Healing Grace: A Devotional of Christian Encouragement and a Biblical Study About Grace and Healing for Those Facing Physical Hardship such as Chronic Pain or Illness, Depression, Imprisonment, Addiction, Cancer, or Recovering from Surgery.

by Edward W Hellman M D

Overview

Do you or someone you know need some Christian encouragement? Perhaps you have become discouraged from chronic pain that never leaves, depression that makes it hard to even get up and get dressed, or a recent cancer diagnosis or you are recovering from surgery. This book uses scripture to encourage the reader in a devotional format and provides a biblical study of God's grace in healing our bodies and living in complete victory. God wants us to be well and to live in victory, overcoming any hardship that comes in our way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504973588
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	01/22/2016
Pages:	180
Sales rank:	194,344
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.41(d)

Read an Excerpt

Healing Grace

A Devotional of Christian encouragement and a Biblical Study About Grace and Healing for Those Facing Physical Hardship such as Chronic Pain or Illness, Depression, Imprisonment, Addiction, Cancer, or Recovering from Surgery.

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By Edward W. Hellman

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2016 Edward W. Hellman, M.D.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5049-7358-8

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CHAPTER 1

Part 1

DEVOTIONAL

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

— Hebrews 10:23–25

Day 1

The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

— Zephaniah 3:17

Since becoming a father of now five children under the age of eight, this scripture has taken on so much new meaning to me. In my own way, I know what it is to delight in my children; I carry a picture of my family in my lab coat and show it to just about everyone I come in contact with — sometimes even to complete strangers. When I start talking or thinking about my children, I get such a feeling of complete joy in my spirit. I also know what it is to quiet them with love. If they fall and get hurt or if they are going through something hard, I want to wrap them in my arms and quiet them with my love; when they succeed, I rejoice over them and with them with singing.

It is amazing to think about, but scripture testifies to its truth. The all-powerful God who created the universe and everything in it and who is truly mighty to save takes great delight in you. And when you go through something hard, He is standing there waiting to quiet you with His perfect love and to rejoice over you with His singing. In scripture, Jesus actually says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises" (Hebrews 2:12). Imagine Him up in heaven bragging to anyone who will listen about how great you are and how much He loves you — or how He loves it when you turn to Him in a time of distress for His help and love. Imagine Him saying how He appreciates it when you turn to Him with thanks during your good times, so He can rejoice over you with singing.

If I know how it is to delight in my children, to quiet them with my love during their hard times, or to rejoice over them with singing, how much more is God willing and able to do that for us!

Thank You, Lord, that You are mighty and yet delight in us. Thank You, Lord, that You are there to quiet us with Your love during hard times and that You rejoice over us with singing!

Day 2

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

— Romans 8:38-39

To a person going through physical hardship, the term "nothing" can have a lot of negative connotations. You may have been told by doctors that they have nothing to offer you. You may feel so worn out, like you have nothing left. On your particularly hard days, you may feel like "a nothing." But consider this: there is the great and powerful love of God, and there is nothing that can ever keep you from access to it. That bears repeating — there is nothing in all creation that can separate you from God's love. The interesting thing to think about is this: that "nothing" includes you! Even you cannot separate yourself from God's love! On your worst day, when you may have acted in a way you now regret or said something you wish you hadn't — or even completely rejected God — He still loves you. His love is not dependent on your actions. The Bible says He is faithful even when you are not. How is that for a "nothing"? If you feel yourself beginning to think negatively, think about how great God's love is and that there is nothing in all creation that can separate you from it! Nothing!

Thank You, Lord, that You love us like You do and that You are so faithful in Your love. Thank You that nothing exists that can separate us from Your love — not even ourselves.

