Psalm 66:16-20:
"Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!"
I've had several conversations lately about some of the treatments I've received, mostly regarding the NAET treatments, so this has been on my mind... I just have a few things I want to clarify.
First and foremost, I want to make it very clear that I believe ALL healing is by God and for His glory. He alone gives life and breath and power. The Bible tells us this and I believe it is a foundational truth. Another foundational truth is that there is only one way for us to be right with God and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ; through His sacrifice and death on the cross and His Resurrection, He has paid for all the sins of the believer and freed us from sin and death. I know this to be true because He has put His Holy Spirit in my heart and is completing His good work begun in me.
The Bible also reveals to us that God is good and His Plans are good. It tells us that He is the Author of all creation and life and because of that everything belongs to Him, and He graciously upholds and sustains everything He has made.
Because I have a firm foundation, a strong faith, and I know the Truth, I am not afraid of things I do not completely understand. Faith itself is believing in "things not seen".
The NAET treatments or acupuncture or energy work/ healing that I have received has been very helpful to me. I have gone into it all very prayerfully and just asked that God would use it for good in my life and I have tried to open myself up to whatever that might mean. I believe that with God, all things are possible, and that He can use anything to work on us, to shape us, to bring about healing. I also believe that He doesn't need anything else to bring about that healing. The Bible shows us though that God often uses other means to facilitate healing, rather than just simply making us well. So I don't think that we need to feel guilty for seeking help to deal with the physical or emotional issues we experience. We live in a broken world and Christians are just as subject to sickness and heartache as anyone else. And God can use these things for the good of "those who love Him and are called according to His purpose."
Another thing I have realized is that my sickness brings about the opportunity for me to come into the lives of people that I would not otherwise know and witness to them. I approach all my appointments and interactions with my health advisers with prayers that I would be a good witness and that God would use me in spite of my shortcomings and He would guide me in all I say and do. And then, I trust that He will. Stop focusing on yourself and scrutinizing every word and action, just trust that He Will Use You. The Bible tells us to " Commit our way to the LORD, and He will bring it to pass." Stop worrying that your very presence in a health care practitioner's office is somehow an admittance that God is isn't great enough to fix you Himself. That is not true. I used to feel so guilty because of this. God moves in mysterious ways and perhaps you are here as a means of bringing the gospel and prayers to someone who is in need of that. Maybe you are here to help them, not the other way around. Food for thought anyway...
I have tried to be open to whatever all of this was supposed to teach me. It has been quite interesting to find that many of the energy healing principles run parallel, so to speak, to Christian beliefs and principles. They can align with Biblical teaching, but because they are not based on the Truth of Scripture, they leave God out of it. However I believe that we can experience even greater, fuller, deeper understanding and healing when we view the energy work and our body's amazing design as a gift from God. Contrary to the idea that including God limits us or makes it about religion, I believe approaching energy work from a Christian perspective actually makes it more effective. It is His infinite wisdom and creativity that made us this way, and it is His faithfulness that upholds us and keeps everything in order, allowing us to understand how things work and how to fix them when they don't. It is because of God, not regardless of Him, that we can experience any healing.
I have learned some much and grown so much in my faith, and part of that is because of the energy work. It has caused me to have a new perspective on things and to examine myself in a way that I never have before. In the midst of all the confusion and mess and guilt and brokenness, I have seen Him work. He is using all this for my good. I have been forced to rely on Him and trust Him like never before. Implementing alternative therapies has been edifying, not causing me to question the basis of my faith, but to embrace the only and ultimate Truth. All these things are nothing without God and without His design and goodness upholding everything.
As I've mentioned in other posts, I feel that my illness broke me down to my foundation, so there was nothing left but God and His Truth, and it was only once I reached that point that He was able to start rebuilding me in the most optimal way. Everything else had to go first. And there's been a process of shaping and renewal and it's making me better.
He has used all these things; all the symptoms of my illness and anxiety, the challenges involved in being a wife and mother and daughter and friend, to grow me and strengthen me and mature me.
I do not "have it all figured out" and I don't always feel good and I am well aware of my short comings and sins, but this life, my life, is good. Because of God and His love for me. I cannot convey the gratitude that wells up in me when I reflect on this. Thanks be to God for His great Plan. It is far better than my own.
So do not be afraid. Be aware and search out the Truth. Apply things through that filter. And let God have His way in your life, dedicating yourself to Him for His honor and glory, in all things.
"I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John10:10)
I found this article (though perhaps somewhat outdated scientifically) to be very helpful in explaining an appropriate Christian view of energy healing:energy-healing-a-christian-theological-appraisal
"Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!"
