The Impact of Healing
We now live in a day when youth dream of becoming an “influencer” on social media as much or more than previous generations dreamed of becoming a professional athlete or a doctor. Think about that for a minute. It seems likely that more children think more about having a huge following on Instagram or being a YouTube content creator than dream of becoming an NFL quarterback.
What is the world coming to, right??? Maybe it’s not as bad as we might first think.
If being followed by millions on social media is someone’s greatest aspiration and it never transforms into something more altruistic, then yes, there’s a big problem! However, perhaps desiring to have an impact on the world is actually built into each of us by God himself. Let’s consider this. Do you ever hope your loved ones will turn from their current ways or get closer to God? Do you try to help them do that? You’re desiring to have an impact.
When we take a step back from lamenting the desire of millions to be social media influencers and instead look deeply into our own hearts, we find something not all that dissimilar.
Who has had an impact on your faith life? Take just a moment to pray. “Lord Jesus, please bring to mind three people who you have used in my life to bring me closer to You?”
Do you have three? Which one of these has also had a great Godly impact on several other people’s lives? I’m going to guess that this person is a role model for you. I would suggest writing down their name and praying about their impact on you. God is up to something good in that memory.
If you’re also someone who desires intimacy with God, someone who desires Heaven, then you probably desire those you know to also have intimacy with God. You desire them to get to Heaven some day and that they’d also experience a little of Heaven while on Earth.
Impact. Anyone can have a negative impact on this world. If that was our mission that would be easy. You could go scream at a family member for a few seconds and watch what happens, but please don’t do that! On the flip side, it’s relatively easy to conclude that we can also have a positive impact on this world in both small and big ways. If you’re still reading, I know that somewhere deep inside of you, you want to allow God to love this world through you even more than He is currently… And, if you desire to let God’s love flow through you more; if you desire to see not only your family come to Christ, but many more… you’re not alone. Perhaps the best news is that God desires it too and He has a plan for how you can be a part of the transformation of this world.
So, what’s the hold up? Why are so many of us NOT having a God-sized impact and what’s the solution? Each of the points below will be expounded upon as this journey of reflections continues.
Let's not dismiss the fact that little things make a big difference. Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” These small things, done with love of God and neighbor, can indeed help change the world. You and I must remember to pursue the small acts of love and pray for greater compassion which leads us to the opportunities.
Inner healing is indeed the key that unlocks the doors to greater impact. If you don’t know what inner healing means or maybe it somehow scares you, it’s ok. God is patient and He will lead us.
God does not wait for us to be completely healed to start using us. He does not “call the equipped, but instead, He equips the called.” It is often as we serve and love others that we encounter our own brokenness. Those moments are crucial forks in our path, opportunities to go to the Lord for his mercy and healing instead of agreeing with shame, anger, or running to a coping mechanism. Let’s pray now, “Lord, grant us the grace to choose the path that leads to healing.”
It’s getting better!!...
I believe that the level of your impact for God on this world is directly proportional to the amount of healing you’ve experienced through the love of our savior, Jesus Christ. AND, when it comes to the big stuff - like impacting your whole church, community, and even the world - I believe that God desires to keep it this way… He does not want your impact to grow if you are not also growing in healing.
Let me repeat that in a different way, I think that it is God’s design for us to heal while we grow in impact for Him, and that His design is that the acceleration and magnitude of our impact for Him does not exceed the pace of our own healing.
Why?
If our impact increases too fast, we are in great danger to ourselves and to the greater church. An example might help illustrate this. Who’s the last church leader you know of to cause scandal to you or to many? Could things have been different if they had more healing prior to the incident(s) or scandalous action(s)?
Maybe to fully answer those last few questions, you want to learn how I’m defining healing in this context. Though I’ll expound upon this in a future post, here’s a really brief summary:
When the sin of someone else or even our own sin comes in contact with our spiritual heart the result is a wound. This wound either heals or becomes infected. Obviously, God desires healing. The evil one desires to cause a hidden infection. We must learn how to open the wound to the work of the Divine Physician, learn of His gentle way, and how to say, “Yes, Lord. Come into this place of pain. I want You to heal me.”
Though some wounds are certainly more severe and harder to ignore, it is quite common that we don’t want to admit we have wounds. We don’t know how to allow the Healer to provide His divine medicine. Time passes and wounds can get infected. If that infection remains, then we frequently act out of our response to the pain and toxicity present. We act out of our brokenness, rather than being fully free to act out of love. It can also become harder to fully receive Jesus’ love when we are in prayer and harder to share his love with those we encounter.
Even though God is more than willing to fill us to overflowing, the reservoir in our hearts is lacking because of blockages or restrictions in the “plumbing.” The source of all love, Love Himself, is inhibited by our fear and unhealed wounds. He will never force His love upon us. We must say yes and open the door to Jesus, allowing him to heal us. We must ask for the grace to let Him in - the grace to surrender - and allow Him to remove the restrictions in our plumbing so that we can more fully receive love… and give love.
The GREAT News!!
God’s designs exceed our wildest hopes and dreams. He is doing amazing things in this world through people just like you. Do you want Him to impact your family and friends through you? Maybe you are also open to Jesus working through you to have an impact on many more people?
No matter the size of your wounds and brokenness, the Lord desires to heal. God desires to draw you closer to His heart, now and for eternity. Perhaps He also desires to have a great impact through you to our world.
What if you desire greater impact and/or don’t know if or where you need healing?
Stay tuned for Part 2.