Day 3

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

— Isaiah 40:28–31

It may be something you have not contemplated lately. You may have taken some of your focus off God and placed it on the doctor sitting in front of you. And not only that, the doctor may have told you something that was not very good. But be encouraged that our God is a magnificent God. He is powerful, He is holy, and His ways are perfect; His love is perfect, and He loves you. He really, really, really loves you. He is capable. Try placing your hope in the Lord — not as a last resort but as a first resort and as a privilege and an opportunity. Hope in the Lord, and you will never be disappointed — you will never be shamed. He is so worthy, and He wants to help you. Hope in Him. Various Bible translations will either use the word hope or wait in this scripture, but it is interesting to note that the original word in Hebrew [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASII] (qavah) is not easily translated into English. It actually carries a similar meaning to "braiding together," as in making a cord. So when we "braid ourselves together" with God, as has already been done in our covenant with Him, all these good things mentioned above will happen.

Thank You, Lord, that You are our God. You are mighty, and You do not grow weary or tired. Your wisdom and knowledge no one can fathom. And yet You are so compassionate and loving to us. You see us grow weary and stumble, and in Your mercy and love, You reach down and help and strengthen us. You are the God Almighty (El Shaddai), the God who sees me (El Roi), and the God who provides (Yahweh Yireh). Thank You, Lord!

Day 4

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

— Jeremiah 29:11–13

You are not an accident. You are not the outcome of an evolutionary process in which you developed from an amoeba. You are a child of the Most High God, and God has a plan for your life! These plans include spiritual and physical prosperity, a future, and absolutely no harm. Maybe you think that God's plans are for someone else or are just for people in general but not necessarily for you; or maybe you think the promises in the Bible have somehow expired, like a carton of old milk. It bears repeating that God says He knows the plans He has for you. HIs plans are designed to prosper you and to give you hope and a future — and to never harm you. The Bible says, "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations" (Psalm 33:11).

Take comfort that no matter what you are going through right now, the God who made the entire universe and everything in it has a wonderful plan for your life.

Lord, thank You that You have a wonderful plan for my life, and thank You that this plan involves prosperity, hope, and a future — and absolutely no harm. Lord, even if I don't fully understand why I am going through what I am going through right now, know that I appreciate that You have a plan for my life and that I want to follow it. Thank You.

Day 5

Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.

— Deuteronomy 20:3–4

If you have the chance to read the next part of this chapter in Deuteronomy, it is interesting to note how the Bible basically instructs the leaders of the army to send home any of the soldiers who were recently married, had recently built a home, had recently planted a vineyard, or were just fainthearted or afraid. Basically, just about anyone who did not want to be in the army was allowed to go home and even encouraged to do so — despite the general idea that the army of Israel seems to be usually outnumbered to begin with. The story of Gideon and his army was a dramatic example of this. Gideon faced an army of 135,000 Philistine soldiers with about 32,000 of his own men. They were outnumbered about four to one. What did God do? He had Gideon keep sending men home until they got down to an army of three hundred men! So they went from being outnumbered four to one to being outnumbered over four hundred to one! But those who stayed were courageous and obedient to God, and they routed and destroyed the much larger army.

Do you ever feel like you are heading into a battle? Or that maybe every day seems like a battle? Or worse, do you feel like you are in a battle and were counting on help from some people who have suddenly deserted you? Maybe you feel like the odds are stacked against you. Can I tell you something? God is there with you, and He has already promised to give you victory. He is all you need. The battle is His, and the victory will be yours. What do you have to do? Don't be afraid, don't panic, don't even be fainthearted. Be still! "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10); and, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:14).

Thank You, Lord, that You go into our battles with us and give us victory no matter what the odds are. Thank You, Lord!

Day 6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

— Psalm 23

What a beautiful and encouraging psalm! You may be going through a really hard time right now. If great times can be compared to mountain peaks and bad times to valleys, you might feel like you are truly in a really deep valley right now. I do not in any way want to minimize the hardship you are going through, but take comfort in knowing that Christ has already defeated death. The Bible says, "Death has been swallowed up in victory" (1 Corinthians 15:55). What you see all around you may seem like a valley of death, but know that it is not real; it is simply a shadow and a lie. A shadow is simply a lack of light, nothing else. And do you know what? Through it all, Jesus is right there by your side. He is the light of the world and can eliminate any shadow and show it for what it is. A shadow cannot overcome light. Deception cannot overcome the truth. The truth is that you are anointed! Goodness and love will follow you every day of your life! Your future is to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What could possibly be better than that?

