In my years working for the Lutheran Church I was so uplifted by the music. Someone who knows how much music means to me reminded me of this hymn. It is giving me focus and hope. I hope it can do the same for you. There are some versions I prefer but this one has the words.
Category: healing
Healing
As a nurse healing is so important to me. There are some people that we can’t heal no matter how much we want to. However, there is one who can heal everything. That one is God. For my 20 years as a Parish Nurse at the Lutheran church I became enamored of this hymn. I hope it touches you as much as it does me.
Discard hurts and grudges
We cannot embrace God’s forgiveness if we are so busy clinging to past wounds and nursing old grudges.
It is so easy to hold onto grudges and past hurts. We can actually enjoy chewing over the hurt and savoring our pain. We can think back and relive the emotions and it gives us a kind of satisfaction.
This kind of thinking is toxic. The only person being harmed by it is us. God has promised us forgiveness of our own mistakes. How can we approach him with these thoughts foremost in our minds. To heal ourselves we must let go of hurtful memories and discard grudges. That healing will bring us to God ready for forgiveness.
He heals
Psalm 103: 1-5
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live[a]
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
I always cling to this Psalm when things are rough. It is so perfect when I am stressed. What could be better than verses 3-4. I need my sins forgiven and my illnesses healed. David was right on target. This is a God of goodness and mercy. Thank him every day.
Responsibility
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
If we have any question of why mankind has not cared at all for the earth these two translations show the difference in wording. Many different translations…many different ideas.
We were to care for God’s creation not destroy it. Now we are faced with the consequences of our actions. The cause of the things happening now may not be entirely of our making but our view of the earth has been plundering its resources instead of caring for them. I hope it is not too late.
The healing word of God
Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
This is one of my favorite Psalms. When I am stressed I remember these words and they comfort me. I hope that everyone has some words from the Bible that they can member when they need help. I read these words out loud over and over as a mantra and they bring me peace.
Pain can heal
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”
―
Our past has taught us so many lessons. God expects us to use them to move forward. The hurts we carry open us to more understanding. Use them to help others.
Prayer: Gracious God, help us to share the pains we have experienced so that others can feel our openness and our love. AMEN
Compassion is learned
Suffering is a journey deeper into the heart of life. From the movie The Human Experience
How shallow we can be if we have had very little problems in our lives. We just float through each day wondering why other people seem to struggle so. Compassion for those suffering is hard to grasp since we have nothing to measure it against. Travail in life is not what we would choose. But the fire of its pain brings the beauty of understanding and love for those who suffer.
Compassionate God, you sent you son to suffer and in so doing chose to experience our pain, sorrow, and grief. Help us to use what we have learned in our own trials to ease the path of others.
Refined by fire
We are always on the anvil; by trials God is shaping us for higher things.
Henry Ward Beecher
We weren’t promised a rose garden. We were promised that God would never leave us. Having a life free of problems may not be the thing that makes us beautiful in God’s eyes. The Bible reminds us that pottery is put into the flame to make it beautiful. In times of trial turn to God and come out of the trial refined by him.
Prayer: Ever present God, go with us into the flame and bring us out made beautiful for you. Amen
I am not perfect
In our lives we are not perfect. Like Paul I do things I don’t want to do and don’t do some things I should. Forgiving others and asking forgiveness are two things that can set us free. Both are important. Remember it!
Hear God in Other Voices 