Devotionals for the Heart: Why we should heal people like Jesus heals us

Jesus Heals, So Should We
A devotional by Essie Faye Taylor

“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”—Matthew 10:8 (KJV)

At times life is extremely difficult, even with faith.

Our faith doesn’t always move our mountains. But it does give us strength and courage to climb them. As I write these words, tears stream down my face because of this truth. In life, we are hurt by people, things, and circumstances. Yet, God makes healing available. He heals the ache of loneliness and abandonment. He heals the ache of abuse and neglect. He is the Lord our Healer, who lovingly repairs our brokenness. I know this from experience.

I remember looking into the mirror and feeling so broken. It seems that my life—the pretty picture I presented to the world—had shattered into a million tiny pieces. I would never seem to be able to put it back together again. I was heartbroken. It turns out, God never wanted me to put that picture back together. He would heal my heart and mind and grant me a new vision for my life.

In Matthew 10:8, Jesus Christ is talking to His disciples. He had chosen 12 men to teach and train for leadership in His kingdom. He gave them authority to perform miracles and to preach the Gospel in His name. He sent each disciple specifically to the children of Israel to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and to cast out devils. He commanded them to operate in the power of God so that the lives and hearts of His people could be repaired and restored to health. God commands His disciples to serve with an open mind, an open heart, and open hands. Jesus expects all His disciples in this modern day to do the same.

It is important to note that God uses people to restore other people to health. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. Some extremely spiritual people reject visible people, while embracing an invisible God. The Apostle John says that we cannot love God whom we have not seen and hate our brother who we can see (1 John 4:20). Our love for God is exemplified through our love for humankind. God created humans to exist and thrive in community. We need other people in our everyday lives. Another person will heal your brokenness. God works that way.

As followers of Jesus Christ in these current times, we are the givers of love, hope, peace, joy, and kindness. Some people are waiting for God to send help through a miraculous event that needs no input from humanity. God can! He has done it plenty of times before, but He also sends help in human form. I cannot stress this enough. Some even reject organized faith communities and the congregation of believers. However, there is power of healing, restoration, liberation, and deliverance among everyday believers through the power and presence of God.

We have the power to heal each other. We can heal in several ways. Our very presence can bring healing to those who are abandoned and/or feel alone. Our hands can bring healing to those sick in mind, body, or spirit. Our words can bring healing to those hurting emotionally. Affectionate physical touch and our kindness, empathy, sympathy can heal those who are misunderstood, rejected and/or ostracized. Our kind actions can heal those who have experienced mistreatment. Jesus commands us to transform the world in His name.

Call to Action:

1. Explore your role in bringing healing to yourself.

2. Explore your role in bringing healing to your circle of influence.

3. Touch others in concrete ways to repair the brokenness that you witness.

4. Actively seek to be the hands and feet of Christ to transform a hurting world.

5. Remember: Jesus commands us to go into all the world and make disciples and to transform brokenness to health through the power of the Gospel message.

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, You are our God who heals. You see our pain. You see our weakness. You see our hopelessness. You see all and You are sovereign. Help us to recognize the power that you’ve given us to partner with You and to begin to heal a hurting nation. Help us to realize the role that you have given us in transforming the world. Grant us the faith and boldness to walk forward and alongside our friends, family members, children, partners, and strangers as the light that you declared that we are. Help us to shine and love others as You love all of us. Thank you for hearing our prayers. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

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Author Bio:

Essie Faye Taylor is a woman of faith. She’s a bilingual author, educator, speaker, psalmist, and interpreter. 

Essie is the author of the “Finding the Love You Deserve” series for women and teens. She is deeply committed to motivating minorities, women, and youth to heal themselves, love and accept themselves, and pursue God while chasing their dreams and carving out their life’s path.

Essie is a Chicago native where she lives with her husband Donald Taylor II.

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Connect with Essie:
Website: www.essiefayetaylor.com
Amazon Author Page:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Essie%20Faye%20Taylor/author/B09XF3TC22
Listen to Essie’s music at https://on.soundcloud.com/X6DeoRXra7YoKcC2A.
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Read Essie’s YouVersion Devotion Plan here: http://bible.us/r/Abn