Good morning…
A woman who sits with me in spiritual direction, for one hour each month, offered simple, straightforward encouragement: “I feel you have this gift. Wanted to share.” Intrigued, I read Bob Dannals’ devotional from 2.1.18.
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Some interpreters are always trying to figure out what really happened in the Bible’s healing stories, as if they in some sense less than real. What is clear is that Jesus had an extraordinary pastoral manner and healing presence. He had a remarkable attention to the whole person, body, mind, and spirit. There are people in our day who follow Jesus’ example and are compelled by God’s Spirit. There are people you and I know in whose presence we feel God’s peace. These people have special focus, extraordinary skill, wonderful bedside manner, and a depth of prayer. In their healing care we sense certain things healing in us or another, things such as rage, disease, depression, remorse, regret. We say things like, “Wow, when Sally joined the prayer circle we felt lifted up,” or “When Jim performed the surgery we sensed God’s hand in the gift of medicine.” Encourage these gifts by your faith, your action, your receptivity.
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We are all designed to live in constant conversation with our Heavenly Father, following Jesus’ example of wholehearted surrender to God’s higher purposes, exuding a pastoral manner and the Spirit’s healing presence. Body, mind, spirit, we are built to remain keenly attentive to the whole person growing within us and the whole person sitting in front of us. Compelled by God’s Spirit, we are each invited to follow Jesus’ footsteps into empowering oneness with our Creator, with our true selves, and with all people, living and dead. In our undivided presence, others can feel God’s peace. Special focus, extraordinary skill, and wonderful bedside manner organically grow from our depth of daily prayer. In our healing care, pain is healed in us while it is healed in others, rage and disease, depression and division, remorse and regret. Let’s be encouraged to put our faith into action, living wholeheartedly receptive to the palpable presence of our living LORD, who whispers each and every day, “Look, I am making everything new” (Revelation 21:5, NLT).
Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! (1 Corinthians 19-23, MSG).
…Sue…
P.S. If you feel drawn to the ministry of spiritual direction, please check out the “Spiritual Direction” tab on our website’s home page.
