healing

The Great Unmasking

/ Patty Morris / Leave a comment

Time to come out from hiding. And smile again!

There has never been a better time for you to show off your God-given smile than right now–especially now in these messy Covid virus times. The flimsy masks we are told to wear may give you a false sense of security. You may feel that you are being protective of others. But these masks can be actually hurting more than helping.

While the N-95 and surgical grade masks do help safeguard health care workers and food service workers, those flimsy pieces of cloth most of us wear offer little to no protection from sickness. Instead, they offer the illusion of safety where there is none. The tiny particles of the virus can easily penetrate homemade masks. (https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/commentary-masks-all-covid-19-not-based-sound-data)

Let the sick stay home. And let the healthy come outside and breathe the fresh air- -a gift from God. Be real. Sunshine is good for you.

Hiding behind a mask, on the other hand, can make people suspicious of you. Masks make people afraid. We become fearful of going too near someone to offer a helping hand or a friendly word of greeting or encouragement. We avoid looking at people directly in the eye. We can become locked in a self-imposed prison of isolation and discouragement. People with hearing difficulties (over a billion people worldwide) can be blocked from communicating and understanding, as the masks muffle the wearer’s voice and do not allow for lip reading.

Spread the joy

The world needs to see your smile and hear your voice! Even if you don’t feel like it, smile anyway. Your own joy will increase. It’s a proven fact that smiles boost endorphins, relieve stress, help you relax, and lower your blood pressure. Smiles may even lengthen your life.

Smiles increase your joy and the joy of those around you. When you unmask your beautiful smile, people feel valued, that they are worth the effort you made to smile at them. And they see you as more attractive, sincere, reliable and friendly. People respond to your smile with smiles of their own! It’s contagious. You have heard that the virus is contagious. But smiling is even more contagious!

Face it. When someone looks at you and flashes a genuine smile, it is hard not to smile back. We increase each other’s happiness.

We all feel better.

Pandemic of fear

By contrast, heavy-handed government regulations are tearing up people’s lives. The cure has become worse than the disease. Many businesses have been forced to close down, many have failed, throwing millions of Americans out of work, destroying dreams and futures. The financial and emotional stress of being unable to provide for their families, together with forced confinement at home, have caused alarming increases in domestic violence and child abuse. All this non-stop togetherness has brought out the worst in some people. Tempers have flared, and there are fewer ways to escape. Local shelters for victims are maxed out. The rates of depression and suicide are climbing. Alcohol and drug addictions have killed many more. As the stay-at-home measures continue to stretch out into months in some locales, people are losing hope. Lives are being lost at home. And especially in nursing homes in some states, where the inmates are locked down in solitary confinement, unable to visit one another or even see family members. Some patients are forced to die alone.

People should be free to choose how they want to live and die. Their quality of life may be more important to them than their length of life. How many of the so-called Covid deaths were actually the result of depression, loneliness and hopelessness caused by forced isolation?

Protection you can trust

So if masks are not the answer, how do we protect ourselves from a virus, Covid or otherwise? We put our trust in God and His word.

The Lord alone makes you dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)

God wants you healthy.

Beloved, I wish above all things that you prosper and be in good health. (3 John 2)

He has supplied healing for you in the Blood of Jesus.

By Jesus’ wounds we have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

The promise of protection is for all believers, but especially for those who trust in the Lord and say so.

No evil shall befall you. Neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. (Psalm 91:10)

And if you do get sick, ask a believer to come and pray for you.

These signs shall accompany those who believe…they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17-18)

Time to believe again. And say so. Whom are you believing? Where have you placed your confidence? America’s national motto says “In God we trust.” Do you trust government bureaucrats with their dismal false prophecies, which seek to stretch out the so-called pandemic for years? Or do you put your trust in the Word of God, which is unchangeable, filled with life and healing power?

Jesus is our Savior, Healer, Protector. Not a small piece of cloth you cover your face with.

Free to choose

Most states are seeing the number of new cases steadily decreasing. All fifty states are beginning to open up. States like Georgia and South Carolina that have completely reopened have not seen any meaningful increase in virus statistics. The predictions of catastrophe have been defeated. Praise the Lord.

For most of us, whether you choose to wear a mask is optional. But if your employer or city mayor insists that you wear a mask, you may choose to comply. And no one should fault you for that. Certainly keeping your job, if you have one, is an important factor to consider. However, for those of us who are healthy and choose not to wear a mask, do not condemn us. Or arrest us. Instead, smile with us. Smiling can be infectious. And we will all feel better.

