healing – A spiritual diary

10.12.23: God is…

December 9, 2023Ruth Kirk

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25-5; NIV).

God is all-giving,
All-living, within.

God is all-braving,
All-saving from sin.

God is all-bearing,
All-caring, all worth.

God is all-being,
All-seeing on earth.

God is all-feeling,
All-healing: a dove.

God is all justice
And peace: God is love.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:8,16; NLT).

References

There is…one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all (Ephesians 4:5-6; NLT).

We are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

Day after day he bears our burdens; God is our salvation (Psalm 68:19; CSB).

In all their suffering he also suffered and he personally rescued them (Isaiah 63:9; NLT).

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases (Psalm 103:3; NLT).

After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him (Matthew 3:16; NLT).

The LORD is a God of justice (Isaiah 30:18; NIV).

The Lord is peace (Judges 6:24; NLT).

3.11.23: Beyond vision

November 3, 2023Ruth Kirk

How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! (Psalm 147:5; NLT).

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine” (Isaiah 55:8; NLT).

Great beyond vision,
Great beyond praise;
Great beyond anything
Earth can afford;

Great beyond healing,
Great beyond life;
Great beyond everything:
Jesus is Lord!

“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed (John 20:28; NLT).

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9; NLT).

References

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us (1 John 1:18; NLT).

Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believe” (John 20:29; CSB).

1.11.22: Returning

November 1, 2023Ruth Kirk

Return to your rest, O my soul (Psalm 116:7; BSB).

Return to your rest, O my soul,
For Jesus is calling you home.

Soon, he’ll be making you whole,
And soon you’ll be shouting: Shalom!

Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means “the LORD is peace”) (Judges 6:24; NLT).

References

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! (Psalm 90:1; NLT).

You will not leave my soul among the dead (Psalm 16:10; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever (Revelation 21:4; NLT).

They will sing your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs (Psalm 66:4; NLT).

I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-19; NLT).

A reading: Luke 2:29-32; KJV.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

22.7.23: Your Spirit

July 22, 2023July 22, 2023Ruth Kirk

This prayer came to me very early in the morning a few days ago. It sounds very simple, but was particularly difficult to put into words.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion (Ephesians 6:18; NLT).

Lord,

Please fill me with your Spirit
So that I can pray to You.

I don’t ask your healing for myself, Lord:
Please make others new.

May your Spirit sigh on my behalf
For all, Lord, one by one,

Asking you to heal and bless them,
In the name of your dear Son.

You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father (John 14:13; NLT).

The Rosary Hospital

I’ve had so many migraines recently that my production of rosaries has been almost non-existent. However, I still do my best, when I can:

16.6.23: Peace and justice

June 16, 2023Ruth Kirk

This blog came directly out of my personal, spoken prayers yesterday:

If only you had paid attention to my commandments! Your peace would have been like a river, and your justice would have been like the waves of the sea (Isaiah 48:18; CPDV).

I pray for peace and justice, Lord,
Throughout this troubled world,
That everyone will listen,
And your voice, alone, be heard.

I ask for deep repentance, Lord,
Throughout this troubled world,
That every heart will turn to you,
And every conscience stir.

I beg for care and kindness, Lord,
Throughout this troubled world,
That selfishness will be renounced,
And sharing be preferred.

I plead for hope and healing, Lord,
In every human soul,
That all will learn to live in love,
For then we will be whole.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:16; NLT).

31.5.23: Forgiveness

May 31, 2023Ruth Kirk

The Prodigal Son, after Sir John Everett Millais. Engraved and printed by Dalziel Brothers in 1864.

Just as I was about to go down for breakfast two days ago, the first lines of today’s prayer struck me. I wrote them down on my iPad, then set off again, only for the next few lines to arrive before I had reached my bedroom door. This happened several times, until the whole piece was roughed out. It was an awesome experience.

Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? (Matthew 9:5; NLT).

Forgiveness
Is the same as healing,

Mercy
Is the same as love,

And weakness
Is the same as strength,

When we have faith
In Christ above.

Cling to your faith in Christ (1 Timothy 1:19; NLT).

A person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16; NLT).

