Recently I was doing a study on Ephesians 3:20, one of my favorite verses,

“Now to God Who, by consequence of the action of His power that is at work within you, is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that you dares ask or think, infinitely beyond your highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams. (Amp)

The main phrase in the Greek is more accurately translated “superabundantly above the greatest abundance.”  Let your mind try to fully fathom that concept.  Whatever your need, whatever your desire, God’s power in you is able to do in supernatural levels of abundance beyond the best you can imagine for an answer!

Adams Clarke Commentary explains it well-

We can go beyond the limits of all human descriptions; we can imagine more than even God has specified in His word; and can feel no bounds to our imagination of good: and after all, God is able to do more for us than we can ask or think; His ability here is so necessarily connected with His willingness, that the one indisputably implies the other; for, of what consequence would it be to tell the Church of God that He had power to do so and so, if there were not implied an assurance that He will do what His power can?

Stated more simply, God would not bother to tell you that His power in you can do supernatural levels of abundant provision, intervention, revelation, wisdom, etc., beyond what you can possibly imagine unless He meant that He was willing to do exactly that in whatever area of your life you desire and/or need to be revolutionized.  He is challenging you to ask and believe for exactly that!  

Realizing this, we usually ask and believe far below the power and willingness of the power of God.  William Burkitt says, ”O! how narrow, short, and poor are our prayers, compared with the power of God!”

 Now come back to my original question to you. 

What do you need God to revolutionize in your life now?  What do you desire Him to transform now?  Imagine the highest you can imagine, then by faith realize that God’s power within you is able to do that; He’s told you to dream, believe, and ask it because He delights to give you infinitely beyond it!

Table of contents for Allowing the New Year to be New

1. Allowing the New Year to be New Part 1
2. Allowing the New Year to be New Part 2

Do you desire life to be better in the New Year?  Most of us do!  To experience a better life this year, you play a major part by making 6 vital decisions that will allow your New Year to be new.  This is Part 2 of this post.  If you missed the 3 decisions in Part 1, please use the series link above to read Part 1 first.

Now let’s cover the last 3 vital decisions to allow your New Year to be new!

Live with expectancy for a better future.

In this quote from Philippians 3:13,14, God tells us to forget the past and look toward a better future.

This one thing I do, forgetting what is behind me, but straining every nerve toward that which lies ahead, I am ever pressing on toward the goal, for the prize of the high purpose of God. (BBE, MNT)

I particularly like this translation of “straining with every nerve” toward to high purposes of God. For you to take advantage of living life in this new year, not only forget the past, but honestly put your energy into keeping focused on experiencing the best life possible, the “high purposes” of God for your life. The very next sentence in this discourse says, “All of us who are mature should take such a view of things (Phil. 3:15).” It is true. Maturity teaches us to forget the failures and bad experiences of the past and to look with expectancy for a better future.

Keep in focus that God has in mind even better for you than you can imagine for yourself.

This is a favorite quote I speak over my life.

To Him who by His power that is at work within us, is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think-infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams. Eph. 3:20 Amp

Along the same line of thought is the Law of Attraction, a philosophy based on the scriptural concept of “according to your faith it will be done to you.” It is essential for you to expect a better year for you to experience the “new” that you desire in this year. When you live in a state of expectancy, your positive attitude will improve the way people respond to you. When you envision a better life for yourself, your mind will be more creative in possibilities to reach your goals. This type of focus then causes your spirit to become aware of right choices, paths, opportunities that you would have otherwise missed if you were not living in expectancy.

Last, make new progress in your spiritual life.

We are spiritual beings in a physical body. Our spirits were created to live in a loving relationship with our Creator, God. The health of one’s spirit affects every aspect of life. Making a decision to learn to live in a loving relationship with God if you have not already done so, or to build on the one you already have, will only prove to bring new, wonderful experiences during the gift of life in this new year. God expresses this thought in 2 Corinthians 5:17,

Therefore, if any one is in union with Christ, he is a new being! His old life has passed away; a new life has begun! (TCNT)

God has granted you the gift of a new year to live life. Know Him in increasing measure. Allow God to live this life with you as both of you relish in a new life in this new year!

