Isaiah 53:5 - Healing

So many hurting people....Lord, how can I be more effective in sharing You with them?  It hurts me to see people hurting.  At times I struggle with knowing how to get people's eyes opened to You.  The things we go through are in our life are for a purpose.  We need to understand that and learn from the hurtful times.  We can't stay in the "hurtful" mode for the rest of our lives.  Instead we need to allow the Lord to heal us.  He is the Only Way for healing to occur.  The first step to healing is acknowledging we have a right to be healed.  Isaiah 53:5 reads:

"But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed."

Woo hoo!  That's exciting!  When Jesus died on the cross, it was so we could have eternal life.  Not only was it so we could have eternal life but it also was so we could be healed from anything that comes our way.  God knows our hurts.  He knows exactly how we feel.  His desire is for us to bring our hurts to Him...to lay them at His feet and leave them there.  He doesn't want us to wallow around in our hurts.  When we do, we make ourselves miserable and hurt those around us.  As Doc says, "Hurting people, hurt people."  So true.  How many times have words flown from my mouth that were hurtful just because I was hurting myself?  Too many.  Lord, forgive me.    

Matthew 11:28 reads: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  Woo hoo!  The only kind of true rest we can have is when we release all our hurt, our pain, our worries, our anxieties into His Hands.  We have to trust Him in order to do this.  We can't give it to Him and then pull it back.  Once we do this then the healing process begins.  He will heal us.  Our healing will then in turn enable us to help others to heal from the same hurts.  

As I think back on yesterday, I recall saying things to those hurting about my own experiences with what they were dealing with.  The Lord used me to help others.  Woo hoo!  I'm so thankful to be where I am today.  I praise His Holy Name for placing me where I am.   I praise Him for giving me the ability to help others.  I like the idea of being an agent of healing in people's lives.  

Today I am praying for those hurting today...

...the two with unknown physical ailments who are going through testing

...the one facing cancer surgery

...the one whose husband has left

...the ones who are dealing with the death of a loved one

...the ones, including myself, who are missing their Daddy on this Father's Day weekend

...the ones who don't have their physical needs met such as the man without shoes

Dear Jesus,

I pray for people who are hurting to turn everything over to You...all their hurts.  I pray for them to quit living in the past and live with You in total control of their future.  Lord, You are My Healer and I praise You for the many times You have healed my hurts.  I ask Lord for You to continue to use me as an agent of healing.  Thank You Lord for being My Healer!  Amen.