serving and healing

Jesus Heals Many People

14 When Jesus arrived at Peter's house, Peter's mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever.15 But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him.
16 That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick.17 This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said,

"He took our sicknesses
and removed our diseases."

matthew 8

good morning at 6:30 in the morning! haha, here we go! totally touched last night by a friend sharing how God's been moving in His life even when he was pushing Him away. it was a beautiful time learning how much God continues to love us even when we turn away from Him! we ended up praying blessings and strength over his life and that God would continue to guide and lead Him and that our friend would simply follow.

alright, so this first part. for me, the past two posts have been a major focus on the faith of the people who come to Jesus and how they trust that only He can heal, satisfy, release them or their loved ones from sickness. and there is a big focus on who Jesus was and what He wanted from us. but here is an example of how we react after being healed. peter's mother-in-law doesn't just sit there and say, "thanks!" and chills out. Jesus' healing is so powerful and so quick that she gets right back up on her feet and starts serving Jesus! how do i react? how do all of us react when we realize that He's healed us of our brokenness?? do we just sit there and say, "thanks Jesus! that's so great!" and go back to our daily routines and our own lives? or are we so moved by what has happened that our lives are reoriented, our focuses are shifted, our purpose is now set on serving Jesus because of how He loves and takes away our sicknesses and brokenness? i want to be like peter's mother-in-law! so grateful that the only we she knows that she can repay Jesus is not only to thank Him, but to serve Him!! how many of us just say words to Jesus? promising to do things and never really following through? i want to be the person that is so grateful that his whole life is radically shifted because of what Jesus has done, because of the hope He's given me, because of how He's saved me from myself.

ok, part two! for me, this second part speaks about how Jesus heals. not only does He heal externally, the physical, but internally, what goes on in the heart that is affected by the demons and our own demons inside of us! this is an important point. that just because we're healed on the outside, it doesn't mean as much unless we're really healed from the inside out. do we think we'll really be better just because an external situation is changed? what really needs the mending? what really needs the healing? it's our hearts! it's all the scars and shame that has been built up for years and years that need to be taken care more than the outside physical scars. these internal hurts affect and change everything!!! it's not the physical ailments that affect the way we look at life and interact with people, it's where the heart is. someone can have a physical ailment and still be happy right? and someone can have the same sickness and be completely miserable! what's the difference between these two people? their hearts! two people can be living in a really bad situation and one is content and the other is cursing everything. if the stressor is removed, and both have better lives, there is the one who is still content while the other starts cursing everything again. why? because there's something so much deeper than the situation. it's more complicated than just getting rid of the sickness or situation. it's the inside that needs the most healing. i think that's a huge flag for us as christians, i know it is for me. so many times we help people with their physical needs, give a homeless person some money, help a friend out with a place to stay, but if we don't love on them by just being there for them and listening to them and helping them heal inside wounds by bringing Jesus into their lives, man, they're not really healed, are they?