DAY 109 - FORGIVENESS & HEALING
CONNOR GRIM, YA ASSOCIATE PASTOR & VOLUNTEER TEAM LEAD
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” - 1 John 1:9
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” - James 5:16
This may be a sobering statement, but I believe it’s worth our consideration: There will be a lot of people that make it to heaven who have been forgiven but never have experienced healing.
Because of Jesus we are forgiven of any wrong doing we have ever done, are doing, or will one day do. The high price of our forgiveness was Jesus being crucified, abandoned on a cross, humiliated and laid to rest in a borrowed tomb. Because of Jesus we are extended the fullness of God without limit, even though we continue to be made holy in this lifetime. Your forgiveness is FREE, PAID FOR, and AVAILABLE is to anyone who would call out to Jesus.
Healing however is a process. It takes work.
The bible tells us that if we want to experience not only forgiveness but healing it begins with confession. And not just confession to God, but confession to one another and pray. Confession is an intimidating thing. It’s vulnerable. It’s revealing your actual self to someone and not the self that we so often love to project to our world. It’s recognizing our fractures and brokenness and admitting that if we want to experience not only the forgiveness of God but the FREEDOM of God, we have to walk the path to freedom that He has laid out for us.
Why then doesn’t everyone experience both forgiveness and healing? Because sometimes healing is painful. Sometimes healing comes at the cost of digging into your past and unearthing wounds that have been buried in your soul. Sometimes healing comes at the cost of a loved one. Knowing that your confession of sin doesn’t just effect you but others you love and care for. Sometimes healing hurts our pride. It may come at the loss of a job or the loss of an opportunity.
But the older I get the more I’ve realized that nothing is worth my freedom and healing. No secret, no struggle, no sin or temptation is worth having to walk through life carrying a burden that was never meant for you to carry. The lightness and easy yoke of Jesus comes when we obey the path He has given us to freedom and let me tell you, it’s worth every hard moment and conversation.