ANNOUNCING MY WORD FOR 2015

May I have the envelope, please?

(Insert drum roll…)

My Word for 2015 is – HEALING.


I must tell you the story about how it arrived.

A couple of months ago, I had a meltdown.  A good old sobfest with "The Hub."  Numerous things were swirling through my emotions.  Numerous aches in my heart were especially acute.

"The Hub" was dismayed.

You see, he does not like to see me cry.  I don't think any man likes to see his loved one cry.  It seems to trigger their *fix-it* gene.

He looked at me, rather desperately, and said, "What is wrong with you?"

And I, just as desperately replied, "I'm just so broken.  I feel like I'm in a million pieces.  I just really need God to heal me."

As soon as the word came out of my mouth, I felt it.  It triggered something deep.  It touched a nerve somewhere in my soul.

Later, after many Kleenexes – (for after all, meltdowns are sloppy business) – later I got to thinking more about what I said.  And realized…

Yes, healing – that's what I want.

And I started to wonder if this could be my word for the coming year.  Two things kept me from claiming it at this point.  One, it was early.  Most often, the word doesn't arrive until December sometime.  And two, I was concerned that I was making this word my choice because it's what I wanted.

I like it when God picks.

So, I put it aside for the time being.

Well, as the weeks progressed, I started wondering some more.  So I prayed. Prayed that God would confirm this word, HEALING, if it was His choice.


Two things happened.

Here's the first thing.  I have had incredible insomnia over the last year.  My mind just won't shut off.  Many times I can't fall asleep, or I wake up and can't get back to sleep.  Either scenario is annoying.  But very often these are also the times when I am attacked with arrows of anxious thoughts and the hammer of fear is slung hard.

So, one night I got up and logged onto the internet.  And, I googled this phrase, "dear lord do you see me?"

At the top of the list was something called The Dear God Project.  And the very first sentence of the snippet below was this:

"I truly believe Lord that only you can heal me and you're my only hope."

Right there – the word – HEAL.

Sigh...


Still not wanting to "handpick" my word, I continued to ask for another confirmation.  (Hey, I figured it was OK to ask again.  Gideon did it…)

Soon after, a dear friend, Cheryl, posted this.  And once again, I felt the Lord tap me and say,

"It's OK, Sharon.  Yes, I will grant this word to you for the year.  But let Me teach you what it really means.  For My healing will go deeper than you can even imagine."


So…HEALING.

I tell you what, I don't really know what to expect.

But I have a feeling that God is going to teach me something deeply important and meaningful in this process of healing during this year.

And it's probably going to be something completely different than what I'm thinking – new avenues of revelation, new truths to explore, and new surprises along the journey.

For one thing, I'll tell you what I want when I think of this word.  I want God to fix me, and fix my life.  I want Him to take everything bad away.

I want THAT kind of healing.  The good kind.  Like how a warm bath soothes away the aches and pains.

God is most likely going to do something else, something more.


Three things He's already whispering to me.

First of all, healing might just require more brokenness.

I am reminded of how a broken bone sometimes needs to be re-broken so it can heal properly.  I can remember how it once took a year for a piece of stepped-on broken glass to finally work its way out of my foot.  Or the time when weeks after having an impacted wisdom tooth removed, a painful leftover piece once again required surgery to remove.

To reveal His healing, God is going to have to reveal where I'm really broken.  

Not just the areas that hurt.  There's a difference.  The areas where I hurt are the areas that have something to do with my comfort.  God wants to bring healing to the areas that have something to do with my character.

And that just might require some *ouch.*


Second, though I am seeking and wanting healing for myself, it just might arrive as I reach out to others with a healing touch.

For example, a few weeks ago "The Hub" and I came across a homeless man sitting in front of a dollar store.  His head hung low, and he was particularly scrungy.  Yet, we felt compelled to reach out with a small gift of money.

As we approached, his head came up, and I reached out my hand to give him our small offering.  And before I knew it, without thinking (thank you, Holy Spirit!), I blurted this out:

"Are you cold?  Could you use a blanket?"

Of course he answered yes.

We had to travel around to find somewhere to buy that blanket, and added a sweatshirt and some water, too.

But oh, how good it felt to do this.  My heart felt full and satisfied.  I knew that we had indeed touched on a secret to healing.

"And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." (Matthew 10:42, NLT)

Yes, my healing might have a whole lot more to do with the healing of others.