Miracle at the grocery store

/ Patty Morris / 4 Comments

A routine trip to the grocery store turned out to be anything but routine for me one day years ago.  I had been fighting a lot of fear during that season of my life, especially that day.  I knew I needed to go to the grocery store to buy food for our family.  But I was feeling swamped by fear and doubt.  As a young Christian, I was totally sold out to Jesus. I aspired to be a strong woman of faith, but I was unsure how to do it.

Pray first

Calling my Sunday school teacher for advice, he encouraged me to go out and minister to someone else.  Pray first.  Then go for it.  Even though I did not feel strong enough that day to help myself, much less anyone else, I prayed and asked God to make me a blessing to someone in need.   Whoever that might be.  Whatever their need might be.  So I prayed and left it up to God.  He did not disappoint.

I drove to the supermarket and began to shop.  I placed my order at the deli counter for sliced meat and cheese.  Moments later there was a flurry of alarm, as my server had cut her hand severely on the big slicing machine behind the counter.  Another server quickly went to her aid, backing her away from the machine, squeezing her hand tightly, trying unsuccessfully to stop the bleeding.  The wounded server was suffering extreme pain and appeared faint.  The department manager offered to take my order for me.  But I ignored her offer.  For this emergency, I knew that God’s help was needed.

Compassion rose up in me.  Faith came alive.  The Holy Spirit literally took over the situation.   I boldly proclaimed, “I am a Christian.  Bring her to me.  I will pray for her and God will stop the bleeding, take away all her pain and heal her hand!”

Radical faith

The three women looked at me with surprise.  The injured worker appeared that she might pass out at any moment.  I did not know if she could even walk the several steps over to me where I stood.  But she tearfully made it to the counter.  With God-given compassion, I told her to give me her hand, I would not touch the cut.  Gently, I touched her injured hand.  I prayed a simple prayer asking God to take away the pain, stop the bleeding  and heal her hand.  And no infection to be allowed.  In Jesus’ Name. 

Miraculously, her hand was healed immediately before our eyes.  All pain ceased.  All bleeding stopped.  Her flesh was knitted back together as if nothing had happened.  All three workers were amazed!  I just expected God would do it.  We all thanked God for His healing power. I was too stunned to say more.

Then as I walked away to continue my shopping, the deli department manager hurried after me. “I have a cold,” she said.  “Will you pray for me?”  Gratefully, gladly, I prayed for her as well.  She returned to work, praising the Lord for both healings.

Step up.  Speak out.

No one was more surprised than me at the pair of healings which the Lord gave through me that day.  I was super blessed beyond words.  God had answered my prayer to bless someone that day—twice over.   I was so honored to be His chosen vessel to help these women in need.  I had not been feeling strong or gifted that day.  Quite the opposite.  But God does not wait until we are feeling strong and anointed to use us.  He loves it when we are feeling weak, totally dependent on Him to empower us.  He knew my heart was to heal.  And He answered with LOVE and grace.

            As He is, so are we now in this world.

                                                                        1 John 4:17

Since that day I have prayed for many people in many places.  It is the joy of my life.  I have been privileged to see Jesus heal many—some instantly, some over time. Some people need to forgive themselves first before they can receive healing.  Some need to stop worrying and turn their problems over to Jesus.   Whatever the need, He always supplies.

But I am not unique or special to participate in God’s healing miracles.  The Lord invites all believers to join with Him in His healing ministry.  The Lord invites YOU to heal the sick.

And these signs shall follow those who believe…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

                                                           Mark 16:17-18

Don’t wait until you are feeling strong and holy.  Step out today—no matter how you are feeling.  Pray first.  Ask God for the opportunity to bless someone.  Ask the Holy Spirit to be in charge.  Then step up and speak out in faith.  God will use you in miraculous ways.  Glory to God!

Christ in you—the hope of glory.

                                                            Colossians 1:27

God chose those whom the world considers foolish to shame those who think they are wise, and God chose the puny and powerless to shame the high and mighty. He chose the lowly, the laughable in the world’s eyes—nobodies—so that he would shame the somebodies.  For he chose what is regarded as insignificant in order to supersede what is regarded as prominent, so that there would be no prideful boasting in God’s presence.

                                                            1 Corinthians 1:27-29 

Are you feeling weak, forgotten or rejected by the world today?  God does not choose the strong but the weak, the foolish, the rejected.  God chooses you!

Pray first.  Then step out!

Share your story

Do you have an experience of God’s breakthrough in your own life or someone else’s which you wish to share?  A miraculous healing or escape from peril?  Go to the comment page and share with other readers.  To God be the glory!