Okay, so I have been struggling with whether or not to copy and paste a writing of mine from several weeks back. I hesitated, but then I said, "It's my blog, I'll write what I want!" :) So here are my thoughts on being a hider, a hurler or a healer. What will you be in your life's circomstances?Our church is going through a difficult time right now. I’m not so certain I know how it will all end up. I do know that God is sovereign and that He promises us in His word, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Even through this difficult time, we will certainly see “good” when we get wherever it is we are going. Regardless of what happens here in the life of this church that I love so dearly, the main thing still remains the main thing, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:7-9)
I remember hearing my husband, Tom, quoting someone who shared that people often fit into one of three categories: hider, hurler or healer. I’m not certain who had that original thought, but I find myself thinking of these three words as we go through this difficult time in our church. You see, our church is our family. We love each other deeply, but sometimes we don’t always act in the manner that we should to communicate that love to one another. I have been saddened beyond what many may understand. I have tried to challenge myself to ask the question, “What do you want to be? Do you want to be a hider, a hurler or a healer?” I have failed miserably as I have quickly filled the shoes of two of these roles, but find myself gearing up to be what I am called to be..that which is right, that which is good for the family!
It has been easy for me to become a “hider” at times. A hider “remains out of sight or tends to seek protection or evade responsibility.” Oh, how I have been guilty of doing that! It is not easy to hear the words of others that can either make you sad or angry. It is much easier just to stay in the comfort of your own home and avoid those that can say things that bring you to a place of frustration or sadness. Hiding is wrong.
I’m ashamed to admit that I have also been a “hurler” from time to time. A hurler is someone that “sends something with great vigor or violence; someone who throws forcefully.” The hurler I speak of hurls words that bring death, not life.
We read in Scripture, “Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God's people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they're not backed by a godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul.” (2 Timothy 2:13-15, The Message) Wow, poison in the soul! Words that discourage and tear down not only brings forth pain and suffering for those to whom we speak, but they become poison in our own soul!
We read in the The Message, "You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation." (Matthew 12:33-55) Words are powerful! Oh, I don’t want to be a hurler!
If I’m not going to be a hider or a hurler then I must choose to be a “healer.” A healer is, “one that heals, one that helps restore to health, one that restores to original purity or integrity.” With this situation with our church, I only want to help restore her to health in whatever measly way I can be used by God. What then is my responsibility?
I will speak the truth in love. Ephesians 4:14-16 (NIV), “regardless of what the person hearing decided to do with those words. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” Regardless of what the person hearing decides to do with these words, I should be bold enough to speak them….in love!
I will pray. “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” (Psalm 55:21-23)
I will trust. Yesterday I decided to set up a fitness circuit for the kids I teach at Fairfield Christian Academy. Sometimes when I set up a lesson like this, I like to play music as they move and play. The song, “I Will Not Be Shaken” really ministered to me yesterday. Those poor kids had to hear it over and over again as they galloped, skipped, hopped and ran! It is based on Psalm 62:1-3, “He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” The lyrics of this song are:
My soul finds rest in you, my fortress and my Rock.
My hope for life, my hiding place,
My refuge and my God.
In You I’ve found my home, my shelter from the storm,
And I pour out my heart to You, and lean upon Your throne.
I will put my trust in You.
I will put my hope in You.
I will stand upon Your word and
I will not be shaken.
I will let my praises show, holding on to what I know,
‘cause I know Your always there, I will not be shaken.
So, why be part of the healing? Are we not part of the same body? Why wouldn’t we want a totally healthy body?
Romans 12:1-5 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God---this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
Philippians 2:1-2 reads, “[Imitating Christ’s Humility] If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”
I pray for a healthy body within the life of our church. We owe it to one another. We owe that to Christ. For His sake, I want to be a healer!
