Kevin Lumsden | kevinlumsden's Blog
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Next month marks the death of a close friend who I thought hoped and wanted to be healed. We prayed a lot, went through inner healing of memories and experiences, deliverance, forgiveness and more healing prayer. Many friends prayed and fasted together yet nothing seemed to turn, I had ideas of what we might have been missing but I did not know exactly what to do.
Trying to walk out a life of healing, healing prayer, forgiveness, inner healing and deliverance can be heart wrenching and difficult. I have seen many miraculous stories and doctor confirmed supernatural healing BUT… the one’s who aren’t healed, that’s the elephant in the room, the discussion many struggle with.
Christians received many charges from Jesus such as;
“Whoever believes in me will do the works I do and greater works… “ Jn 14:12-14
“Heal the sick, raise the dead, please the lepers, cast out demons…” Matt 10:8
“Heal the sick and say the Kingdom of heaven is near you…” Luke 10:9
The above verses are a sample of where my expectation is set when I go to pray for the sick, I don’t enter with an attitude of “Now what will I tell them if they are’t healed?” (more on this in another blog post)
Now back to the blog title.
There is power in Heaven that I do not understand, it is beyond my human mind, it is greater than me yet is available through me (and all of us as Christians). There is a union and power in the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) that is beyond my understanding and I’m okay with that. I will gain knowledge my whole life yet when I die there will be things that “I don’t know.” There seems to be comfort in having all the answers, sometimes this comfort transfers to our friends who are in turmoil. Often times we don’t understand and we don’t have all the answers so the statement “I don’t know” or “I don’t have the answer” is just as comforting to a friend as having all the answers.
Going back to our friend that died nearly a year ago, her husband and I have become very close friends, we’ve discussed the in’s and outs of what we may have missed in prayer but in the end my answer is “I don’t know” what may have brought healing, “I don’t know” what or if we missed something, “I don’t know” if my theology of healing is perfect (I actually know it’s not perfect!), “I don’t know” why the last person with stage 4 cancer was healed and your spouse died. What I do know is that I won’t stop praying for the sick, the down and out, the hurting or the successful because I don’t have all the answers, I will keep praying expectantly.
“I don’t know” IS honest, loving, true, faithful, thoughtful, meaningful, and more when delivered in this context.
Now do you see the power in “I don’t know”?
Saturated in a liquid mobile society
I was pouring my coffee over the sugar in my cup this morning and thinking about how the sugar must be drowned, engulfed and lose all of it’s air in order to be released into the coffee and change the flavor profile of the liquid making it sweeter.
We live in a liquid mobile society and in order to effect change in our environment we must be a part of it, engulfed, and lose our personal agendas in order to effect and change the (flavor) profile of our whole of society.
Be IN the world not of the world.
We must let Him work in our weakness.
What are you keeping out of the cup, a strength or weakness that God wants to saturate and change everyone around you? What are you worried about losing when you give it up to God? Those things are known as idols… Yep, that’s a harsh but true word. The fact of the matter is that God knows the desires of our hearts and He wants to give us complete fullness in those desires. But, we must first lay them before Him and He will return them with the junk shaken out and firmly pressed without wrinkles, perfectly fitting us in a way we had no idea was possible!
I was thinking about how amazing it is that our body is sealed up against infection. If we don’t have open wounds the resistance we have to infections through the skin is pretty amazing. If a person’s hands and arms are free from cuts, wounds and skin abrasions they can work with their arms submerged in raw sewage without contracting an infection as long as they wash and sterilize their skin after their job is done. One abrasion, one compromise in the epidermis and all bets are off, the body can contract all kinds of diseases including those that lead to death. Even modern medicine struggles to overcome some of the more common diseases contracted through the skin such as extreme forms of staph infections.
In our current times we live in the raw sewage of discontentment, greed, lust, murder, lying, adultery…the list goes on and on. Our only defense from the infection of these desires is keeping our soul healed and quickly tending to injuries we have sustained. Broken relationships, hard words and anger are a few things that can cause abrasions and cuts; unforgiveness causes us to wade around with full open wounds welcoming infections that can kill us over time. We also need to seek healing when we lose loved ones as well as be aware when we lose jobs and have difficult circumstances in life. The only healing and maintenance program comes through a relationship with God and welcoming His forgiveness into our lives. Without this relationship and forgiveness we will be constantly fighting and often losing against the infections of this world which leads to physical ailments, death of the body or death of the soul through lost hope, lost love and lost desires.
