In our worship services today we had a healing service. This is a time when people are invited to come forward for laying on of hands and prayers for healing. This is a really powerful service, as people come forward, lifting up different struggles that they and their loved ones are facing.
It is on days like that this that I am reminded, in a very dynamic way, just how much pain there is in the world. People are struggling with health issues, family issues, spiritual issues, etc. And when they come forward, I see faces that are filled with pain as well as hope - hope that God really will act in their lives and empower them to make it through the struggles that they are facing.
And we all face so many different struggles in our lives. We all are in need of God's healing touch. We all desire to have that safe community where we can come, as the broken people we are, and be lifted up with love and compassion.
So tonight, as I reflect back on the day, my thoughts revolved around the community I am blessed to be a part of. For it is in this community, this body of Christ, where I continually see the Spirit of God blowing in and through so many different saints. I truly beleive that God is at work here, and what he is doing is amazing and will reap rewards for generations to come. May we all know that there is a place and a God who desires to help us grow, heal, and experience his life-giving presence.
1 comment:
Pastor E said: "...it is in this community, this body of Christ, where I continually see the Spirit of God blowing in and through so many different saints."
The image of the Holy Spirit 'blowing in and through' is an apt one for me. Each time I have come forward at a healing service, I have had various concerns, sometimes for me, sometimes for others and each time, regardless of how 'in control' I feel when I kneel down, I always return to my seat with tears running down my cheeks.
It is a most uncanny feeling, to suddenly be touched by the Holy Spirit. When Pastor E or Pastor J pray for me, with their hands on my head, it is as if our connection is powered, electrified, and it deeply moves me.
This may sound like voo-doo to some, but it is real to me. I wish more would come forward at these services. Doing so has expanded my understanding of what it means to 'be spiritual.'
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