know what to do.
As a result, we sit on the periphery as those we know and love—old friends and new acquaintances—suffer in pain. We become like the religious leaders who pass by the man beaten and bloody on the side of the road.
But what the Good Samaritan and all these men and women in Matthew 8-9 remind us is that we are meant to break the silence, to cross the road, to play a crucial role in the healing of our friends.
Jesus is waiting with healing in His wings.
Are you ready to take flight?
Through this journey, I had an unshakable sense that I needed to create greeting cards for to those going through tough times. Let’s be honest: “In Sympathy” just isn’t appropriate for every situation.
I woke up one night with the words spilled out of me. It’s taken months and the help of a design team, but those cards are now a reality.
To take a peek of them in our store, click here.
These are the kinds of cards meant to speak life and hope and equip you to help others fight back with joy. They are designed to inspire, encourage, and let people know how much they’re loved.
(For those looking for more practical advice and wisdom on what to say when you don’t know what to say, check out the Bonus Features in the back of Fight Back With Joy, that will prepare you to give the gift of your presence and bring healing to those who have experienced loss, affliction, or crisis).
Who is someone in your life with whom you need to break the silence?
Write their name or initials as a comment below so we can be praying for you as you love and serve them during this difficult season.
The post How Cancer Changed the Way I Read the Bible appeared first on Margaret Feinberg.