The challenge to reach out - by Elizabeth Reynolds
In our connect group, we have been looking at the topic of miracles. We zeroed in on several miracles in the bible, both Old and New Testament and a lot of our discussions circled around what exactly does constitute as a miracle? Do miracles happen today? Can miracles of biblical proportions happen today? And what is our role in the displaying of miracles?
Recently we viewed a movie/documentary called “Christ In You”, where the underlying theme is that anybody following Jesus can be used by God to display a miracle, and that it is not you, but Christ in you working. The documentary focused on miracles of healing and one speaker said if you’re a follower of Jesus, and you have a voice, then you are qualified to perform miracles of healing. The message from ‘ordinary Christians’ to other ‘ordinary Christians’ was to encourage and challenge them to step out against the various lies that silence us and make us afraid, such as:
• I’m too much of a shy person
• It’s not my calling to go out and heal people
• People don’t want to be bothered by a Christian
• It’s too weird to just sit with a total stranger and pray for them
• There are other people who do that sort of thing
• If I pray for healing, probably nothing will happen
• If nothing happens, then I’ll look silly and it will make it look like God doesn’t exist
Do you relate to any of these? I certainly do! But they are simply NOT true! In John 14:12, Jesus says: I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
One thing that really stood out to me from the movie was that praying with people for healing is a WIN-WIN situation. EVEN IF they are not healed there and then from their ailment or whatever it is, we think it is an embarrassment for ourselves and for God, but in actual fact, people will just feel touched and blessed because you cared for them. You reached out and showed love to them, which is a surprise and a shock most of the time – people do not expect it. The very fact that you had the time to sit with them and ask them ‘Are you okay?’ or prayed for them, speaks volumes. And God is in control.
So whether it be healing, and miracles in general, or whether it’s just showing love to someone, how can you do that this week? How can you reach out and touch someone’s life? Make them feel less invisible, let them know God loves them…
An encouragement and a challenge! Will you accept?