By Brenda Groves
The Post Newspaper Contributing Writer
I once heard a missionary speaking on ministering to people where she said, “You have to get low, and go slow.” I took this to stop being so busy and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Well, several years ago my hubby and I established a weekly date night that usually includes a meal where we have our favorite dining spots in the town we live in. Well, a few months ago we were at one of our favorite spots when the Lord put it on my heart to not only tip our server, but a particular bus boy as well. He was so happy he gave my husband a huge “I love you man” type of hug. Lol!
The next week we went back to this restaurant and again, the Lord put it on our hearts to tip this same young man.
I thought he was going to cry, he said “Guys you have no idea how much this means to me! NOBODY leaves me a tip, y’all are the first ones to do that.”
Suddenly, it was strong in my heart to ask him, “Is there anything I can pray with you about?”
He looked kind of startled and said, “Wow, it’s funny you should ask that, just today my dad was diagnosed with Cirrhosis of the liver and they said he would be dead within 5 years.”
We talked just a few minutes as I shared the good news with Him that God wants his Dad to be well, and that healing was a part of the atonement of Christ.
(1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:4-6, and over 100 others. I looked them up.)
He said that his family were believers, and I told him so am I but when I was diagnosed with MS back in 2007 I had only heard that Jesus paid for my sins. No one had ever shared with me that He also paid for the effects of living in a sinful world- sickness/poverty/emotional distress etc. God did not send His Son to only do half a job. “It is finished.” John 19:30
But just like salvation, even though healing is provided for everyone, God is not going to force us to receive it. Again, we must look at Jesus to see the Father’s heart. He was always willing to administer healing but not everyone was willing to believe and receive. Mark 6:1-6
So I shared the full Gospel message with him.
I asked him if he wanted to pray, he jumped at the offer and we came into agreement right then that according to the love, and the blood of Jesus all sickness and disease would leave his Father’s body, and that his Dad would recover fully and know the salvation of the Lord. Salvation in the Greek is “Sozo” and simply means “complete.”
Also, I felt impressed to leave him with a prescription, Proverbs 18:21. “Life and death are in the power of the tongue, those who love it will eat its fruit thereof.” Our words are important. The world was framed by words (Heb.11:3), and the Lord has given us a wonderful and powerful gift, the power of the tongue for blessing, or cursing. We can say what we have, or have what we say.
Many of the things we are experiencing in our life can be traced back to words that we have spoken, or that were spoken over us and we believed them. (But that is another column.)
Back at the restaurant, I told him to look up every healing scripture he could find and to share them with his Dad and meditate on them.
You know, the word of God is designed to act like “chewable” vitamins so that we can absorb all the nutrients (love/grace/mercy) and the blessings of God and digest into our hearts. “How a man thinks in His heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7
Now, I will not live in regret about all the times God nudged me to do something out of the ordinary, and I chose to ignore Him, nor the times I will miss it in the future.
Yet, we all can try not to be in such a hurry and “get low and go slow,” and allow Jesus to continue His ministry on this earth by the works of His Holy Spirit flowing through His children.
Praise Jesus and to God goes all the glory!!
Contact Brenda Groves at: bkgroves1996@yahoo.com
