A little heart work

It's good to be home for a few days. I really enjoyed my time with my nieces this week and it was so good to see my Grandmother leave the hospital and come home. She's doing great and we thank God for a successful surgery and so far, an uneventful recovery. Just don't mention the replacement aorta, she's having a hard time accepting that it used to belong to someone else. ;)

That old aorta was worn out. Her skilled surgeon took her to the point of death to take out the old, and then he replaced it with a new one. One that he examined, and deemed acceptable. Then, he began the process of waking her up. A long process, one that took several hours. She is still gaining strength, a little more everyday.

I can't help but make the spiritual connection here. Our God, His name Jehovah Rapha (the God who heals) is the best name to use here, takes out the exhausted, diseased, disfunctioning heart, you know the one. The one that holds past hurts, years of anger and unforgiveness. The one that you've decided to just keep because it's what you know, it's the only one you've had so why change. But our God is a healer. It's part of who He is and He isn't going to let you keep that old thing! One way or another, He will let you know that He's ready and willing to do some work within you. He tells us in John that He came to give us an abundant life. We can't fully enjoy that life when our heart isn't functioning properly can we! Jer. 33:6 says that HE will bring health and healing, He will heal His people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.

I did a search for the word "heal" in my Bible Study tools and 44 references came up.
This one struck me. It's Isaiah 57:18 "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him and restore comfort to him." In spite of the choices I've made, the words I've spoken that I can't take back, the times I've completely turned my back on the One who loved me enough to die for me, He still heals. God still heals and restores comfort to me.

This was a week, where I needed God almighty to do a healing work quickly. I didn't want to let the frustration, hurt and anger to take root. I know myself well enough to know that if I didn't take the hurt immediately to the Father, it would quickly take root. This year has been hard enough and there is no way, the enemy is stealing the joy of Christmas from us! You see, I want to celebrate Jesus. His miracle birth, His sinless life, and most importantly I want to celebrate His resurrection.

I want to reminisce how every time we had a need this year, He supplied it. How HE provided a buyer for Chad's truck just when we needed to sell it. How He bought us groceries, in the lean times. How HE took Chad from a job he liked, to a job that he LOVES. How HE orchestrated my joining Freedom's Call....the list goes on and on.

These are the things I want to celebrate. But if I allow the hurt to fester in my heart, there isn't room for the joy. I can't have it both ways. Oswald Chambers asked yesterday "Is any experience dearer to you than your Lord?" I know that there have been times in my life where I've allowed the hurt to become more dear to me than God. AND there have been times where I celebrated the good times more than the giver of those good times.

So, God and I have talked this out. I will not mention this hurt again and will rejoice that once again He says "I AM the God that healeth thee" because He has healed us. I'm praying that whatever your hurt is, that you receive complete healing that only comes from our Jesus. I pray that HE is the dearest thing to you.