Table of contents for Allowing the New Year to be New

1. Allowing the New Year to be New Part 1
2. Allowing the New Year to be New Part 2

A new year brings most of us the hope of starting over. We desire to see life be better in various areas of our lives during the new year. To start over, to experience a better life, make the decision to allow your year to be new.  Let’s cover 6 vital decisions to allow your year to be new!  (3 decisions in this post, 3 decisions in Part 2)

First, forgive yourself of past mistakes.

Self-condemnation has no benefit. Even God desires us to live without the weight of condemnation. Romans 8:1,2 says that there is no condemnation for those who live in Jesus because God’s Spirit has freed them from the laws (the control, the results) of sin and death.

Second, forgive others.

Remember, if you’ve followed the posts this past year, forgiveness does not involve allowing people to mistreat you. There is a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation. For reconciliation to take place, it involves both people being willing to have resolution; in many situations, this is impossible. However, forgiveness takes place in your own heart and frees you from being emotionally tied to that person and bad experience for the rest of your life. For a full discussion on this topic, read the post, Forgiveness or Reconciliation: Understanding the Difference.

Third, forget what God forgets.

That may sound strange to someone who, at first thought, believes that God does not forget. Unlike people, God’s forgetfulness is not due to insufficient memory capability; He chooses to forget certain things. God counsels us to be like Him and do the same thing with emotional baggage or bad past experiences. Yes, be reconciled with those who hurt you if possible. Yes, apologize to someone you have offended if possible. But for negative experiences that can never be resolved or undone, it is time to forget.

I heard a great illustration about forgetfulness. I heard Kenneth Copeland talk about a past experience in which he felt self-condemnation. God spoke to his heart and said, “I told you in my Word to forget that.” When Kenneth asked God about why He chooses forget our failures, God spoke to his spirit, “Do you want to remember the bad about your children?” Out of His love for us, so the relationship is reconciled between us and Him, God chooses to forget our failures. As this next quote below explains, we, too, need only to hold to anything beneficial we may have learned from the experience, but then let it go and move on.

(The last 3 vital decisions for making your New Year new are in Part 2 of this post.)

Those of us who are spiritually minded desire to live at a depth of spiritual experience that few people ever attain, a level of spirituality that is fulfilling and brings wholeness, by moving  past all the peripherals.

To attain the highest level of spirituality, first become aware of what things are religious peripherals that may be keeping your focus from the depth you really desire.

Let me clarify before explaining this point that I am not minimizing the value of various religious ceremonies, traditions, rites, or liturgy in anyone’s religion. Depending on one’s personality, they can hold great value emotionally as well as aid in spiritual focus and sense of community. What is important here is to have a full realization that religious ceremonies or rites are not “in themselves” the focus of one’s spiritual experience. They are aids or tools. The actual focus is to know God’s person, to daily experience a progression of more deeply and intimately understanding the aspects of His personality. Just as we are spirits in physical bodies, with the spirit being the person that everyone else gets to know, so God is Spirit; your spiritual focus is to progressively grow in your understanding of His person through interactive communication with Him, the same as you grow in relationship with any other sentient person.

The Apostle Paul, well-known for authoring a large part of the New Testament, described this experience of not being distracted by the peripherals of one’s true spiritual focus.

Paul discusses his rich religious heritage which he says, by outward appearances, would give him great spiritual advantage (Philippians 3:4-7), “circumcised at eight days old, of the nation of Israel, a son of Hebrews, of the religious sect of the Pharisees, known for outstanding zeal, and by the standard of the Law of Moses-blameless.” Yet Paul states that these things, though they have value, are not to be one’s main focus in attaining the spirituality we each desire. Paul counts them all as loss compared to the pricelessness of growing in his understanding of God’s person.