Thank You, Lord, that You are my good shepherd, watching over me, guiding and protecting me. Thank You that You are the light of the world and Your light destroys the shadows of deception. Thank You that in You I have received an anointing, and that in You my soul is restored. Thank You that You have already defeated death, and that what I may see as death is only a shadow and a lie. Thank You that You walk through these valleys of hard times with me; thank You that goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and that my future is to dwell in Your house forever. Thank You!

Day 7

By His wounds we are healed.

— Isaiah 53:5

By His wounds you have been healed.

— 1 Peter 2:24

The Book of Isaiah is pretty amazing to me. It was written about seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, and yet it contains approximately twenty prophecies about the life of Jesus, the Messiah, including that he would be born of a virgin, have a ministry in Galilee, be rejected by many, suffer, and even be buried in a rich man's tomb. Isaiah 53:5 talks about the idea that when the Messiah comes, we will be healed by his wounds, and there is a verse in 1 Peter 2:24 that on the surface sounds just like it: "By his wounds you have been healed." There is one important difference between the verse in Isaiah and the verse in Peter from which we can take great comfort and encouragement. Notice that in Peter it says that we have been healed, as in the past tense. What should that mean to us? It means that any work that needs to be done for you to be healed has already been done! What did Jesus say on the cross? "It is finished" (John 19:30). And at that point, every work that ever needed to be done for you to live in total victory and be healed from any sickness was completed.

Do not misunderstand me. If you are seeing a doctor and, through a course of evaluation and treatment for a condition you have, the doctor and you have come up with a reasonable plan for your treatment, I am not saying you should not do it. What I am saying is that about two thousand years ago, Jesus came down as God in the flesh and took all of our sickness, transgressions, and even death on his shoulders and paid the ultimate price for you to be healed of them. Understand that healing from your condition is your God-given right as a son or daughter of God and that any work that needed to be done for this to occur was done a long time ago on the cross. There is simply no more work left to be done. Understand this and claim it for your life. Meditate on it, take it into your heart, and really internalize it. Not to claim this truth for your life is to reject one of the biggest gifts Jesus has given us.

Lord Jesus, thank You that You did come down to earth to redeem us from sickness and death. Scripture in Isaiah said You would be beaten and suffer, even to the point that You were not recognizable as a human being. You knew this ahead of time and still came for us. Thank You for your incredible love and sacrifice, that by Your wounds we were truly healed.

Day 8

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

You may be going through some incredibly hard times right now. You might understandably be discouraged; you might have even lost hope of things ever getting better. Please know that God loves you and also that no matter what your current situation is, no matter how bad or hopeless it may seem, God can meet you there and work it for your good. Romans 8:28 says that in all things (not some things), God will work for the good of those who love Him.

The Bible tells the story of the prodigal son in the book of Luke. The son had basically abandoned his family, taken his inheritance, squandered it in a foreign land, and rejected his father and everything he had been taught and raised to be. But when the son was out of money, even starving, he returned to his father, really just with the hope that his father would take him back as a servant so that he could at least get something to eat and survive. But the part of the story I love is that the Bible says that when the son "was still a long way off," his father saw him and ran to him and embraced him; remarkably, he restored his rights as a son to him. His father had been watching out for him! God is like that. You might feel like you are in a really bad place. You might have even turned your back on God. You might even feel like you do not deserve God, but God is watching you and longs for you to turn to Him. He will meet you at whatever place you are, even run to you and embrace you. He loves you. The Bible even talks about the rejoicing that occurs in heaven when someone turns their ways back to God. What an awesome thought.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Healing Grace by Edward W. Hellman. Copyright © 2016 Edward W. Hellman, M.D.. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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