After reflecting on my post last week, “God Doesn’t Heal What We Hide”, I believe some nuance is needed. If you’ve not read it yet, you can read it here.
It’s said humans are composed of three distinct but interconnected components: head, heart, and body. My context overemphasizes the spiritual formation of the intellect (head) and the resulting actions (body), but neglects the heart… or our emotions.
As a result, the goal of my post was to share what I am learning about the spiritual formation of my emotions, not to eliminate the other aspects of discipleship to Jesus.
With that said, here are a few essential things to remember:
God’s Initiative
While relational vulnerability, confession, and repentance are transformational methods that God uses, Scripture also emphasizes God’s initiative (John 6:44) in pursuing, convicting, and healing, even when we are reluctant or unaware.
Examples: Adam & Eve (Gen. 3), Hagar (Gen. 16), Jacob (Gen. 28), Moses (Ex. 3), Gideon (Jud. 6), Saul (1 Sam. 9-10), The Lost Sheep & The Lost Coin Parables (Luke 15), Paul (Acts 9).
All healing and restoration is initiated by God, who gently unearths our buried wounds and exposes sin, and yet invites our participation in faith.
My point wasn’t to elevate the lament to a condition of healing, but rather, to introduce a key element of orthopraxy I was not familiar with.
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