And finally, healing is going to be found in the nourishment of daily bread.

Last year was the first year in a very long time that I didn't read my Bible every day.  I started out well, but then my dad fell and went to the hospital and then passed away.  My days were crazy and disrupted – in fact, the whole year has been a bit of a seesaw.

Yes, I was in the Word.  But not in an intentional, methodical way.  I missed it.  Frankly, I think it had a lot to do with my struggles.  So this year, with the Lord's help, I am going to return to the discipline of daily reading.

I have a feeling that this practice is deeply tied to healing.


So, boom, there it is…my new word.

HEALING.

I think of the time when Jesus said this:

"When Jesus heard this, he told them, 'Healthy people don't need a doctor – sick people do.  I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.'" (Mark 2:17, NLT)

Oh yes.  I am a sinner in deep need of healing.  I desperately require the services of the Great Physician.  And, I am glad that I know it.  It opens the door for the Lord to work.


I close with a remembrance of the scene of the man at the pool of Bethesda.  A man who had been an invalid for 38 years.  Jesus, arriving on the scene, had this to say:

"When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, 'Do you want to be healed?'" (John 5:6, ESV)

Perhaps this is the beginning point of my year of healing – answering that question.  Because it's not as straightforward as it seems.  My gut reaction is to scream, "YES!  Of course I do!  I am in pain, after all."

But true healing is going to require learning other lessons.

Lessons of humility, desire, longing, self-sacrifice, surrender.

For after all, I want healing that soothes.

God wants healing that delves.  He's going to probe, and dig, and reveal where I'm truly broken…

Am I ready?

Yes, Lord, I believe I am.  Help my unbelief.


So, just as He said to this same man, He is saying to me:

"Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!"

One step at a time, yoked with Him and in His strength, I am going to do just that.


"Taking her by the hand he said to her, 'Talitha cumi,' which means, 'Little girl, I say to you, arise.'" (Mark 5:41, ESV)


OK, Lord, I rise…

(To be continued…)

For I will restore health
unto thee,
and I will heal thee
of thy wounds.

"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5, ESV)

"For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal." (Job 5:18, NIV)

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." 
(Psalm 147:3, ESV) 

"O LORD, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved." (Jeremiah 17:14, NLT) 

"Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak.  Heal me, LORD…" 
(Psalm 6:2, NLT)

"Come, let us return to the LORD.  He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us.  He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds." (Hosea 6:1, NLT)

"They will turn to the LORD, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them." (Isaiah 19:22, NIV)

"Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them…" (Psalm 107:19-20, ESV)

"The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help.  He rescues them from all their troubles.  The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.  The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time.” (Psalm 34:17-19, NLT)

"…Thus says the LORD…'I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears.  Behold, I will heal you.'" (2 Kings 20:5, ESV)

"He took her by the hand and said to her, 'Talitha koum!' (which means 'Little girl, I say to you, get up!').  Immediately the girl stood up…" 
(Mark 5:41-42, NIV)

"'Behold, I will bring…health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.'" (Jeremiah 33:6, NASB)

"'My child, pay attention to what I say.  Listen carefully to my words.  Don't lose sight of them.  Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.'" 
(Proverbs 4:20-22, NLT)

"O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me." 
(Psalm 30:2, NASB)

"...unto you who revere and worshipfully fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings and His beams, and you shall go forth and gambol like calves [released] from the stall and leap for joy." (Malachi 4:2, AMP)


"I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, 'Look, God's home is now among his people!  He will live with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.'

And the one sitting on the throne said, 'Look, I am making everything new!... Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true...It is finished!  I am the Alpha and the Omega – the Beginning and the End.  To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.  All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.'" (Revelation 21:3-7, NLT)

"...for I am the LORD who heals you." (Exodus 15:26, NLT)

YAHWEH ROPHEKA (RAPHA)

***SIDENOTE: Be sure to check out my sidebar for some thoughts and definitions of healing.  And, I've also included some wonderful verses about healing.  (Look under MY WORD FOR 2015, and MY VERSES FOR 2015).

Additionally, please check out these new pages: 2015 QUOTES ON HEALING, 2015 THOUGHTS ON HEALING, 2015 SONGS OF HEALING, and A COMMENTARY ON HEALING.  I think you'll be edified in the reading – I most certainly was!

What is your Word for 2015?

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