spiritual healing - Jeremiah's Vow

Why Do we Weight Ourselves to Death?

We too often carry the weight of wounds inflicted too early in life to know how to properly cope with them. When we were wounded, something changed in us. We can’t always describe it, or even explain how we were affected. But it is there.

As a pastor I have heard some of these stories of these old wounds. They linger in our memory and come to the surface when we least expect them to. When I sit and hear these stories, I wonder, “What can I do to help ease the weight of this burden?”

Recently, the thought has come to mind that one of the most important realizations any of us can have is learning we don’t have to carry these burdens forever. We don’t have to carry these memories wondering if we can ever lay them down.

It is not necessary to hide our pain because we don’t want to overburden others with our suffering. Someone may have violated our trust and are now hesitant to try again. I understand that feeling.

But we can’t allow that to stop us from seeking healing and spiritual health. It is scary being vulnerable. It can be frightening to open up to someone else. But it is the path toward freedom. The path away from an unhealthy way of living.

There are people who can help us. We have to ask God to help us find them!

The process of spiritual awakening and ultimate surrender to God’s grace is the only path toward lasting peace. Not because it makes us holier, but because it makes us whole.

This is the promise offered by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He does not promise to eliminate the scars or even the memories.

What he promises is the healing touch of redemption. By taking what we give to him, broken and tattered as it might be, and uses it to fashion something new, and dare we say beautiful.

In the span between lost and found is searching. Our search for purpose, meaning, and salvation. His search for the lost, broken, and longing.

And then, in a moment we did not plan, on a road we did not chose, in a place we never expected to be in, he shows up and sets right what was wrong. Not necessarily in the world around me. But in me.

I become new.

I am changed.

My perspective shifts.

My heart feels hope, as if for the first time. But not like in the way I tried before. Not in my own strength. But as naturally as a sail catches wind. Because that is what it was made to do.

This is the journey of transformation we should seek. This is the path of spiritual health we must not give up on.

There are many who are on the “fake it ’til you make it” plan. May I encourage you to cancel that plan. It is the path of self-deception. It only makes the burden heavier and the hope we desire harder to find.

We must seek those who do not operate out of pretense or a competitive nature. Not those who have hidden motives and transparent agendas. Or those who saw what we want to hear but who are never able to unlock the chains that keep us bound. These are the marks of those still operating out of a system designed to mask what is true and good. These are the signposts of those who are just lying better than the rest of us about what’s really going on in our souls!

Freedom, the kind we need more than anything else, comes at a cost. But if it is real; if it is genuine; if it is lasting, it will be worth whatever it takes to get it.

A Definition of Spiritual Injuries, Updated and Expanded

We continue see those failures and injustices that we should have “learned” to overcome by now. The deeper problem is that we cannot learn out way out of spiritual trauma. We must be healed from it first!

UPDATED: June 1, 2006.
Originally Posted September 19, 2016 as Spiritual Injuries: A Definition.

In light of the circumstances in which we find ourselves in the United States, I felt compelled to revisit this post. Bishop Luis R. Scott has also updated the book in which the concepts and definitions below are contained. I felt it prudent to take some time to update and amplify this article.

It is my conviction that the conversations that many desire to have around the issues of racism, justice, and the Church’s role have been hampered by a deficit in the language we use. To that end, I resubmit this article as a jumping off point to reframe the conversation in language that points us to the truth of the Gospel, the reality of God’s healing power in the human heart, and the place the Church needs to play in our journey toward peace and lasting justice.

Bishop Scott has also graciously allowed me to share Chapter 3 of the 2nd Edition of his book, Healing the Broken Spirit. This chapter deals specifically with the issue of Blind Spots, namely, what they are, how they develop, how to spot them, and what can be done to address them. Please take the time and read it. It is long, but if you are interested in having better and more fruitful conversations, take the time and prepare yourself for them.

Download Chapter 3 | Blind Spots: Instinctive Reactivity by Bishop Luis R. Scott, Sr.

Over the last 20 years my father, Bishop Luis R. Scott, Sr., has been thinking about and refining the idea that God desires for all of his children to experience spiritual healing and live in spiritual health. The challenge that seems to persist in our world, and more specifically the Church, is that we do not have the framework to work towards these realities. We continue see those failures and injustices that we should have “learned” to overcome by now. The deeper problem is that we cannot learn our way out of spiritual trauma. We must be healed from it first!

While there may be some who use similar sounding language, the concepts that are described in my father’s book and have been manifested in day-to-day ministry at our church are truly unique. I have come to this conclusion for two main reasons. First, we have heard so many stories from those who have learned about the concept and reality of spiritual injuries who have told us about the impact this understanding of spiritual health has had. Second, we have continued to refine the concepts and those who claim some awareness of the words we use do not really understand the conceptual framework that we are using in our conversations about spiritual health. In short, we believe that what we are doing is unique and we humbly embrace this as a calling and a great responsibility we must guard. Continue reading “A Definition of Spiritual Injuries, Updated and Expanded”

1 John 1:9 | Sin and Forgiveness Require Confession

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

John continues his discussion of the differences between those who walk in the light and those who do not in verse 9. In this verse, we find a conditional statement that ought to help us to see how we can walk in the light. Continue reading “1 John 1:9 | Sin and Forgiveness Require Confession”

How do we heal from our Spiritual Injuries?

