The path to healing... pt. 3

Another step in the path to healing is connecting to a community of fellow Christ-followers.

God designed human beings to function relationally.  Thats why we are all connected to some sort of family (healthy or unhealthy), a group of friends, or why people have been getting married for thousands of years.  It's in our God-given DNA to need social relationships.  And we see that all over the Bible... from the time of Adam and Eve to the New Testament with Jesus, the disciples, and Paul/Timothy/etc.

In Proverbs - the wisdom literature - its written that "2 are better than 1" and also "just as iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another."

Yet, for some reason, we are deathly afraid of deep and meaningful relationships.  We feel like if people really knew our deepest hurts and secrets, they would reject us or not love us as much.  So we try to keep it to ourselves.

Having other people who can pray for you, encourage you, ask you hard questions, and be there for you is essential. That's why the Church is so important.  It doesn't exist so that we can be "good christians" or earn some Jesus Bucks.  It exists so that we have a community - or family - to walk alongside in our relationship with Christ.

The Church is just a group of broken and hurting people who dont have it all together.  We need each other.


If you aren't connected to a body of believers - a church - a small group - an accountability group - a mentor ----- then you are crazy! And you are seriously missing out on how wonderful life in community can be, and how healthy it can be for your own self.

Find an ongoing and consistent place for hurting people who look for hope and healing.

The path to healing... pt. 2

A HUGE step to healing is being able to confess it.   And you confess it in 3 ways.

First, you have to confess it to yourself.  You have to be honest with yourself and quit pretending like it isn't there.  You know its there, and its eating away at you.  Put a name on what happened and acknowledge it.  It starts there.

Next, confess it to God.  Yes, He already knows.  But He wants you to talk to Him about it.  We don't have to do anything to receive his grace except for to say, "God, I need you. I need to be made clean. I need a Savior."  Ask God for grace, peace, and healing and see what happens.  See what He does in your life.  See who He puts into your life.  But dont take my word for it... try it and see what happens.

Finally, (and this is probably the scariest part), confess it to someone else.  Who is someone you can trust? someone who really cares about you?  Go tell them.  Ask them to pray for you.  Go to them for encouragement and accountability. Take a risk.  We all have crap in our lives... I'm sure they will understand.

I love the story of David.  He was a great king and hero.  He was a man's man! He killed wild beasts, and of course the GIANT Goliath.  But he also committed adultery and murder - and he tried to keep it a secret.  Here's what he said in Psalm 32:3-5:


"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin." 

Secrets control us and hold us hostage.  They isolate us from meaningful relationships, and they effect our entire being.  When we don't know how to process emotional hurts, we take it out on ourself physically.

So recognize that hurt happens... its a part of life.  Realize that you are not alone, and confess it.  The God-given healing is worth the risk.

The path to healing...

This last weekend with our high school students is something that I will never forget.  The whole thing was God-ordained. Literally.  From the planning that took place in the months beforehand, to each session, to each conversation, and to the follow up after the retreat... God had his hand in every bit of it.  I mean, He usually does... but it was so evident and it was "not normal" in the fact that it was so normal (that is - normal in the way God intended it to be).

The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Christ has come to give life - and life to the full. (John 10:10).  And that is true for each of one of us.  Hurt, pain, and scars are part of each of our lives.  And the enemy tries to win by convincing us to keep that to ourselves... to live in darkness and isolation.

This weekend, we saw teenagers living as the Church. Yeah... the one we read about in Acts and Romans, and in the way Jesus told us to live.  They chose light over darkness. They chose to live in grace over fear.  They chose to love instead of judge.  They chose to hug over rejection.

As their youth pastor, you can imagine how proud I am of their bravery and hunger for Christ.

However, the path to healing is a long one... and what happened this weekend is just the beginning.

Whether you were a part of this weekend or not, I hope that you can choose to live in grace as well.  And I hope this blog can help you.  My next few posts will be offering tools for healing.

                                                                                                                              
Healing starts with a double portion of God.  Whatever you think you need to do in your relationship with God right now, double it.  Pray like crazy, and then pray some more. Spend a crazy amount of time in the Bible.  Write or journal.  Worship.  Talk to your friends about it, to your parents, to your pastors or youth leaders.  Go above and beyond what you think you should or could do for a couple of weeks.  

Its like when you get dehydrated... you start downing water and then some.  God is the living water.  Your soul needs Him, and a lot of Him.

When I grew up practicing sports, we would always over-emphasize and over-exaggerate our fundamentals. When the pressure was on during a game, your fundamentals would naturally take over.  These things are like the fundamentals of your relationship with God.  Be ridiculous! Pretend you are a monk.

God is a healer. He gives life. He gives grace.  Take advantage... He wants you to.

More to come...