God’s still quiet waters are an absolute contrast to the raging rapids we endure in our day to day lives. Without Him we do not have the quiet waters of restoration and our lives never heal up from infections among us and in us. Isn’t it interesting the image of “His quiet restorative waters” parallel how we naturally deal with wounds, we gently run water over the wound to clean and soothe. On a regular basis I must turn my life back to god and ask Him to lead me to the quiet place, the quiet water and clean up my mistakes and the wounds inflicted by others. I encourage you to give God a chance to do the same.
Partnering with a Wealthy Man
There is a Good man who is struggling with life and trying to make ends meet. He has a mortgage on his house but through the busyness of life and just trying to survive, the property is neglected, overgrown with weeds and foliage; the house needs paint, the driveway needs to be resurfaced, the fence is falling down. There are a few random people squatting on the property because the Good man doesn’t have the gusto left to kick them off and they aren’t doing that much damage. On a regular basis people come along and tag the house, painting obscenities on it and leave their trash behind, just another thing to fix and there is already no time for upkeep. A car crashed through the fence and damaged part of the garage. Then a week later lightning struck a 100 year old tree in the backyard and it is ready to fall any day. The Good yet struggling man has a Wealthy friend who has been watching this struggle and observing how the Good man just can’t get ahead so, as any true friend would do, he decides to have a talk with him. They sit down on the Good man’s dilapidated front porch and the Wealthy man makes a proposition,
“If I pay for this property and give you some help, could you fix it up and live better? I was thinking if you didn’t have to pay the debt on the note that you may be able to have vision for this property again.”
The Good man’s face lit up and he blurted out a loud “YES” before another thought crossed his mind. The deal was sealed on this word. The Wealthy man’s face was equally lit up as he walked to his car to pull out a beautiful sign that read, “The Good man and the Wealthy man are now partners in this property, good things are coming soon” which he hung on what was left of the front fence.
The Wealthy man hung the sign and his authority was so evident to the squatters that they knew their time of squatting was over so they left the property. Most of the taggers saw the sign and realized that there could be legal action taken against them; they knew who the Wealthy man was, so they moved on to the next “canvas” for their defacement. The Good man mended the fences as he had time which kept the roaming drifters from readily accessing the property. There were still opportunistic theft problems when when the good man would leave a saw, tool, or something of value outside but burglars no longer roamed the property looking for treasures.
Inside the house there was still the problem of the renter who had a meth lab brewing in a back room. This guy had been a renter since the Good man’s parents owned the house. It was a great set up and good cover living with the Good man yet the renter was willing to take the life of the Good man just to keep his room and his cover. The good man knew this and avoided contact with the renter so he thought it wise to consult the Wealthy man. He gained these insights and backing from the Wealthy man, “Lets complete the fence and add an electric gate opener. Next install a security system with good cameras and change the locks, then we will take the next step. By the way, here is $50,000 to complete the fence and security.” This wealthy man never mentioned anything about repayment and the Good man was so desperate that he was willing to take the risk of being in debt to the Wealthy man. The next week the Good man continued work replacing the fence and the Wealthy man showed up saying, “GREAT WORK, let me help out.” He pulled a chainsaw out of the car and spent the day cutting down the 100 year old dead tree in the back yard and a crew came in with him to haul off the refuse.
When the fence was completed the wealthy man rang the good man and said, “I am sending my security crew over to install that security and camera system as well as installing the smart locks on the doors and windows.” This was too much for the good man so he had to ask, “Why, WHY are you doing this? You already gave me $50,000 to complete the task!” The response was simple, “We are partners, we both benefit.” The security system was completed within 5 days. Even though there wasn’t much to see yet in the yard or the house, the property was secure. The Good man called the Wealthy man and said, “I am ready to evict the Meth head renter but I really need help. I don’t care if I lose the house, we can rebuild but he needs to get out before he takes my life.” Before sunrise the Good man heard the front door open yet the security system did not go off. He laid there listening to a struggle and violent threats, “I will kill the Good man, I will make him look like a fool! I know all of his dealings and I will take him down.” The Good man was shaking in his bed knowing that the Meth head renter knew all the evil deeds of the Good man no matter how small or large, see the Meth head was nearly a brother and remember he had rented a room since the Good man’s parent’s owned it… He knew Good man since the age of 5.