This quote very effectively describes how to focus your spiritual passion on attaining an intimate knowledge of God’s person:

I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege – the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth and supreme advantage – of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly…For my determined purpose is that I may know Him – that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly. Phil. 3:8,10 Amplified

Notice the 2 steps Paul describes as necessary for true spiritual attainment:

1. Counting everything else as a loss when compared to progressively knowing God’s person.
2. Making it one’s determined purpose, a specifically focused driving purpose, to intimately know and understand God’s person.

Lastly, to implement this concept, realize that even in the spiritual realm, there is a difference between knowing “about” a person and actually “knowing” the person.

One can know about a famous person, all kinds of facts, dates, and experiences that person has had. But that kind of knowledge “about” someone lacks a true intimate knowledge of his or her person. On the other hand, those who daily interact with him or her on a personal level are the ones who progressively develop a true intimate knowledge and understanding of their personality.

Take this mental picture and apply it to your own spiritual experience. Ceremonies, rites, etc. are tools but do not let them become your main focus; if you do, your spiritual experience will lack the living, intimate depth that you desire and can receive. Make it your determined purpose to focus on “progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with God, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person.”

Visualize the level of comfort that a fearful child receives from being held in the arms of a loving father. Visualize the comfort a grieving person receives in the arms of a loving friend or spouse. Now visualize the comfort that a newborn baby receives when placed in the arms of its mother so that he can hear her heartbeat and know that safety and loving nurturing is still there.

This is the same visual picture God gives of Himself in His relationship with us.

Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him. The one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders. (Deut.33:12)

Where is your source of comfort and what is its depth?

God desires that we receive whatever comfort possible from our human relationships, but whether that is available to you or not, nothing can compare to the comfort you can receive from resting in the arms of your loving Father God, resting between His shoulders — a level of closeness in which you can “hear His heartbeat” and know that all His nurturing love and safety is there for you. God does bless our lives with His love through other people, but He also provides a level of comfort that does not exist anywhere else other than by taking time alone with Him in undisturbed meditation, allowing His Spirit to communicate to your mind and spirit His thoughts of love, wisdom, encouragement, comfort, and inspiration. Remember, you can hear His voice. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.” He would not have said that if God did not speak. Also, He said that God’s Spirit would reveal or disclose to you things of God, things only God knows (Jn. 16:13,14; 1 Cor. 2:9.10)

Comfort and/or peace are a rarity in these days in which we live, yet something most people are desperately longing for. Slow down, listen, take time to hear God’s heartbeat and allow Him to speak comfort to you!

Table of contents for Divine Revelation

1. Divine Revelation: Reality, Necessity, or Hoax? Part 1
2. Divine Revelation: Reality, Necessity, or Hoax? Part 2

Why does divine revelation appear not to happen for you or others you know?

There are enough hoaxes and error in society to make a person question as to whether or not God really speaks to mankind.  Usually, it does not appear to happen to people we know.  (This is Part 2 of a 2 part post.  If you missed Part 1, please use the series link above to read Part 1 which covers why people not expect divine revelation and how Scripture says divine revelation comes. )  First, there is the point mentioned in Part 1 of this post, that if you did not realize that God speaks or reveals truths to mankind, you may have unintentionally “tuned out” the thoughts, not realizing that they were from God, thinking they were just random thoughts of your own.

Second, there is the aspect of expectation. In the very first quote of this post from Ps. 146:5, it says that the God of special revelation is the help of those whose hope or expectation is in God; in other words, a special revelation of help  comes to the person who is expecting it. This is in agreement with a main concept Jesus taught, that “According to your faith it will be done to you (Mt. 9:29).” As in the philosophy of the Law of Attraction, if you are not expecting something good, you will not be aware of the opportunities when they become available. In this case, if you are not expecting God to speak, you would not hear direction from God because your lack of expectation keeps you from listening for it.

How do people get off track with divine revelations?

Your mind can have many “voices” which sometimes can be distracting to the voice of God’s Spirit. It is similar to the term of when one’s “mind is racing.” All kinds of thoughts can run through your mind at once, some being your thoughts, others being the thoughts of family and friends, the voice of God’s Spirit, and even voices of evil.

