Healing in Jesus Himself

This entry is dedicated to a friend who had been asking prayers from us. 

His call for prayers made me remember that unforgettable moment of my life. The memories are still fresh. I can still recall that particular scene where my lola was still in the hospital

Mag-iisang taon na rin when the Lord shook my house. If you have been following this blog, yung pinaka-una kong entry is about that experience –the event that led me closer to the Lord Jesus.

I was told to have FAITH. And I knew I did. I believed for healing. I even worked hard for a sideline I was doing that time kasi sa isip ko, the Lord will heal my lola. And the money I was to earn from the sideline job was to be used for the hospital bills.

I prayed. I cried out to God. I spoke life. But you know what happened.

Grew angry at myself. “You believed in vain. You should have spent time with her but you still chose to go to office, finish that sideline.”

Blamed myself. “ Maybe I wasn’t faithful enough? Maybe I did something wrong that God did not hear me? OR, maybe the word of God is false! “

Grew angry at God. Questioned His existence and His word. It was for a while…pero hindi ko Siya natiis.

My heart seemingly felt the agony that the Lord was feeling because of how I was acting. I have loved Him ever since we first met. And I felt bad being angry at Him.

So I reconciled with the Lord. Then I looked for answers.

I can prolong this entry with the things I researched regarding healing, reasons why people have unanswered prayer for healing. Yes, they are true. But I want to simplify it with just this:

If Jesus, Himself, is not the answer, then there is no answer. Not His works, Not His promises, Not His ministers but HIMSELF.

So to my brother, if ever you are reading this…

I want you to know that having just faith, praying for healing, and speaking life might not be enough to get your desired end. I have tried them. It didn’t work for me.

I do not want to encourage you with just plain words of prayer that you want to hear. And I also do not want you to go astray when things do not work out the way you prayed them to.  

Pero I can assure you one thing: the Lord Jesus desires to heal her.

Just like how He desired to heal my lola. But I did not let Him work because I did all the work – the work of praying for healing, the work of believing, and the work of speaking life. As godly as they may sound, without the Source, Himself, they are not gonna work!

That’s why now are the times when you need to seek Jesus more. Spend longer times with Him. Spend more time worshipping Him, especially with her and family. Most importantly, spend time with Him to listen so that you will know WHAT HE WANTS YOU TO DO to make His healing power manifest to her.

It is vital, brother, that you learn to hear words from God. I'm not talking about the written word but a personal word for you. Just as important it is for you to let go of her and put her under His care. Because surrendering her to God means you trust God.

How do you check if you have successfully surrendered her? You do not worry anymore about her. This is an act of allowing God to work. It’s hard, yes. Pero this can be achieved through unceasing prayer.

Lastly, know that whatever is the end result, it is part of the good plan that God has for you even though it doesn’t seem good at the present. And you will just say “Father, not my will but Your will be done for her.”

God loves you. God loves her.

I pray that you receive that specific word from God regarding her situation, for her healing and well-being, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Grace, Grace and More Grace!

It has been a while since my last entry. Pero talagang ganyan ang buhay. There is a time for giving and a time for receiving. May time for sowing at may time for reaping.

Pakiramdam ko these past few weeks, I have been receiving lessons from the Lord.

And there is one lesson I would like to share to the few but many readers of this mumunting blog site. There is one lesson na kala ko alam ko na and still, was enabled to learn more about it….GRACE.

Often times we define GRACE as unmerited favor from the Lord. That is right. Kaso the modern-day church has over-emphasized this incomplete meaning of grace kaya na-iba narin ang definition. Grace became so mababaw and earthly. So the definition of real prosperity became earthly narin.

Pero grace, to complete the meaning, is major-majorly the POWER THAT ENABLES us to live and continue walking a holy life. Grace is the power given us to enable us to desire, love, and obey His commandments by heart.

Without it, living a holy life is impossible. Without it, pleasing God with our lives will be impossible. Without it, we are no different from the non-believers.

I would like to share how the Lord taught me this very important teaching.

Bago pinakawalan ni Lord si Perding sa Pinas, He made it rain unexpectedly sa Maynila. I got a text from my mom who stayed in our Tagaytay house for a long time. The text says we will eat outside together with my brother.

I was very excited to go home. Kaso the Lord has released a strong rain that delayed my trip home. Knowing my type, sobrang na-frustrate ako. I complained sa lahat ng nakita ko. I complained about the people who took so long to enter the bus. I complained why it has to stop to the next station knowing na puno na. I pitied myself. “Eh ganito talaga ang buhay ng empleyadong hindi kumikita ng malaki.” (Oh gosh, I was horrible.)