References

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love (Psalm 51:1; NLT).

When I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10; NLT)).

God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead (Romans 4:24; NLT).

Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory (1 Peter 1:21; NLT).

God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11; NLT).

13.5.23: Come, Lord, search me

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023Ruth Kirk

The Temptations of Christ in the Desert, unknown sculptor of Milanese area, ca 1580.

Yesterday, whilst I was praying without words, this prayer came to me most insistently. I wanted so much to go on being silent, but in the end was compelled to write it down.

NB: In the afternoon we managed a rare outing, so I made it into a slideshow called “Silverburn walk”. If you would like to see it, please click on this link: https://wp.me/P45bCr-e3T. Wonderful though it was at the time, it triggered a migraine, but that was inevitable.

Meanwhile, here is today’s prayer:

Come, Lord! (1 Corinthians 22:20; NLT).

Search me, O God (Psalm 139:23; NLT).

Come, Lord, search me:
Search my mind –
Reveal my sins,
Then I’ll ask your forgiveness.

Come, Lord, search me:
Search my heart –
Lay bare my coldness,
Then I’ll seek your warmth.

Come, Lord, search me:
Search my soul –
Expose my wounds,
Then I’ll entreat your healing.

Come, Lord, search me:
Search my life –
And though I’m nothing,
Make me more like you.

The Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT).

References

As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world (1 John 4:17; NLT).

This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ (Ephesians 4:13; NLT).

We will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15; NLT).

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him (Colossians 3:10; NLT).

Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24; NLT).

God created human beings in his own image (Genesis 1:27; NLT).

We will be like him (1 John 3:2; NLT).

26.4.23: Suffering is a healing process

April 26, 2023April 26, 2023Ruth Kirk

Crowds gather as Christ heals the sick. Lithograph after Benjamin West, Wickimedia.

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33; NLT).

Last Sunday, whilst I was praying without words, I saw that my suffering is a lifelong healing process from which I have much to learn.

One step at a time, God helps me to move forward by working through this healing process in response to my symptoms.

My first task is to develop ever deeper insight into the underlying causes of my physical, emotional and spiritual suffering.

My second task is to ask God to give me the faith and personal maturity needed to endure my suffering in emotionally and spiritually healthy ways.

Although this kind of healing is a painful, ongoing, spiritual process, God brings good from it along the way. It will be complete at my death, when I will have gone as far as I can manage.

Meanwhile, I’m also learning to trust that God won’t let me be tried beyond what I can endure, which gives me renewed hope.

No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13; NET).

References

My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken (Jeremiah 8:18; NLT).

There they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread (Psalm 53:5; NIV).

Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you? (Lamentations 2:13; NLT).

God willing, we will move forward to further understanding (Hebrews 6:3; NLT).

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26; NLT).

I am the LORD who heals you (Exodus 15:26; CSB).

God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28; NLT).

A reading: Romans 5:1-4; ESV.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

1.4.23: My shadow

April 1, 2023April 7, 2023Ruth Kirk

After having the dream described in yesterday’s blog (see https://wp.me/p45bCr-dIF), this poem came to me very insistently a short while afterwards:

I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me (Psalm 51:3; NIV).

Recognising all the wrongs
I silence in my anxious mind,
Help me to disclose my shadow,
Sharing it with you each day.

Facing up to all the guilt
I stifle in my fearful heart,
Help me to reveal my shadow,
Sharing it with you in prayer.

Owning up to all the shame
I smother in my anguished soul,
Help me to express my shadow,
Sharing it with you through dance.

So, may I expose my shadow
To your constant, healing light.
Please forgive my endless sins,
And give me, Lord, another chance.

Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O LORD (Psalm 25:7; NLT).

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more (Isaiah 43:25; NIV).

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:18-19; NIV).

References

I know every thought that comes into your minds (Ezekiel 11:5; NLT).

Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely (Psalm 139:4; NIV).

He knows the secrets of every heart (Psalm 44:21; NLT).

The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive (Proverbs 20:27; NLT).

Speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ (Ephesians 4:15; NLT).

You desire honesty from the womb (Psalm 51:6; NLT).

Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O LORD (Psalm 25:7; NLT).