First, remember that discernment is learned. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice (Jn.10:4). Just as an animal learns the voice of its master through the experience of communication, you learn God’s voice through the experience of communication during prayer and study of the scriptures, God’s written words.

Second, realize that, as God is perfect, He will not and cannot contradict Himself. What He speaks now will not contradict what He has already been spoken. Obviously, there has to be a standard greater than yourself as a guide. Scriptures say in 2 Cor. 10:12, “When they compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” That is why knowledge of the scriptures is key, so you compare what you hear in your spirit to what God has revealed about His character in the written Word. If thoughts in your mind contradict the character of God or His instructions for life, those thoughts are not the result of divine revelation.

Third, divine revelation will have positive, healing, restorative results. Let’s look a little more specifically at this point.

What are the results of divine revelation?

If the thought is not a divine revelation but off track, the results of acting on it will not be positive. These quotes are samples of what God says are the results of acting on divine revelation of God’s will and purposes for you:

Acquaint now yourself with Him, agree with God and show yourself to be conformed to His will, and be at peace; by that you shall prosper and great good shall come to you. Job 22:21

And all your spiritual children shall be disciples taught by the Lord and obedient to His will, and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children. Is.54:13

And know and understand His will and discerningly approve the better things and have a sense of what is vital.. Romans 2:18

I could put many more similar quotes here, but the point is clear that the results of divine revelation will bring peace, prosperity, great good, undisturbed composure, and a discernment of what is best and vital in life. These are results that are in line with the character of God as well as with His written Word.

Does divine revelation take place? Yes, it does. It is for the purpose of the Spirit of God communicating with your spirit. If you have never expected it, now is a good time to begin!  God desires for you to receive special revelations that bring you a happy, peaceful, blessed, fortunate, and enviable life!

Table of contents for Divine Revelation

1. Divine Revelation: Reality, Necessity, or Hoax? Part 1
2. Divine Revelation: Reality, Necessity, or Hoax? Part 2

The amount of error and/or hoaxes seen in society by all of us are enough to make one question whether or not God speaks to mankind.

Still, the complexity of life makes a person desire someone more powerful, more knowledgeable than himself to look to, interact with, and rely on. I came across a great quote last week regarding this:

Happy, blessed, fortunate, enviable is he who has the God of special revelation for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God. (Ps.146:5, Amp)

It is quite fitting, as a person would be truly happy, blessed, fortunate, and to be envied if he or she has God Almighty providing special revelations of wisdom, insight, and direction to help him/her through life. The Hebrew word here for “hope” means expectation. Not many of us can say that we live in that state, whose “expectation is in the Lord his God of special revelation.”

Why do most people not expect divine revelation?

Other than the apparent faux pas or hoaxes that bring discredit to the concept of divine revelation, the idea I heard most quoted while growing up in religious circles was this one:

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him… (1 Cor.2:9)

People use this quote as a form of religious tradition to say that God does not speak. This is one of those instances that prove how important it is to study the written Words of God for yourself and not go by what you hear. Notice the  three periods “…” at the end of the above quote. It is because this is a partial quote – only a part of the original sentence. People relying solely on religious “tradition” are unaware of the full sentence which goes on to say-

…but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (1 Cor. 2:10)

The concept of us never knowing the plans of God or “will of God” for our lives sounds logical if one only know the first part of that sentence. It is helpful to refer here to another quote from Jn.10:27, which says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Why would Jesus say that those who seek God listen to His voice if God does not speak to mankind? Clearly, God Himself does say that He speaks to mankind of His plans and purposes for our lives.

How does divine revelation come?

We are not solely physical beings; we are physical beings in which live an eternal spirit created by God. The communication takes place between your spirit and God’s Spirit. God says,

The Spirit will announce and declare to you the things that are to come — that will happen in the future. He will honor and glorify Me; He will take, receive, draw upon what is Mine and will reveal, declare, disclose, transmit it to you. (Jn. 16:13,14 Amp) (*1)

The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all truth. (Jn.16:13)

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (Jn. 14:26)

So, yes, God’s Spirit does communicate with your spirit. If you have never thought it possible before, you may have either tuned it out or not recognized it, thinking the ideas were just your own thoughts.

