Spiritual Medicine

I have recently experienced amazing spiritual care, the prayer of many friends and most excellent medical care and have, as a result, come to the end of a long period of treatment for cancer.

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that when the threat of cancer to my body was real and imminent I was willing to seek prayer and medical attention very fast. I was willing to do whatever it took to deal with the rebellious cells within my body, even if the process was painful or uncomfortable at times. I knew it would be worth it in the end, as I would have more life to live as a result.

But then I had a thought. Do I feel the same way about sin? Sin has become such a familiar word to me there’s a risk of me not taking it seriously. I wonder if a doctor had said to me ‘I’m sorry but you have sin’, if I would have sought spiritual medical attention as fast, or if I would have felt embarrassed about confessing my sins to someone. Sin separates me from all God wants me to have, stops me from having life, - life in all its fullness. Sin is ‘spiritual cancer’. Just as the medical treatment I received was, at times, a bit of a challenge, facing our sin can look just as challenging, but maybe less of an immediate threat to our life. Why would we wait to get treatment though when the remedy is there and everything has been done for us to walk into forgiveness? It might feel a bit painful to look at the reality of the state of our hearts, and it might feel uncomfortable to ‘confess to each other’, but the joy of healing and the ‘wonderful results’ that come from it make it so worthwhile. We get closer to God, and live life - life in abundance.

Prayer: Father God, thank You that, in Jesus and His willingness to die on the cross for me, the price was paid for all my sin. Help me run to You for forgiveness and healing and to know the fullness of life You have for me. Amen.