I've had several conversations lately about some of the treatments I've received, mostly regarding the NAET treatments, so this has been on my mind... I just have a few things I want to clarify.
First and foremost, I want to make it very clear that I believe ALL healing is by God and for His glory. He alone gives life and breath and power. The Bible tells us this and I believe it is a foundational truth. Another foundational truth is that there is only one way for us to be right with God and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ; through His sacrifice and death on the cross and His Resurrection, He has paid for all the sins of the believer and freed us from sin and death. I know this to be true because He has put His Holy Spirit in my heart and is completing His good work begun in me.
The Bible also reveals to us that God is good and His Plans are good. It tells us that He is the Author of all creation and life and because of that everything belongs to Him, and He graciously upholds and sustains everything He has made.
Because I have a firm foundation, a strong faith, and I know the Truth, I am not afraid of things I do not completely understand. Faith itself is believing in "things not seen".
The NAET treatments or acupuncture or energy work/ healing that I have received has been very helpful to me. I have gone into it all very prayerfully and just asked that God would use it for good in my life and I have tried to open myself up to whatever that might mean. I believe that with God, all things are possible, and that He can use anything to work on us, to shape us, to bring about healing. I also believe that He doesn't need anything else to bring about that healing. The Bible shows us though that God often uses other means to facilitate healing, rather than just simply making us well. So I don't think that we need to feel guilty for seeking help to deal with the physical or emotional issues we experience. We live in a broken world and Christians are just as subject to sickness and heartache as anyone else. And God can use these things for the good of "those who love Him and are called according to His purpose."
Another thing I have realized is that my sickness brings about the opportunity for me to come into the lives of people that I would not otherwise know and witness to them. I approach all my appointments and interactions with my health advisers with prayers that I would be a good witness and that God would use me in spite of my shortcomings and He would guide me in all I say and do. And then, I trust that He will. Stop focusing on yourself and scrutinizing every word and action, just trust that He Will Use You. The Bible tells us to " Commit our way to the LORD, and He will bring it to pass." Stop worrying that your very presence in a health care practitioner's office is somehow an admittance that God is isn't great enough to fix you Himself. That is not true. I used to feel so guilty because of this. God moves in mysterious ways and perhaps you are here as a means of bringing the gospel and prayers to someone who is in need of that. Maybe you are here to help them, not the other way around. Food for thought anyway...
I have tried to be open to whatever all of this was supposed to teach me. It has been quite interesting to find that many of the energy healing principles run parallel, so to speak, to Christian beliefs and principles. They can align with Biblical teaching, but because they are not based on the Truth of Scripture, they leave God out of it. However I believe that we can experience even greater, fuller, deeper understanding and healing when we view the energy work and our body's amazing design as a gift from God. Contrary to the idea that including God limits us or makes it about religion, I believe approaching energy work from a Christian perspective actually makes it more effective. It is His infinite wisdom and creativity that made us this way, and it is His faithfulness that upholds us and keeps everything in order, allowing us to understand how things work and how to fix them when they don't. It is because of God, not regardless of Him, that we can experience any healing.
I have learned some much and grown so much in my faith, and part of that is because of the energy work. It has caused me to have a new perspective on things and to examine myself in a way that I never have before. In the midst of all the confusion and mess and guilt and brokenness, I have seen Him work. He is using all this for my good. I have been forced to rely on Him and trust Him like never before. Implementing alternative therapies has been edifying, not causing me to question the basis of my faith, but to embrace the only and ultimate Truth. All these things are nothing without God and without His design and goodness upholding everything.
As I've mentioned in other posts, I feel that my illness broke me down to my foundation, so there was nothing left but God and His Truth, and it was only once I reached that point that He was able to start rebuilding me in the most optimal way. Everything else had to go first. And there's been a process of shaping and renewal and it's making me better.
He has used all these things; all the symptoms of my illness and anxiety, the challenges involved in being a wife and mother and daughter and friend, to grow me and strengthen me and mature me.
I do not "have it all figured out" and I don't always feel good and I am well aware of my short comings and sins, but this life, my life, is good. Because of God and His love for me. I cannot convey the gratitude that wells up in me when I reflect on this. Thanks be to God for His great Plan. It is far better than my own.
So do not be afraid. Be aware and search out the Truth. Apply things through that filter. And let God have His way in your life, dedicating yourself to Him for His honor and glory, in all things.
"I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John10:10)
I found this article (though perhaps somewhat outdated scientifically) to be very helpful in explaining an appropriate Christian view of energy healing:energy-healing-a-christian-theological-appraisal
There's a bit of a kink in that article hyperlink (some extra stuff before the url), but I finally got it opened - really really good points in there! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know Brandy, I think I fixed the link now :)
ReplyDelete