Run to the Only One Who Can Heal You.

 This week I was reading the account of Christ leaving Gethsemane when a multitude of high priests and elders from the temple come to take him to be tried over false accusations.  Christ's disciples seeing what is about to happen want to defend Jesus at first and they ask, "Lord shall we smite with the sword?" (Luke 22:49).  Before Christ could respond, one of them cuts off the right ear of a servant of a high priest. And without hesitation Christ touches his ear and heals him." (vs. 51)

I am wondering at this point what all the people are thinking because right after this miraculous event, his disciples run off when they see the multitude have swords and staves.( Mark 14:50).  Peter does not run off though, but secretly follows behind.   Then one of the maids notices Peter and alerts the others that she had seen him with the accused Jesus and within the hour he denies three times of ever having known Him.

 And the multitude who had hunted Him down and taken Him to be tried were the same ones who had been with Him in the temple, who had heard His words and knew His power.  And among them were those who hid behind the false claims of blasphemy so they could get rid of  Jesus and restore their popularity and power. And knowing all of their motives, heals the servant's ear anyway.  While they wanted  power for their personal gain, Christ wants only to use His power to heal. 

All of them had in one way or another, let Him down. They left Him, betrayed Him, and hurt Him. I marveled at all their actions, but then I thought of myself. Do I sometimes let fear win out and run away in situations that I should be running to?  Do I sometimes worry what they ask me to do will be too hard or I won't do it right or I won't say the right things so I just avoid the situation altogether.  

Do I forget Christ can heal all pains?  Do I wallow instead in self pity and blame others for thoughtless words and actions that hurt, when I could turn to Christ and have Him heal my brokenness and help me forgive the carelessness of others.

Yes, I find myself among the multitude, as one who has witnessed His power and majesty and yet in a moment can still get blindsided by fear, rejection, and self pity.  It's so easy to judge the apostles when they are running away, but so hard when you find yourself entangled in emotions of the moment and have the same kneejerk reaction.

I wish I was wiser.  I wish I didn't fall.  But I have many times and probably will again.   But one thing I know is when you fall and forget Christ's power and ability to heal...it's not over.  He hasn't forsaken you.  He won't leave you in the dark to perish alone.  He is still there waiting for you to turn to Him. 

Peter denied him three times when put on the spot in a fearful situation, but when given the chance to do the right thing when he sees Christ again, Peter doesn't let him down. Christ asks him will you feed my sheep?  He responds affirmatively three times, as if undoing the three times he denied him previously. Even calling Peter  to lead His church after He ascends back to the Father, showing us that forgiveness is real and so are do-overs.  Christ makes it possible for all of us to repent of our mistakes and try again.

I hope we will never forget His great sacrifice. The breadth and depth of pain he went through for each of us I will never comprehend.  And though I don't know how the atonement works, I know it does for I have experienced the effects of it many times.  What he went through will save you and me as real as anything I have ever felt.  Turn to Him when you feel afraid, hurt, alone or rejected, He will calm, comfort, and make you whole. And if mistakes were made, He'll let you try again, to do it better next time. Don't run from the only one who can heal you. Instead, run to Him and let the healing begin.

#greaterlovehathnoman 

It all started with the word Keys.

 Can I just say I'm going through an adjustment period?  I just got switched to teaching early morning and first hour seminary. Leaving the house at 6 a.m. every morning has had its challenges.  And at the top of the list would be the worry that I might not hear the 5 a.m. alarm go off.  So I wake up with a start every hour during the night to look at the time.  "No not yet" and roll over to try to go back to sleep.  It's been such a good time that by the 3rd night of no real sleep accompanied with dizziness, I took a sleeping pill.  Good news... sleeping pill worked.  I slept the sleep of the Gods.  It was heavenly.  The only repercussion was my processing was a tad delayed, which led to taking longer to get ready, which led to leaving later.  But then I told myself, "You're ok, it's Friday which is late start." That thought calmed down the building anxiety.  Then a mile or so down the road, a single word came to my mind... "Keys."  I shrugged it off, " I have my keys, I put them in the zippered part of my purse."  And then another thought hit me... "Check."   I'm at a stop sign, so I decide to follow through with this thought, even though pretty sure it's in the zippered pocket.  I check, it's not there.  Hmm.  Then I check every pocket.. nothing, and then in a frantic pursuit I'm checking every nook and cranny.  No keys!

It's here that I turn around and drive like a formula one race car driver back home.  I run upstairs and check the coat I had worn the day before and in the 2nd pocket ( there's only 2) I find them! "Hallelujah!"  Grab keys, race back to car and drive in previous like manner all the way to the seminary building only to find the students who ride the school bus are already there, huddled together in below freezing temps. waiting to be let in.( And as you know teens don't wear coats, so they got to be pretty near frozen at this point.)  It quickly registers that even though it says it's "late start," the bus schedule is the exact same. Note to self, there is no difference between late start and early start. 

 As I drive home after classes, I ponder those quiet little thoughts "Keys" and "Check." What would I have done if I got to the seminary building without keys?  There was no one else there.  The Lord knew this and helped me sidestep a minor disaster .  I then wondered if the Lord had even tried to convey that message before I left?  Maybe. But, I was in a frenzy trying to get out the door.  It wasn't till a mile down the road that my mind was calm and I received the message. Elder Packer shared this quote:  “The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting or shaking us with a heavy hand. Rather, it whispers. It caresses so gently that if we are preoccupied, we may not feel it at all.”  

I wonder how often the Lord speaks to us through the Spirit, but because we are too preoccupied with other things, we are missing the messages. I think  I can safely say a lot of messages are getting by me undetected. And seeing that it's January, it feels like the right time to start a new goal like slow down, quiet your mind, and just listen. Can you imagine if we all slowed down and listened to the good thoughts coming to us and then acted on them?  Maybe politicians would know how to be peacemakers,  and the lonely could be led to connections, the lost could be found, the downtrodden lifted, the anxious comforted, and the holes in our hearts filled with love.  I think this one small change, could possibly be the key to changing the world.