This was the time when in me was a spiritual fuse. Spiritual Fuse is a term na natutunan ko from Ms. Meyer recently. It happens when the flow of the grace of God is blocked and in effect, we seem to have lost our Christian values.

The traffic was heavy at coastal road (as expected). I gave up. I asked the Lord to calm my soul because I was tired. Then the Lord spoke. He said He will teach me a very important lesson after this test.

And yes, He did. After listening to the teachings of Ms. Meyer, the Holy Spirit taught me the “very important lesson.”

Ms. Meyer identified the two major blockers of grace. One is complaining. Two is self-pity. At SWAK na SWAK talaga. Exactly what happened.

Then I tried to test myself. I told the Lord hindi na ako mag-cocomplain. So the day after the day I listened to Meyer, I was surprised to know that complaining became an automatic response for me. Natakot ako.

Yung mga simple comments na “anu ba yan!” “nakaka-asar!” “hay nako!” have become so natural for me. And because complaining became a habit, I found myself involved in self-pity which in effect made me feel tired, stressed, and worn-out for the past few weeks.

Truly, the grace of God was blocked. I even lost temptation battles because there was no supply of grace left.

I believe every serious disciple of Christ like us have encountered scenarios when we seem to have lost our Christian values. And with repentance comes the grace that will help us stand again.

We often think that we need to live a holy life. It is true. But doesn’t it make you feel a bit pressured? Having in mind na you have to live a holy life, tapos pag nagkaron ng spiritual fuse, feeling natin we messed up big time!

So the Lord told me “then live a holy day.”

Ting! Parang light bulb na biglang umilaw matapos mapundi, I got that very-important-lesson…My grace is sufficient for this day.

The battle of Christians is every day. Things that will try to steal our peace, our joy, our strength, etc., will come unexpectedly day by day. But the grace of God is sufficient enough for us to overcome and win the battle for this day.

I suddenly felt rested kasi yung goal ko to live a holy life now became living this day holy unto God. And since I am assured that the grace of God is sufficient for this day, I have faith that I will overcome the battle for this day.

I do not worry about tomorrow anymore because I know there will be grace sufficient enough for tomorrow. My battle is today. My battle is this day. So I need to prepare for this day. Parang mas dumali, di ba?

Paul was given a thorn in His flesh. Every Christian, I believe, is given a thorn in the flesh. I have a thorn in the flesh that I want to get delivered from. Everyday I am anxiously praying for my deliverance. Pero now, I feel relieved. Kung meron man akong struggle, because of the grace of God, I will overcome the struggle for the day. And tomorrow will worry about itself.

If you have cancer or a disease, pray for healing. But if healing does not come today, you will still feel okay. Why? The grace of God for today is sufficient enough to enable you to have hope that you will receive healing.  

If you have a problem in the office, pray for guidance. But if it does not come today, you will still be able to maintain your cool. Why? The grace of God for today is sufficient enough to enable you to rejoice in the middle of your situation.

If you don’t have money to buy food for today, pray for provision. But if it does not come yet, you will still be peaceful. Why?  The grace of God for today is sufficient enough to enable you to believe that the Lord loves you more than the birds in the air. If He feeds them, what more you!

Oh this just makes me want to praise the Lord and sing Hallelujah! Whohoo!

This very-important-lesson has good effects in my attitude.

One is, it helps me not judge Christians who have acted like they’re unbelievers. Now I understand what probably happened why they reacted like that.

Another is, it helps me enjoy my day which is also through His grace. Hindi mabigat. Almost guilt-free.

Lastly, and the most important effect, I realized that I won’t last a day without the Lord Jesus. That truly, I am nothing without Him. That I am no-different from non-believers without Jesus. It helps me not boast of “my spirituality.” All these maturity in Christ are all because of Him and through the grace that was given to me after He died on the cross.

Everyday, I pray: Lord, give me the grace that will enable me not to complain, grumble, and pity myself. Give me the grace that will enable me to worship you in spirit and in truth. Give me the grace that will enable me to enjoy my day in purpose. Give me the grace that will enable me to win over my oppressors for this day. Give me the grace to live out this day holy unto you.

Truly Lord, I am nothing without you. So I pray for your grace, grace and more grace. Thank you Lord that I have an abundant supply of grace in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

I will end this entry with a question. Isn’t this the real meaning of prosperity?