God’s Spirit does speak guidance and wisdom to mankind so that one can live an effective, fulfilling life. Psalm 143:10 says, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Again, scriptures emphasize that the Spirit of God does teach you the will of God, i.e. His plans and purposes, for your life. God does also reveal spiritual truths or insights-

We pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the full, deep, and clear knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom, in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God, and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things. (Col. 1:9)

(This is Part 1 of a 2 Part Post.  In Part 2 we will continue with, “Why does divine revelation not appear to come to most people?” and “Where do people get off track?” )
(*1.  A note about the Amplified translation, one of my personal favorite translation to study.  In John 16:14, you see the phrase ” reveal, declare, disclose, transmit.”  These are 4 meanings of the original Greek word used in that quote.  The Amplified translation expands out main words from the original Hebrew and Greek texts to include all the meanings of the original word. Hence, “amplified.” )

Table of contents for Believe You Deserve to Be Well

1. Believe You Deserve to be Well- Part 1
2. Believe You Deserve to be Well- Part 2

What can practically be done about the past failures and guilt?

There are some simple steps you can daily implement to help you move past guilt.  (If you missed Part 1 of this 2-part post, please use the above series link. Part 1 explains what God Himself says about His compassionate, forgiving, uncomdemning nature to help you remove emotional hindrances in receiving the good He desires to bring into your life. This is heavier reading than most posts on this site but should help those of you struggling with guilt, condemnation, and other negative thought patterns that hinder healing. )

First, a reminder– as mentioned in Part 1, to receive healing it is only logical that all habits of a destructive lifestyle need to be left in the past.   Scripture refers to this as repentance, a 180 degree turn around. Otherwise, it is like the continually unsuccessful dieter who starves herself or himself for a couple of days, only to binge for several days thereafter. Next, as also mentioned in Part 1 of this post, just as God’s mercies toward us are new every morning we need to have mercy on ourselves and release the guilt of past failures. If God deems us worthy of such mercy, we can honestly show such mercy to ourselves.

But what about those who are plagued by guilt, not as much self-imposed, but from inaccurate childhood teachings about God that have left them with images of an angry, harmful, unforgiving God? If you suffer from harmful, inaccurate childhood teachings about God, it will take some discipline of focusing on truth to eradicate that input.

On the practical side, many people print out a list of verses such as covered in this article and spend sometimes even months of daily repeating out loud the truth God says about Himself, i.e., God’s continually renewing compassion, graciousness, desire for our wholeness and superabundant life in quality. Another beneficial verse along this line is Psalm 103:10, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” If people have put into your mind as a child the image of God standing over you eagerly desiring to punish you for the slightest mistake, it is a fallacy to be eradicated. ( For those who would like to read an extended passage of Scripture that discusses numerous groups of people who suffered from their own failures yet God, in His compassion, restored their lives, Psalm 107 is posted below this article.)

On a similar vein, Psalm 103 speaks of numerous good that God eagerly bestows on us, but verse 5 specifically says that He is the God “who satisfies your desires with good things.” A person ridden with guilt, self-imposed or from inaccurate religious teaching, needs to admit to himself that such feelings result in anything but feeling of an overwhelmingly satisfied life. God, on the other hand, satisfies our lives with good things. There does need to be a level of cooperation here, and some self-evaluation is necessary to determine if we are cooperating in receiving the good.

You can begin anew in your view of yourself and of God.

Cooperate with God in letting go of the guilt from false images of Him—replacing them with truth—and in the forgiving of yourself. Taking the verses discussed in this article, these truths about God, and focusing on them will go a long way in aiding your healing. As you come to terms with how much good God desires for you, how much healing He desires for you, (Scripture calls this renewing your mind), it will bring relief from the self-abasement. The realization that God values you so highly that He continually exists in a state of desiring your healing and well-being can increase one’s self worth and cause you to grasp hold of wanting the same healing, wholeness, and well-being for you that God wants for you.