Later that morning the wealthy man showed up for coffee and said, “I know what you are thinking and the answer is “No the renter will never tell your story” because he will never be seen or heard from again. Now continue working on this house and property and make it the oasis you always dreamed about. Here is my credit card, have fun and oh one last thing, the fence and security system is enough to ward off anyone you don’t want around, only let in those who you want to live with. If you make a mistake and invite a bad one in just call me, we will have them removed immediately. And keep the fence up, maintain it and improve it as you improve your property, you know the better the property the more enticing it is for thieves.”
In the beginning of this story the Good man is a person living without a relationship with God, working hard even doing good but life feels like it is falling behind on many fronts and there is something missing. Their life needs some major maintenance like a house needs paint, a driveway needs repaving and weeds need cutting, boundaries have been violated and lost like fences and gates missing or fallen down, old painful memories remain like a dead tree in the backyard still standing and only viewed out the back door. Since the fences are down and the weeds are high people freely squat on the property further violating boundaries, these squatters represent the lying and harsh words of (wo)men that cycle through our minds regularly. When the Good man agrees to partner with the Wealthy man we see the parallel of a person inviting God to come into their life and begin renovations. When a person asks God to come into their life many of the “minor” issues and worries of life leave as well as some of the spirits that take advantage of us, just like the squatters leaving and the taggers finding a new canvas when the Wealthy man’s sign is hung on the property; these people and spirits can sense the authority of God in our lives. God immediately changes our lives and gives us hope for our future when we allow Him to partner with us (come into our lives), He gives us the tools and the spiritual funding to reconstruct our lives. As with any healthy partnership work is being performed by both parties for the good of the whole (person in this case). This is the basis of deliverance, someone wants to be free, they begin changing things in their lives, thought patterns, and God comes in to deliver freedom.
Just like the Wealthy man showing up unexpectedly to cut down the dead tree and haul away the rubbish, God will show up unexpectedly to cut out dead old memories and afflictions from our past that we ignore in the back of our minds. He shows up (often through our friends), blesses us by delivering us from our past dead sins just because he is invested in our lives and cares for our good. In the same manner the Wealthy man called the Good man about installing the security system, when we have an open relationship with the Father (God) He will give us help, input, and strength to set up boundaries and protection as well as Him becoming our personal (spiritual) body guard. Then when the Good man called and asked for help with the Meth head renter we see the parallel to God coming alongside and delivering us from hidden sins, things that seem they will take us down, and lies we have believed our entire lives. He does it in a manner to preserve our lives so that we not only move forward but accelerate into a place of oasis and new vision with God. He even says when we mess up again He will be there for us to help us out. The Father wants us to build upon His victories as well as our victories so that in time we will live an increasingly victorious lifestyle.
The Hovering Spirit and the Greater Light
Genesis 1: 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
Before a person comes to know God their life is formless and void, full of darkness and there is no order. In the midst of this time the Spirit is hovering, waiting, poised ready and waiting to breathe into the direction of life and help sort the chaos into order.
It is not uncommon to return to the feeling of chaos, darkness and disorder when we lose sight of the Father. During these times the Spirit is poised waiting to infuse our lives, thoughts, souls, and our work as we regain the awareness of our identity and invite Him to change our mind and change again our way of thinking.
Order does not come in darkness, have you ever tried to organize paperwork or a pantry in darkness? It is impossible to properly organize something in darkness, we must bring light to the room to reveal what needs order and how to put it in order.
Our lives need the light of truth to be rid of chaos and bring order to life trials and challenges.
Without His light we will slowly (sometimes quickly) descend back to chaos and darkness.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day…6 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.
When our mind is set on a life in the kingdom we reside in the greater light, the light of day where growth occurs at a natural rate and everything is in brilliant light, easy to see and easy to keep our heading and direction. This greater light is the light of Father God where there is no shifting of shadows and no darkness resides.
When we allow life to darken our view we walk into the lesser light our growth slows often stopping completely. There is not much growth at night in the lesser light and everything is seen in shadows, direction must be carefully calculated and much attention must be paid your path in order that you do not fall. This lesser light is is a reflection of God but not the true light. Following man, following a movement, following a political system will only reveal shadows and outlines of reality.
The Spirit is always hovering, waiting to infuse us with love and power as we walk out of darkness into the light, but we must begin to walk. We must decide to take a step (towards order), there is often an action, word, thought or change required to make way for the Spirit to move through us. In the same way we invite Jesus to live in us, in the same way we walk away from an old life style or flawed way of thinking, we must make a decision to walk into light. These are the times we receive revelation because we are partnering with the Spirit who has been hovering, waiting for our invitation.These are the times we experience rapid growth in our walk with God.