Over the last twenty plus years I have witnessed God heal people in a variety of ways, from physical realities like crooked or broken bones, infections, warts, cancer, tumours and the like, to emotional realities where God heals deep trauma, breaking cycles of broken behaviour. I have stood in awe, beholding the power of the name of Jesus, as people are delivered, and given the freedom that Scripture talks about.
Something I have been reminded of in the last few weeks while connecting with people while out on a walk, or while going about daily routines is that God’s healing power flows best while we are simply loving, and authentically caring for the people we have come in contact with.
The church family I am a part of is passionate about seeing the power of the God manifested in our every day lives. 1 Corinthians 4:20 says, “For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.”
We have been instructed by Jesus in Matthew 10:8 to, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”
We should be seeing the power of God transforming people’s lives as we make Him known. At the same time within a culture that ‘goes after’ healing we can easily begin to miss the mark. We can become so focused on desiring to see a demonstration of God’s power that we forget to love. We forget to be about the new commandment given to us in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
There is a temptation that can lurk below the surface of our motives that says ‘we have arrived in our spiritual maturity’ if the power of God is being displayed through my life when praying for others. But I beg to differ. Spiritual maturity is displayed in how we love, and not only in loving those who are easy to love, but those who have hurt us, betrayed us, or disappointed us in some way. If the power of God is healing someone when I pray for them, but I then go home to treat my husband or family in anger or disrespect, I have missed the mark.
The power of healing flowed through the compassion and love that Jesus had for all He met, even for those who betrayed Him or spat upon Him. Oh for God to do the miracle within our hearts that causes us to see everyone we meet with compassion and grace. I desire that miracle that takes my selfish heart of stone and turns it into a heart of flesh so that I can authentically loves others, instead of desiring a manifestation of God’s power to boost my own image.
As a child of God we can live confidently that the same power that raised Christ from the dead resides within us through His Spirit. So in that confidence we can be about loving others authentically with a compassion that overflows like a spring from within us, and we can leave the results of saving, healing and delivering up to God.