Psalm 107

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say this– those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains,
for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High. So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.

Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.

Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.
They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.

He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle. They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish. Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow; he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless waste. But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like flocks. The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD.

Table of contents for Believe You Deserve to Be Well

1. Believe You Deserve to be Well- Part 1
2. Believe You Deserve to be Well- Part 2

Whether or Not You Believe You Deserve to be Well Greatly Affects All Aspects of Your Health!

Though it sounds like an absurd question, but medical science has proven that your mental perspective, what you think about yourself and God, has a great effect on physical, emotional, and spiritual health. (This is Part 1 of a 2-part post. It is heavier reading than most posts on this site but should help those of you struggling with guilt, condemnation, and other negative thought patterns that hinder healing. )

For the purpose of example, there is a particular area in the medical field in which the procedure actually brings back to one’s mind past emotional hurts that are causing current physical health problems. Brief, physical treatments are then done which actually remove the pent up emotion from that bad emotional experience which has been stored in the body. During the physical treatment, you are asked to state out loud phrases along the lines of, “I deserve to be healthy. I deserve to be free from allergies” etc. People are then cured of various recurring physical ailments once that stored negative emotion from a past experience was removed from the body.

Believing that you deserve to be well is just as necessary a perspective in the area of faith and the spiritual realm.

In Matthew 9:29, while bringing healing to people, Jesus said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” The Amplified Version (expanded from the Greek) says, “According to your faith and trust and reliance on the power invested in Me be it done to you.” Most anyone you talk to, regardless of their religious beliefs or the lack of them, believes that Jesus healed people. Yet even Jesus said that people’s healing was dependent on whether or not people believed that they would be healed or, one may say, whether or not they believed that God desired to heal them. (1. Click on the text link for “faith” to open a window with the Greek definition. 2.Click on “to be done” for the Greek definition. 3. Click the text link here to read why I use Greek definitions.)

Whether you are a believer in God, or if you are just interested in knowing what Scripture says about God’s desire to heal our lives, it will be beneficial to focus on a few brief examples which show God’s heart and character with regard to healing. This insight will help one develop a perspective that believes he or she deserves to be well.

Regardless of our past failures, we can believe that we “deserve to be healed” or that God desires for us to be healed. Scripture says, “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. (Lam. 3:22,23)” The phrase “great love” is, at times, translated into English as “mercy.” Hence, you may hear people say that God’s mercy towards us is new every morning. When this verse is studied in the original Hebrew, it does speak that, first, God’s loving-kindness and compassions toward us start over new and fresh every morning, as if we had a clean slate.

Second, these feelings toward us from God are far superior to what we experience in the fluctuating human emotions of the people around us. Not only are God’s feelings of loving-kindness and multiple compassions toward us secure and steady, i.e. faithful, but they are exceedingly, abundantly, plenteously secure and steady. Where on earth can one find such a relationship as that? Meditating on that reality alone of God’s true feelings toward us can bring a flood of healing to one’s spirit.

Third, once we realize that God’s mercies toward us are new every morning, it is time to have mercy on ourselves, to forgive ourselves of our failures and stop allowing the guilt of the past to keep us from physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual healing! (In a future article, we will discuss in more detail how to deal with recurring guilt.) (4. Click links for full definitions in Hebrew of the main words in the above verses: great love, compassions, great, faithfulness. 5. Click here to read why I use Hebrew definitions.)

When we feel undeserving of being healed, or feel that there is some reason that God does not desire us to be well, we need to change our focus from guilt and self-abasement to the truth of what God says about His perspective in this matter.