If they knew what you knew that God knew about you, how would that affect how you lived your life?

One of the hardest things to do as a Christian is moving on from our past. We all know who we were. We also know who we are, or at least are trying to be. There is no escaping the memories of our history. We are all inescapably trapped by our own experiences.

This reality has often times caused me to struggle. In particular, I have struggled with bearing witness to the grace of God and the Gospel of Jesus because of fear. Fear of my own ignorance; of my own failures; even of my own fears. The level of emotional and spiritual paralysis can be suffocating at times. I recognize that I have been saved by Jesus. I believe the Good News and have confessed my faith in God. I have started doing all the right things, and still I have felt like there is something missing.

The truth is there is something missing. However, it is not what many of us think. Over the years, I have found that my biggest problem is not the right things I’m doing, but a shame over all the things I know I have done wrong. I think this is because of an essential misunderstanding of grace.

God’s grace does not remove the scars caused by our sin. What grace does is heal the wound. An open wound, one that will not heal, will eventually get infected. We understanding this when we think of our bodies but, what about our spiritual being. When we suffer a spiritual injury how are these wounds healed? What can we do to close a wound we cannot see?

The first thing we have to recognize is that spiritual injuries are exactly that, spiritual. That means looking for natural means of healing them will never work. As a matter of fact, doing this may actually deepen the injury and extend the time needed for healing. Pastor Luis Scott has defined a spiritual injury as a contradiction between what we believe and what we know to be true. An example of this is when a child is being abused by a parent. The child believes that the parent should be caring for and protecting them but, the supposed protector is actually a perpetrator. The injury caused by this contradiction remains present and open far longer than any of the physical wounds inflicted as long as the contradiction remains unresolved. Long after the latter has healed, the former may continue growing and festering.

While it is true that many people suffer spiritual injuries at the hands of others, it is also true that we can become the cause of our own injuries. When w attempt to reconcile a contradiction in our hearts and minds, a contradiction that “we know” is not true, we inadvertently keep amplifying the spiritual damage. What makes this entire process worse is that many of us dying under the weight of more contradictions than we can identify on our own. We need help in sorting it all out. We really cannot do it on our own. But our shame (which is the inverted expression of pride) gets in the way.

My shame over past sin is real. There is no taking any of it back. All of us who acknowledge that we are sinners understand this. The problem is that we cannot continue to believe that we are both horrible sinners and redeemed saints. Before I get accused of being a heretic, understand what I am saying. I am a horrible sinner. That does not change. What does change is that if I am redeemed by the blood of Christ, as the Gospel declares, then I have to see the reality my sinfulness in light of the truth of my salvation.

In other words, the TRUTH of God’s grace, the TRUTH that I have been saved, the TRUTH that I am now being conformed into the image of Christ, these TRUTHs overshadows the lie that I am too far gone for God to save. That I cannot not be saved or that I cannot be changed. These ideas are contrary to what God has proclaimed in his word.

There are too many Christians who have inflicted upon themselves very serious spiritual injuries and they may not even know it. And the root cause of these injuries is that they have believed lies. When we believe lies about God, his grace, and the Gospel we will suffer. And we suffer because we are descending into bondage. But, when we continue to hold on to notions of who we used to be without God when God has changed those circumstances we continue to injure ourselves.

The first step toward healing is to stop doing what is causing the wound to remain open and exposed. We have to discover the lie we have believed that has led to a contradiction in our lives. This is not always easy. It can take some time to find and then accept that we believed a lie. However, in the end, it is vital to our getting spiritually healthy.

A “WebMD” Church Cannot Help the Hurting

I have written about this before in other places, however, it is a topic I find myself coming back to and thinking about regularly. It could be due to my love for talent shows. I could also be because of the longing I feel for validation myself.

I do not think that this longing is something far from the thoughts of many people. There is something within each of us hoping, yearning even, for others to receive us with open arms. I do not find this odd or even inappropriate. What I have discovered through my own introspection is that we may have turned our angst and decided to be satisfied by lesser forms of authority. When you are a singer and you want your voice measured you subject yourself to the judges on one of the many talent shows. When you want your cakes/cupcakes tasted or your tattoos showcased you put yourself out there and are literally under a microscope with the hope that someone will say, “Yeah, that is pretty amazing”. Those who make it to that stage are few. I often wonder about the countless droves who do not even risk the scrutiny and yet desire the evaluation.
Continue reading “A “WebMD” Church Cannot Help the Hurting”