There is only One Who can bless us, free us, and heal us to the depths of our beings, the One Who says "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." What is the Truth? The eternal Truth is that we are all closely guided, divinely protected, and infinitely loved by God. Even when we are afflicted, we can be filled to overflowing by the supernatural Joy of knowing that God loves us totally, regardless of our failings, disabilities, illnesses, or weaknesses. God not only loves; God IS Love!!! God is our Fortress Who surrounds us and fills us with peace, regardless of what the world is doing to us.
But, if the people in our lives have gravely wounded us, we find it hard to believe in unconditional Love. In fact, we may not want it! We don't want to rely on anyone but ourselves! If others have made us feel useless or helpless or worthless, we believe in total independence, because human beings have proved to be unreliable and hurtful. We believe in doing it ourselves because that proves that we are strong. There is no need to believe in the spiritual or the supernatural, we say. We are complete in ourselves. Oh, we may let others into our lives a little bit, but not the whole way. The last thing in the world that we want is to be hurt again.
When we've been wounded by others, we adopt behaviors and mechanisms for self-preservation. Even if we love God, believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, yet there can be areas of our lives that are resistant to God's grace and healing. There can be sinfulness that has developed as a way of survival and self-preservation. Woundedness sends us on a mad, self-destructive race to find different, false gods. Sins can hide deeper insecurities, ways of relying on ourselves and our objects of idolatry rather than on God. These sins can have a greater or lesser influence on our lives, but if we want the truth of self-knowledge, it's good to see the chinks in our spiritual armor. Marriage and Family Therapist Bob Schuchts explains:
"Each of the deadly sins hides deeper insecurities in each of our lives. Are you aware of what you are hiding through your specific deadly sins?
"If you use anger to gain power and control, my guess is that you struggle with feelings of powerlessness and fear.
"If your capital sin is greed, I would venture a guess that you have a lot of insecurity and use wealth as a way of bolstering your security and self-worth.
" If lust is the issue you struggle with most, I imagine that you use sex or sexual imagery to soothe the pain of rejection or feelings of not being desirable.
"If gluttony is your sin of choice, experience tells me that you use food, drink, or drugs to numb your pain and fill the emptiness of abandonment in your life.
"If you wrestle with sloth, you have probably given up trying because it is too hard to meet others' expectations.
"If it is envy that consumes you, I suggest you ask yourself if you have a deep insecurity about your sense of worthiness.
"Are you beset by shame? Rather than face those issues in your own heart, you may tear down others who have status or possessions, as did Cain with Abel. (Genesis 4).
"In each of these situations, deadly sins give the illusion of satisfying unmet needs, but in actuality, they block us from God's grace."(from "Be Healed").
Only the One Who is Truth can set us free from these illusions about ourselves, and the sins we harbor that separate us from the All-consuming, warming, vivifying, forgiving, healing Love of God. Jesus came to show us the Face, Voice, and Loving Arms of God. Jesus, God in the flesh, came to redeem us, to forgive and heal us, to restore us individually to wholeness and then all of us to unity.
If we have been baptized, or baptized and confirmed, we have been filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit comes NOW out of Jesus, at every moment of our lives. The Holy Spirit of Unity reunites us with our own souls, with God, and with each other. The Holy Spirit frees us from the paralyzing power of fear - fear of interdependence, fear of commitment, fear of forgiveness, fear of love.
Do you remember the story of Jesus' Baptism in the River Jordan by his cousin John? (Luke 3: 21-22.) Do you remember that a Voice - God's Voice - came from the heavens: "This is My Beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." Notice that God says this to Jesus before he has begun his public ministry. Schuchts says,
"Can you envision yourself on the side of the Jordan watching this scene unfold? Notice that before Jesus accomplishes anything, the Father expresses unconditional love and delight in His Son. The Father's approval is not based on Jesus' performance. Rather, he delights in Jesus because of who he is. Those of us who have children and grandchildren can relate, at least in a small measure, to the Father's unconditional love for his son. When I look at my children, grandchildren, and spiritual children, my heart often swells with love. I delight in each of them and treasure each of them for who they are, individually and uniquely. Though I enjoy seeing their accomplishments, it is not the foundation of my love for them. How much more the Father freely delights in his beloved son. Can you even begin to comprehend the Father's love for Jesus? I can almost see and hear the Father looking down from heaven and saying to all who will listen, 'This is my son. I delight in him. He brings great joy to my heart.'"
But here is the most amazing, unbelievable Truth: at our baptisms, we were united with Jesus, God's beloved son. We became equally beloved sons and daughters of God! EQUALLY beloved! Loved for who we are, rather than for our accomplishments, loved with a love strong enough to melt our rigid, self-protective defenses, to erase the unhealthy and unhappy sinful behaviors we've adopted to keep our hearts away from God's tender love. At each of our baptisms, God said to us and about us: "This is My Beloved Son/Daughter; with you I am well pleased." Listen for God's Voice - God says it to you at every moment.
The Holy Spirit invites us to contemplate this mystery. The Holy Spirit rests upon us, nestles into our hearts, to take our hands so we do not fear, and to walk us into the depths of self-knowledge, of truth about ourselves. The Holy Spirit anoints us with many gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, understanding. The Holy Spirit is our Supreme Counselor, Who gently illuminates our darkness so that we can be transformed. The Holy Spirit heals us over, and over, day after day, to deepen our trust in the Trinity's Love for us.
In the silence of our times of prayer, God comes to us. Don't be afraid! Don't run away! Dare to choose to be freed from the imprisonment of your crippling negative memories and experiences by the Truth of God's everlasting Love..
Dare to call God "Father" regardless of how you may have been wounded by earthly parents or others. Pray this prayer (from "Be Healed").
"Heavenly Father, please speak to our hearts and allow us to know that, in Jesus, we are your beloved children in whom you delight. Stir into flame the gift of the Holy Spirit that you have placed within each of us, filling us with your love, joy, and strength and taking away our fear. (1 Timothy 1; 6-7.) We ask this in union with your beloved Son, Jesus. Amen."