At one point in my life, when I was going through deep grief from the loss of a dear friend to cancer, God spoke a specific word of encouragement to my spirit. Knowing that the untimely death of my friend was humanly inexplainable, God said to me, “When you face things in life which you are not capable of understanding, which seem to make absolutely no sense in the human realm, focus on what you know to be true.” Throughout Scripture, God says of Himself, “I am compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” It was holding on to the truths regarding the nature and character of God that brought healing in that time of grief. This principle has come back to mind many times through the years and has brought healing in a variety of situations.

There are countless names that God uses to describe Himself throughout Scripture; they address His nature or character. In Exodus 15:16, God says, “…for I am the LORD, who heals you.” The name God uses in the Hebrew is Y@hovah Rapha’, meaning the eternal, self-existent one who heals and makes thoroughly whole. (6. Click here for Hebrew definition of “Lord who heals you.”) It would be negligent not to mention that this statement is prefaced by a condition of obedience to righteous standards. However, I think most people would agree that it goes without saying that if one lives a life that is destructive in nature to yourself or others, it would be absurd to expect healing when you are repeatedly causing the damage yourself. God chose this name to express to us that it is His nature to heal, to make our lives thoroughly whole. This means God desires healing for us in every aspect of our lives—physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.

This desire of God to exist in a healing relationship with us, that it is His very nature to do so, is again expressed through Jesus’ life and words.

In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief [referring to satan or forces of evil] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (7. Click here for the Greek definition of “abundance.”) The translation into the English word, “abundantly,” does not do justice to what Jesus was saying here. The Greek word refers to exceedingly, superabundantly, above and beyond measure in quantity and quality, even vehemently so. God’s expression of Himself through Jesus and the work that He completed while here in human form, was to bring to each person the type of well-being physically, emotionally, etc. that usually we only dream of. Yet Jesus said His purpose in coming was to bring exactly that to us. Yes, God desires all aspects of your life to be healed!

(In Part 2 of this post, we will more specifically discuss dealing with feelings of guilt and past failures.)

I mention in various articles on this site how our view of God can either aid or hinder our healing. If we doubt God’s love for us, feel unworthy of His goodness, or struggle with poor childhood teaching which portrayed God as evil and vindictive, such ideas actually affect our ability to receive good from God. It is much like the psychological concept of projection. I’ll just briefly touch on it here; a person is hindered from good, positive progress in life with regards to jobs, relationships, etc. because he/she projects negative feelings and perceptions from past experiences into present job situations and relationships. Without realizing he/she is doing this, the person actually recreates a constant cycle of problems in the present situations similar to ones in the past. To put it in simplest form, a negative view of how others want to act toward you can cause people to “treat you poorly” and create more negative experiences; however, it is your own response and actions based on your negative perceptions from the past that make people again react negatively toward you.

In a similar way, our projection of negative feelings or actions onto God which do not exist in His person affect our receptibility to healing and other good from Him.

As I cover our own perceptions more in other articles, my purpose here is to briefly provide some comforting, health-giving passages about God’s activity in our environment that relay how much God desires that our lives be safe, well, happy, and whole.I’ll put the concepts into a paraphrase here with the verses of origin below it.

As you progress in your daily journey through life, God says that He will make the rough places in your path smooth. The crooked paths that slow your progress He will make straight. Those mountains that seem so overwhelming will be leveled; the valleys that have caused you heartache will be raised up. Even your darkest moment will be turned into light before you. God says that He will be a shield “around” you, encompassing you with protection. He will impart glory on you and lift up your head when life’s pressures have weighed you down. Not only will God go before you, making a good path for you, but He will be your rear guard; He will watch your back. His goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. He is with you. He will never leave you or forsake you, so you do not need to be afraid o discouraged.

In spite of how others have treated you in life, regardless of past poor input that may have created negative perceptions of God’s feelings for you, allow these truths that He Himself speaks about His loving care for your life replace the negativity of the past and make you receptive to His goodness. Let the presence of God grant you a full comprehension today of the loving care He wants to actively display in your life for your whole life!

• Isa 42:16 I I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
• Lu 3:5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
• Ps 3:3 But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
• Isa 52:12 The LORD will go before you; God will be your rear guard.
• Ps 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
• De 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”